A class act : how East Vancouver working-class youth perceive racism and economic inequality

• Main Author: Orlowski, Paul Michael
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6554

This critical ethnographic study had a two-part general problem statement: 1) How do east Vancouver working-class youth locate themselves in terms of ethnicity and class? 2) How do east Vancouver working-class youth perceive racism and economic inequality? Twenty-five working-class adolescents from a senior secondary alternative school were interviewed and observed over a six-month period in 1996. The youth belonged to the following ethnic groups: Chinese, Vietnamese, First Nations, White, and Indo- Canadian. Almost all of the participants felt that racism was increasing in Vancouver, although most were only able to recognize more overt forms of racism. The data suggest that all of the participants were very aware of their race or ethnicity. Most of them, however, were unclear about their social class: 22 of the 25 participants described themselves as middle-class. Consequently, they were unable to articulate many class concerns nor how economic power works in our society. Ethnicity seemed to be important in shaping their views toward people of other ethnic and social class backgrounds. By the participants' accounts, parental views toward the Other were very influential in shaping their own views, although there was evidence of changing perceptions, sometimes positive, in the younger generation. All of the groups seemed to hold racist attitudes toward other people. Material concerns appear to be at the root of many of these racist attitudes. White attitudes toward Asian immigrants and First Nations' land claims, Indian parents' discouragement of friendships with White youth, and Asian parents' opinion of Native people are some examples. The study concluded with progressive views toward other ethnic groups and the poor being presented to the participants. Suggestions for curriculum reform that aim to reduce racism by increasing Class awareness are included in an appendix.