FLEX LEGAL NETWORK
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Services
    • Our Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our Team
    • Join US
    • Our Management
    • General Litigation & Legal Research Lawyers
    • Corporate/Commercial & Business Lawyers
    • Wills & Estates Lawyers
    • Labour & Employment Lawyers
    • Family Lawyers
    • Criminal Lawyers
    • Immigration Lawyers
    • Freelance Paralegals
    • Freelance Law Clerks
  • Hire US
  • Resources
    • Blog
  • Contact Us

Blog.

Where you can read about lawyering, freelancing, and other legal news ​
Hire a Freelancer Today

Book Review: "Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present

8/26/2020

 
As part of our commitment to anti-racism (see our full commitment in the footer below) Flex's founder Erin Cowling is expanding her listening and learning and has been reading a wider variety of books on this topic and reading more books by diverse authors.  Below is Erin's review of one of the books she has recently read:
Picture
I believe this next book in my educational journey will also be an interesting and informative read for other lawyers. I admit I am late reading this book, which was released in 2017. It should not have taken the death of yet another Black man at the hands of police, and the protests that followed, for me to expand my reading library.
​
Written by Black feminist writer, activist, and educator, Robyn Maynard, “Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present” provides a clear and convincing evidence-based explanation of the origins and continuation of anti-Black racism in Canada.
​

Like many Canadians, and as a white woman, it has been easy for me to slip into thinking that our country is “better than” our neighbours to the south. Throughout my childhood my school curriculum taught me to be proud of our “multiculturalism” and Canada’s “accepting” immigration policies. I was told about the enslaved people of the United States and their segregated school system, without mention of Canada’s 200 years of slavery and its segregated schools. “Policing Black Lives” takes this education and flips it on its head, revealing a less rosy truth.

Each chapter focuses on a different topic in our country’s history and current systemic anti-Black policies. The topics include the history of slavery and segregation in Canada; racial capitalism and the making of contemporary Black poverty; criminal law and anti-Black racism; law enforcement violence against Black women; ‘misogynoir’ in Canada (punitive state practices and the devaluation of Black women and gender-oppressed people); border regulation; slavery’s afterlife in the child welfare system; anti-Blackness in the school system.

​The book is thoroughly well-researched and written with an educational and academic tone.  This is not a light quick read, and that is okay. It is not meant to be. It is the type of book you will read for a little bit and then put down to digest the information, and sit with the uncomfortableness for a little while, before you move on to the next topic.

I appreciated the intersectional approach Ms. Maynard took with this book and while it is focused on anti-Black racism, she also acknowledges Indigenous oppression in Canada. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to learn more about this topic, especially lawyers who work within Canada’s legal system. Readers will leave with a deeper understanding of systemic racism in Canada.


Comments are closed.
    2022 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

    Categories

    All
    Blog Series: Starting Your Own Firm
    Book Reviews
    Case Comments
    Ethics Of Freelance Lawyering
    Flex In Print (News/Publications)
    Freelance Lawyering
    Law (General)
    Law Society
    Networking Events
    Personal Management & Wellbeing



    SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER & HAVE THESE ARTICLES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOU:
Flex Legal Network Inc.
We are freelance lawyers and paralegals helping lawyers with their overflow legal work. 

Contact

Email: info@flexlegalnetwork.com
Main Phone: 647.250.9292

Quick Links

Join Our Network
Hire a Freelancer
Meet Our Lawyers
Free Delegation Guide
Members Only Page

Help & Info

​Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
Our Commitment to Anti-Racism
​
Contact Us
​Frequently Asked Questions
Flex Legal acknowledges that we are on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
​With freelancers working and living coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people that call this land home.

Disclaimer: Flex Legal Network Inc. ("Flex Legal") is not a law firm and does not perform legal services.   The information provided in this website should not be construed as legal advice. Transmission of information from this website is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute a solicitor-client relationship with Flex Legal or any of its individual network lawyers or personnel. Use of Flex Legal services does not establish a solicitor-client relationship. If you use our website or services you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

​
(C) 2015-2023 Flex Legal Network Inc. All rights reserved. "Flex Legal Network", "Flex Legal", & "Flex" are all registered trademarks of Flex Legal Network Inc.
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our Services
    • Our Fees
    • FAQs
  • Our Team
    • Join US
    • Our Management
    • General Litigation & Legal Research Lawyers
    • Corporate/Commercial & Business Lawyers
    • Wills & Estates Lawyers
    • Labour & Employment Lawyers
    • Family Lawyers
    • Criminal Lawyers
    • Immigration Lawyers
    • Freelance Paralegals
    • Freelance Law Clerks
  • Hire US
  • Resources
    • Blog
  • Contact Us