A self-described 鈥渟hy kind of guy,鈥� Jason (JJ) Wilson (BA鈥�17, BSW鈥�20) understands the role purpose plays in empowering people to use their voice. For Wilson, his purpose revealed itself when he was invited to speak to Black high school students about his university experiences.
鈥淲hether they鈥檙e looking at their teachers, or different people in various professions, a lot of Black youth don鈥檛 see themselves represented鈥攁nd that can lead them to believe that they can鈥檛 do certain things,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for them to know that they can pretty much do whatever they want to do, as long as they put in the time and effort.鈥�
Over the past couple of years, the education system has become a significant area of focus for Wilson. He鈥檚 particularly interested in the school-to-prison pipeline (SPP), a system of inequity and inequalities that result in a disproportionate number of young Black people being incarcerated.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e pushed through school and their education isn鈥檛 taken as seriously as it should be,鈥� Wilson explains. 鈥淚t can start with stereotyping. A teacher might say, 鈥極h this kid isn鈥檛 going to amount to much,鈥� and it snowballs until they graduate鈥攂ut because they didn鈥檛 receive the support they needed, they鈥檙e reading at really low levels and struggle to get a typical job. Then they may have to resort to other means.鈥�
From awareness to action
Wilson鈥檚 already making strides towards his goal of聽creating change by pursuing a Masters in Social Work and working as an intern at The People鈥檚 Counselling Clinic, where he provides supervised, pro-bono mental health clinic services to historically underserved groups. While his current clientele includes people of all backgrounds, Wilson sees an important opportunity to support people who are heavily oppressed by systemic and institutional racism. 聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think a lot of Black people are willing to go to a white clinician and talk about the issues that they鈥檙e facing,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou have to be vulnerable, and the fact that I鈥檓 Black helps build rapport before we even get started. I鈥檝e seen a lot of unaddressed mental health issues in people I know, and So being able to unlock a way of dealing with that is important. If it does get addressed, especially in Nova Scotia where there are large Black communities, it鈥檚 going to be really beneficial for everyone involved.鈥�
First, however, Wilson says society needs to move beyond simple awareness. 鈥淭he next step is actually acting and putting things into practice,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淲hether that鈥檚 rewriting policies or making things more equitable as a whole. All the policies now are written to benefit a certain group of people and that鈥檚 why we see the dominance of groups of people in society. If we鈥檙e able to change that, we鈥檒l see a shift.鈥�
For Wilson, African Heritage Month is an example of a strong awareness campaign that could be harnessed for greater impact within the school systems. Rather than focusing solely on commonly recognized public figures like Martin Luther King, or the history of enslavement, Wilson suggests incorporating lessons on the Black kings and queens of Africa.
鈥淲hen that鈥檚 all these youth see of themselves in their education, and it鈥檚 only once a year, obviously that鈥檚 detrimental,鈥� says Wilson. 鈥淎frican Heritage Month is definitely good, but we can expand on what it鈥檚 being used for right now, and begin incorporating Black history curriculum year-round, instead of just this one month 鈥� which also happens to be the shortest month of the year.鈥�