She may not do it often, but when Opemipo Olojabi watches the nightly news or entertainment media, she doesn’t see enough people who look like her.
The diverse voices and perspectives the 17-year-old Calgarian seeks out aren’t found easily on traditional television channels and that’s a problem, she says.
“I don’t see myself in the media, or anyone who looks like me, or anyone that has the same background as me. It’s just not there,” said Olojabi.
“That’s probably why I don’t really watch the news.”
Olojabi’s comments came Monday at city hall as part of a panel discussion between journalists and high school and university-aged people in racialized communities.
It was part of the ongoing anti-racism work the city has been doing since a 2020 council decision.
“I want to see a celebration of the uniqueness and the humanity — a celebration of the cultures and the beauty in those cultures,” said Darren Rea, 23, during the discussion about stories media cover both locally and nationally.
Rea says covering events, parades and gatherings involving all of Calgary’s communities would go a long way in taking a step toward a more representative media landscape in the city.
“It’s a matter of making it more accessible and also looking toward finding the youth instead of having the youth always trying to look for opportunities like this,” says Melat Ghebreha, who was the youngest member of the panel at 16.
Dr. Linda Kongnetiman, who is leading Calgary’s anti-racism program, says the equity work being done at city hall is the first of many steps in building an anti-racist city.
Part of that, she says, is having a better understanding of the wording and descriptions of stories involving racialized groups, both in the media and in the general public.
“We all know that representation matters, as well as the narratives and the stories that we’re creating and building have lasting impact,” said Kongnetiman.
“The specific language we’re using when reporting about us racialized youth, we have to just be a bit more cautious on that so that we don’t sell false truths,” said Jedidiah Akinloye, an 18-year-old currently attending the University of Calgary.
Calgary’s anti-racism work also includes a committee that is supposed to meet monthly.
The city also provided $600,000 in one-time funding to groups that promote equity and cultural training workshops.
