Response to the article from the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association:
We never narrowed down experience and qualifications to skin colour, and always believed experience and qualifications are important and what the decision was about.
It's dangerous to suggest considering race is at odds with experience and qualifications.
"“And so, for someone to narrow all that down — my experience, my qualifications, my work — to the colour of my skin, it always happens and it’s frustrating.”" - Nyarayi Kapisavanhu
Our full comment on the night of the Regional Council meeting, this is clear enough to dispel untruths about what we said:
"We are glad that, consistent with our demand, the public representative Council selected is someone who has not been a police officer and is a Black woman. At the same time we expect all board members to provide critical oversight. The Council's selected representative has been a member of the Chief of Police's Community Inclusion Council, which we think should do more to be a forum to advocate for change on basic issues such as ending racial profiling (now called Collection Of Identifying Information), implementing body cameras, and addressing the disproportional use of force against Black, Latino, and Middle Eastern residents, among other needed police reforms."
Kapisavanhu credits hard work for Niagara police services board appointment — not her gender or race
“For someone to narrow all that down — my experience, my qualifications, my work — to the colour of my skin, it always happens and it’s frustrating”
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While making history as the first Black woman to be appointed to the Niagara Regional Police services board, Nyarayi Kapisavanhu says it was not the result of her gender or the colour of her skin.
It was the result of years of work — including empowering women from minority communities as executive director of TOES Niagara (Tools of Empowerment for Success) and advocating for a more inclusive relationship between police and the region’s increasingly diverse population as a member of the NRP community inclusion council.
While she’s “super excited, for sure” that her position on the police services board was ratified during last week’s Niagara Region council meeting, she said “unfortunately, whenever a Black woman does anything there’s always someone who is going to take credit for it or wants to take that credit for it.”
The Welland resident said the achievements of Black women are too often explained as a result of the “benevolence” of others, or “because of the colour of our skin.”
“There’s always an erasure of our work, of our leadership or expertise.”
She said a statement from Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association (NRARA) “was exactly that — an erasure of the work that a Black woman has done.”
In a Feb. 8 letter, NRARA urged members of the NRP board selection committee to give “extra consideration to applicants” who are Indigenous or Black, and have never served as a police officer.
After Kapisavanhu was appointed last week, association member Saleh Waziruddin provided a statement to the media: “We are glad that, consistent with our demand, the public representative council selected is someone who has not been a police officer and is a Black woman.”
She said the decision to appoint her was made long before NRARA’s letter was sent to the selection committee, although the police services board’s recommendation couldn’t be ratified until last week’s council meeting.
Kapisavanhu said she was chosen based on her skills and experiences — something she had been working towards for years.
“It’s crazy because the journey to this point did not start yesterday. It’s been a four- or five-year journey of building relationships with people in the Niagara police service, with mentorships from other people, learning and building skills and adding to skill sets, because this is what I wanted to do,” she said.
“And so, for someone to narrow all that down — my experience, my qualifications, my work — to the colour of my skin, it always happens and it’s frustrating.”
Waziruddin, however, said he was pleased with the criteria the selection committee considered for filing the vacancy.
“We’re happy about the criteria, that it’s someone who is a civilian and a Black woman,” he said.
Waziruddin said NRARA wasn’t aware of that criteria or the timing of the decision, and had “no choice but to kind of shoot in the dark abut putting our demand forward.”
“The decision was already made before our demand, and we’re not claiming that it was because of our demand,” Waziruddin added.
Despite their differences, Kapisavanhu and Waziruddin shared a similar sentiment — it’s about time.
“There are a lot of people in the community that can bring in a lot of different perspectives to the police services board, and I think it’s time,” Kapisavanhu said.
Waziruddin said Niagara’s demographics have changed significantly in the past several years, while “Black and south Asian populations, especially, have increased as a share of the population since the last census.”
As such, institutions and government bodies need to reflect the communities they represent.
As a member of the police board, Kapisavanhu said she hopes to continue the work she has been involved in with the community inclusion council, as well as with TOES Niagara, such as building rapport between police and equity seeking members of the community.
“I just want to support the areas where the police want to continue to be a service for everybody, so everybody can feel comfortable knowing they’ve got their backs; and also supporting the officers and civilians in the police service. They also should have a working environment they feel is supportive of them,” she said.
Kapisavanhu said the mental well-being of officers and staff is another priority for her.
“The job they do is not easy, and having to do a job that is already difficult and then having to do it in an environment where some people feel you are not doing enough must take a toll,” she said.
“The ideal goal is to have a Kumbaya moment where the community and the police are great friends. Trying to get as close to that as possible I think is the biggest thing I’d like to see for my time on the board.”
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