ABSTRACT
One of the most challenging dimensions of the struggle for equality for racialized communities1 and Aboriginal peoples2 is the systemic character of discrimination. Current inequalities are deeply tied to histories of exclusion and prejudice. So too are they embedded in modern day policies, practices, and appraisals of worth and value, shaped according to the needs and perspectives of dominant groups in society. Such is the continued reality of systemic racism.3 Ironically, the pervasive nature of racism risks rendering it invisible and seemingly overcome by the fiat of equal treatment mandated in formal human rights laws. Failure and exclusion are seen as individual problems, not political markers of systemic discrimination. Those with power and prestige within institutions often lack the capacity to re-imagine systemic transformation, for to do so would bring into question the legitimacy of current distributions of privilege.
