MAIIC student Nakalyowa on racism in Victoria

Royal Roads Master of Arts in Intercultural and International Communication student and Royal Roads Afro-Heritage Association President Ruth Nakalyowa was interviewed by Victoria News about the Black Lives Matter movement and about racism in Victoria.

Here is an excerpt:

“Victorians are very nice and welcoming…but that doesn’t mean [people of colour] don’t experience racism on a daily basis. “It may not seem like an issue because not a lot of people are talking about it. It may not seem like an issue because we tip toe around it.”

Nakalyowa, who is originally from Uganda and has lived in the U.S., Europe and other African countries, emphasizes that her experience as a Black woman is singular, but racism is not.

“Anti-Blackness is across the globe. As a Black woman I’ve experienced anti-Blackness even in my own country, my own continent,” she said. “Where there’s Black people, there’s Black people who are experiencing racism and injustices.

“Until we stop seeing incidents like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, until we stop seeing that, then we still have to remind people that Black lives matter.”

This article appeared in the Victoria News.