Love Letter to Scarborough: Diverse & Resilient

Scarborough,

Lately, I have been thinking about how important you are to me.

You are misunderstood. Outsiders see you in a negative light, and I am often greeted with surprised faces or statements like “You’re from Scarborough? Must be rough“, “Is it even safe there?” when people find out where I am from. For a while I would shy away and say I’m from Toronto. I had to do a lot of reflecting on why that is – was I embarrassed? Did I think people would think I came from a place with no value?

There is a negative attachment to my home, but that is not how I see it, and I think a lot of people with Scarborough roots feel the same pride (visualize that bonding ritual that happens when two people realize they’re from the same block).

What I want to do is show others what Scarborough looks like to me.

You are my home. My community. Scarborough is under Treaty 13 territory, and specifically the Williams Treaties. Thank you for welcoming my parents, immigrants to Canada. Thank you for giving me a space to grow as a treaty person on this land, a land cared for and home to Indigenous people and Nations long before colonial documentation of time. A home to them still.

You are diverse, with every corner offering a look into different cultures. Scarborough is one of Canada’s most diverse communities, made up of 59% new Canadians and 74% visible minorities (SHN Foundation, 2021). Where else can you find a Caribbean shop just down the street from a Filipino restaurant. Truly, here, you’ll really see what intersectionality looks like – a vibrant mix of different races, cultures, genders, religions, sexualities. And despite all the cultural differences, people are still connected in a special way, which leads to a sense of pride and belonging. Of course, Scarborough isn’t immune to bigotry and hate, however what Scarborough provides through its diversity is the space where empathy and learning is possible through exposure of different people, ideas and voices compared to your own.

In Scarborough, my family found support. Growing up, I remember going to my local community centre for free programming with my sisters where we had the opportunity to meet other people in our community and learn new skills (science experiments, skating, swimming, dancing). I reflect on how important those community centres were as a safe space for children to learn and grow. The free programming and resources remain important for so many families, because the reality is that Scarborough is also home to many lower-income families and different levels of poverty. Spaces like these that provide free resources and after-school programming are essential to give families support. It is this support that helps to build the resilience of our community.

The film “Scarborough“, adapted from Catherine Hernandez’s novel, is a beautiful and heartbreaking portrayal of how different the different parts of Scarborough can be, and how important community support is.

Scarborough not only needs more, but deserves more. More funding, more access to opportunities, more support. Scarborough needs more resources to put towards healthcare, housing, communities, schools to help build bridges created by equity gaps. Love Scarborough asks so critically, “Why is our most diverse area also our most ignored?”, and as an educator I wonder, why are our most diverse students ignored?

• Support for healthcare: The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the inequities in Scarborough’s healthcare system. Community health is also important to address here, and is impacted by factors like housing, access to food, working conditions, experiences of discrimination.
• Support for education: Like many other students in Scarborough, my parents either worked non-traditional hours or multiple jobs which meant that they were often too tired to help me if I was behind in a subject. There is another layer of challenges for parents/guardians who do not language confidence and subject matter knowledge to help their children with school. Support towards Scarborough student’s education can help to balance this. That is why after community centres, which can provide opportunities for educational support or extra-curricular activities, are essential.

I want to finish with my belief that Scarborough is home to diverse ideas, bright minds and outstanding potential. I mean, we got The Weeknd, Lilly Singh, Andre De Grasse, and Eric Bauza. What will it take for others to see the Scarborough that I see?

I can’t wait to see how Scarborough continues to grow.

With gratitude,

Abbey