Wednesday, October 9, 2014: #ethnichat on the Election Issue

Race. Since Rob Ford landed in the mayoral seat, race and racism has come up a lot. Whether it’s the resurrection of dated racial slurs, claims that Rob is the Mother Teresa for young Black males, the use of well-worn stereotypes or that drunken Patois rant, Torontonians have been made to take a cold hard look at the city’s motto “Diversity Our Strength.”

And then Olivia Chow entered the race.

The non-male, non-white Chow shifted the racial dynamics and broadened the diversity of the mayoral race in one fell swoop. Before, we had a group of white candidates pandering to the ‘ethnic vote’ but with Chow in the race things changed. Or did they?

Tonight, Septembre Anderson will moderate a Twitter chat based on the issues and ideas stirred up in our Election Issue.

This edition of the Ethnic Aisle #EthniChat aims to discuss race, racism and the upcoming mayoral election and to kick start the discussion we ask, “what is the ‘ethnic vote’?”

Q1. What is the "ethnic vote," anyway?

Q2: Can you pander to the "ethnic vote" if you are not white?

Q3: Is it okay for racialized individuals to vote for Olivia Chow largely based on her not-male, not-whiteness?

Q4: Has Chow’s race helped or hindered her campaign?

Q5: Do you believe the Fords have made racial intolerance in Toronto worse or just brought it to the surface?

Find it on Twitter at the @ethnicaisle, using the hashtag #ethnichat (just one 'c'!)