I’m a first generation Black Canadian of Jamaican decent who is heterosexual, Christian, red “small-c” conservative, urbanite who grew up in an affluent neighbourhood and can speak French (my 2nd language).

Assumptions will be made about:

• My stance on gay marriage due to my religion and sexual orientation
• My attitude towards the justice system and police due to my race
• My attitude towards Quebec sovereignty due to my first language spoken (which is English)
• My attitude towards all social issues (abortion, single parent households, pre-marital sex) due to my political leanings
• My attitude towards agricultural and rural issues due to my growing up in a large city
• My attitude to my country of birth due to where my parents come from

But dig deeper and you’ll find that I don’t fit the stereotypes that you may have about my gender, sexual orientation, skin colour, religion, nationality, language, politics and a whole host of other issues.

In our attempt to understand each other, let’s be careful about assigning a narrative based on what we see. Some who appear marginalized don’t need your voice.

Just like not all white people are racist, not all black people see themselves as victims.