Reckoning with Racism (Paperback)

Constance Backhouse

ISBN 10: 0774868279 / ISBN 13: 9780774868273

Published by University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, 2022

About this Item

Paperback. In 1997, complacency about the racial neutrality of a predominantly white judiciary was shattered as the Supreme Court of Canada considered a complaint of judicial racial bias for the first time. The judge in question was Corrine Sparks, the country's first Black female judge.Reckoning with Racism considers the RDS case. A white Halifax police officer had arrested a Black teenager, placed him in a choke hold, and charged him with assaulting an officer and obstructing arrest. In acquitting the teen, Judge Sparks remarked that police sometimes overreacted when dealing with non-white youth. The acquittal held, but most of the white appeal judges critiqued her comments, based on the tradition that the legal system was non-racist unless proven otherwise. That became a matter of wide debate.This book assesses the case of alleged anti-white judicial bias, the surrounding excitement, the dramatic effects on those involved, and the significance for the Canadian legal system. Reckoning with Racism is a riveting account of Canadas most momentous race case, which drew in the countrys first Black female judge and spotlighted racist police practices. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780774868273

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Reckoning with Racism (Paperback)
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774868279
• ISBN 13: 9780774868273
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

A history of the first case brought against systemic anti-Black racism in Canada.
 
The Canadian Supreme Court considered a complaint against judicial racial bias for the first time in 1997. The nation’s first Black woman justice, Corrine Sparks, heard the initial case: a white Halifax officer arrested a Black teenager, placed him in a choke-hold, and charged him with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. In acquitting the teen, Sparks wrote that police often overreacted toward young people of color. A debate ensued about the tradition that the legal system was not racist in its ordinary course. Reckoning with Racism is a thorough study of the case, its debate, and its lasting effects on the Canadian legal system.

About the Author

Constance Backhouse is distinguished university professor of law at the University of Ottawa. She has written numerous prize-winning books, including Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900–1950.