Community organizations are an antidote to systemic racism

We hear a lot about systemic racism. But what does systemic anti-racism look like?

This week, we’re talking to an expert about how to build anti-racist public organizations.

Alicia Boatswain-Kyte is a social worker and Assistant Professor of Social Work at McGill University. She has published several studies about Black people’s experiences with healthcare, youth services, the justice system, and more. She explains why these institutions often fall short of meeting the needs of Black people. She also challenges us to think differently about how to deliver public services.

The secret, as she explains, is to empower communities – and to let go of racial capitalism.

Eric Dicaire, Delve’s managing editor, hosts this episode. In this conversation we talk about the Black experience when interfacing with public organizations, why public institutions can be so reluctant to change, and the difference between organizing through community and organizing through capitalism.

// MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The Equity Myth. 2017. F. Henry et al. (https://www.ubcpress.ca/the-equity-myth)

Resilience Amidst Adversity: Experiences of Black Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic. 2017. A. Boatswain-Kyte et al. (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/388388368_Resilience_Amidst_Adversity_Experiences_of_Black_Older_Adults_During_the_COVID-19_Pandemic)

A critical examination of youth service trajectories: Black children’s transition from child welfare to youth justice (2024). A. Boatswain-Kyte et al. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740923006072)

Managing with anarchism. 2025. Delve (https://delve.mcgill.ca/listen/anarchism-housing-and-the-radical-imaginary/)

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// ABOUT

Delve is the official thought leadership platform of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. Eric Dicaire, Delve’s managing editor, hosts this episode. Professor Saku Mantere is Delve’s editor-in-chief and produced all the original music.

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