Racist backlash to Hamilton’s effort to vaccinate Black and racialized residents condemned

When the city announced its effort to prioritize Black and other racialized Hamilton residents for COVID-19 vaccinations, there were messages of praise.

But there was also a swift current of racist backlash that Ameil Joseph, a member of the Hamilton Vaccine Readiness Network, felt he had to address.

Joseph, an associated professor of social work at McMaster University, pointed out the program was rooted in addressing historical and systemic inequities due to racism.

These have led to poorer health outcomes that have made Black and other racialized people more vulnerable to the deadly pandemic.

That's indisputable, Joseph says.

Local public health data show visible minorities account for about half of COVID-19 cases but only make up 19 per cent of Hamilton's population.

So that's why a lot of vitriol, a lot of this backlash should be only recognized and identified as hateful," Joseph told The Spectator Thursday.

Actually, I think every one of these messages should be documented as a hate incident in Hamilton because that's exactly what it is."

Joseph and other community members who form the Hamilton Vaccine Readiness Network pushed the city for months to prioritize Black and racialized residents for vaccinations.

On Saturday, the city announced via Twitter that vaccination appointments were available for Black and other racialized people 18 and older who live in five hot spot" postal codes (L9C, L8W, L8L, L8N and L9K) at FirstOntario Centre.

That unleashed a stream of venom, ranging from lewd remarks about skin colour to claims the policy amounted to discrimination against white people.

City officials signalled their disgust over the backlash during a council meeting Wednesday.

As of that morning, there had been 1,746 comments and 991 retweets of quotes in response to the city's tweet, Coun. Nrinder Nann said.

People outside Hamilton generated them, but so did local residents, the Ward 3 councillor said.

The comments expose just how deeply racism and hate toward Black and racialized people exists in our society."

But Hamilton also has tremendously thoughtful, deeply compassionate residents" who are able to challenge misinformation with facts" and dangerous and hateful comments."

Nann also offered a message of reassurance to Black and other racialized people who want to be vaccinated.

That our city remains committed, that you do so peacefully and that you do so without having to question your safety and security."

Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he was taken aback" by the grade of commentary.

I'd like to think that there was a lot of people from outside of Hamilton that were taking advantage of this issue."

The mayor and Hamilton's specialized effort were featured on an infamous U.S.-based white supremacist website. Other extremist websites parroted versions of the rhetoric.

Eisenberger echoed Nann's reassurance that the city disavows the racist discourse.

We are of one mind, that we need to vaccinate the highest-priority individuals first."

That doesn't mean the city isn't vaccinating other people, Eisenberger added.

In an interview Thursday, Nann said forms of hate thrive in darkness," which is why she raises it publicly.

I believe that people who otherwise would feel comfortable posting that kind of crap second-guess it when political figures or people in leadership positions shine a light on the violence that those words are."

This brand of vitriol has hitched itself onto the global pandemic, Nann added.

The last thing we need to do is have hate-mongers turn this into fodder for them to further create division and spur hate in our community."

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com