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DeRico Symonds recently sat down for an eight-part on-camera interview with the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute’s (ANSJI) communications department to discuss his role as ANSJI's Director of Community Engagement and Initiatives.
“It’s a privilege to be able to be in this position, to be able to be one of the folks to be at the Institute that's helping to build this thing as we’re trying to solve the issues at the same time,” said Symonds.
Symonds’ role encompasses many areas and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, community advocacy, housing, and public safety.
“So a lot of my role is bridging that gap [...] A lot of it is really building relationships, strengthening some relationships, and bringing people to ANSJI, and raising awareness about the issues, but also the work that we do,” he said.
Symonds also talked about ways in which the provincial housing crisis can have adverse effects on the Black community that can go unnoticed, as well as several community land trust initiatives currently underway in various Black communities throughout the province.
"[The NSHA’s over-housed policy] is predominantly affecting Black and African Nova Scotian communities, and [they’re] displacing or looking to displace an already displaced community,” said Symonds. “And we would be disrupting the social fabric of the community because we have people who have been living in public housing in some of these communities for 30, 40, 50 years, and where would they go?”
“I think there’s a lot of issues that need to be tackled so that we can truly actualize affordable housing that would be specific for Black and African Nova Scotian communities and in Black and African Nova Scotian communities”
Part 1 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on the role of Community Engagement and Justice Initiatives at ANSJI, and ‘Community Days’ town hall discussions across the province:
“I see Community Engagement as being the bridge between the community, government, and individuals within Nova Scotia and ANSJI.”
“So a lot of my role is bridging that gap [...] A lot of it is really building relationships, strengthening some relationships, and bringing people to ANSJI, and raising awareness about the issues, but also the work that we do.”
Part 2 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on the federal government’s ‘Canada’s Black Justice Strategy’ and ANSJI’s involvement in its formation:
“I think it’s important there’s been acknowledgment at a federal level that something like this is needed.”
“We understand that language for government is legislation and so we want something that would transcend governments because you never know what could happen and if government changes we still want our agenda to be at the forefront. So legislation is one of the thighs that I’ve been talking about.”
“Legislate our interests so that if there is a change in government this Strategy will be able to transcend changing governments and really stand the test of time.”
Part 3 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on the RCMP’s ‘Bias-Free Policing’ pilot initiative in Preston
“There’s cases that they want to put up for review. So they’re going to create a community committee, that community committee is going to then get … federal clearance, and then that committee is going to be reviewing RCMP cases and provide critique around the practices, the procedures, and if police have done their job the way that they were supposed to have done their job.”
“If successful, they may look at trying that in other communities.”
Part 4 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on Restorative Justice in the Black Community and an Africentric Restorative Justice Project through ANSJI’s Data Collection Unit:
“The first year is looking at the research part, and then the second year, pending funding, would be looking at implementation.”
“We’ve been provided information through the Nova Scotia government, we’ve been working with the Restorative Initiatives Unit, and the information and data has shown that Black and African Nova Scotian folks have been disproportionately [under-referred to Restorative Justice].”
“Restorative Justice hasn’t really been serving our folks and so we’ve said ‘Ok well if it hasn’t been, why not? And let's look at the possibility of creating one that is specifically for Black folks in Nova Scotia.’”
Part 5 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on Death in Custody Review Committees in Nova Scotia
“If there’s a death [in jail, prison, or foster care] it comes to the committee for review. And our reviews look at as much information as we can.”“This is conducted through the Chief Medical Examiner’s office, Dr. Bowes, who chairs and oversees both of these committees.”“It’s challenging. It’s challenging information to hear about, to learn about deaths, and then to sort of really get into the intimate details around how these things may have transpired.”
“What’s available to the public is very limited and this is where death review committees are sort of a challenge in that regard because people do think that there is information that would be of public interest.”
Part 6 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on the Nova Scotia Housing Authority
"[The over-housed policy] is predominantly affecting Black and African Nova Scotian communities and [they’re] displacing or looking to displace an already displaced community. And we would be disrupting the social fabric of the community because we have people who have been living in public housing in some of these communities for 30, 40, 50 years, and where would they go?”
Part 7 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on Black Community Land Trusts and the Housing Crisis’ effect on the Black Community
“We have to look at it in terms of the challenges that we already know Black people are facing. … We’re already experiencing challenges in every other social sector, and now the housing crisis on top of that makes it even more challenging because if we’re already experiencing racism in the justice system, experiencing it from the education system, experiencing it wherever we go – we’re feeling hypervigilant, it's affecting our mental health – and then now we have to figure out how to navigate this housing crisis with all those other things…”
“I think there’s a lot of issues that need to be tackled so that we can truly actualize affordable housing that would be specific for Black and African Nova Scotian communities, and in Black and African Nova Scotian communities”
Part 8 of 8 – DeRico Symonds on Meeting Expectations in his Role at ANSJI
“It’s a privilege to be able to be in this position, to be able to be one of the folks to be at the Institute that's helping to build this thing as we’re trying to solve the issues at the same time.”
“We understand where some of the frustration is coming from. Some may say that [criticism] is unfair, but I say that it comes with the territory. If you’re working in an institute, if you’re working in public service, if you’re working in public life, this does come with it, and you have to accept all aspects of the job."
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