University of Waterloo Athletics

My name is Jacqueline Schwantz and I’m a white female.  On one side, my grandparents immigrated to Canada from Germany in the 1950s and on the other, they were settlers in Nova Scotia in 1817 from the British Iles.  My ancestors in Nova Scotia were granted 300 acres of crown land to live on and farm as part of the Yorkshire settlement.  It should be acknowledged that this would have been Mi’kmaq territory. 
 
I only recently started looking inward on my effect as a white person in society and I joined the Alliance to help bring other white people to awaken and uncover what it means to be white.  As a mother, I feel the most effective way to pave change is through our children.  I have focused much of my learning on how to help my son grow up as an ally and an anti-racist. 
 
In order to be an ally to the BIPOC community we need to understand the roles we have had as white people in the past and especially how those roles continue today.  We need to understand our own position in society before we can stand up for those around us.  My hope is through the actions of Alliance we will stop perpetuating the society we are currently living in and create change towards equity for all.  If this resonates with you, I highly recommend starting with reading “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo. 

 To connect with Sadig please email alliance@uwaterloo.ca