Countering Extremism in Alberta

This article addresses Alberta’s conservative political and social milieu with attention to teachers engaged with their students in school activism on social justice issues. Its purpose is to shed light on the experiences of teachers who address extremism through school-based activism with young people. A brief historical overview of Canada’s racist past includes a focus on Alberta’s specific regional political scene and on hate-group activities over the past several decades. The effect is traced of this past on contemporary discourses about diversity. Examples of responses to diversity backlash and extremism are offered with reference to a particular student social justice program and current research that studies diversity activism in Canadian schools. Excerpts from interviews with teacher activists address how their work is affected by this context as they implement social justice initiatives in schools. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate. Darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Alberta’s infamous conservative milieu clearly creates some obstacles for those educators and researchers engaged in activism on issues of social justice and diversity. School groups tackling racism and other forms of discrimination will find in the province a number of sources of resistance to their efforts. Of course, Alberta has not cornered the market on extremist views in North America, and there are many remarkably dedicated individuals who work tirelessly in an active social justice community in the province. However, an undeniable historical past has shaped a contemporary political and social context that often disrupts efforts toward equity. From the settler colonizing of the West through its history of racist extremism in both fringe and mainstream political movements, Alberta has long been a comfortable place for many who hold negative views on its ever-increasing diversity. Opinion polls and political analysts confirm the sentiment that “the majority of Albertans are considerably more right-wing than their fellow Canadians” (Jeffrey, 1999, p. 106). Students and teachers who tackle social justice issues in Canadian schools and communities will inevitably face barriers in their work (Alladin, 1996; Corson, 2000; Dei & Calliste, 2000). Learning from Alberta school activists how their work is affected by this extreme context seems a valuable undertaking in the light of the importance of creating schools that are safe and equitable for all learners. My purpose in writing this article is not to criticize the province in which I was raised and now call home; rather, I hope to shine some light both on the forces that push against equity and inclusion and Darren Lund is an assistant professor and Killam Resident Fellow (2004-2005) in the Faculty of Education. His research interests are in anti-oppression activism in schools and infusing social justice ideals into teacher preparation.

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