A Little Philosophy with Mr. Lam: Thoughts on Achieving Racial Justice and Equity in Today’s Society
What better way to continue celebrating Asian heritage than another interview with our staff at Victoria School? In our last interview of the series, we got the opportunity to speak with Mr. Lam on the topics of representation, hard work, equity and racial justice. In addition, we got the chance to learn more about his childhood growing up in Edmonton as well as his teaching journey. A few takeaways from this interview would be to embrace who you are and to listen to the stories of others – there are always many lessons to be learned!
What is your story?
I was not born in Canada. I came here when I was very young. My parents divorced, and my mom had to make a choice. She wanted me to grow up here [in Edmonton]. She wanted me to have more “opportunity”. I was going through the motions, and I thought, “what did I really see myself becoming?”. When I was younger, I didn’t really see myself represented as a teacher in many instances. I believed in looking up to elders, like my mom and other community members who were making differences. Teaching was one of those things where I saw the opportunity to make a difference.
I grew up in Oliver [a neighborhood in downtown Edmonton] and went to Oliver School. At Oliver School, there was not a large Asian population. I conformed a lot into that white society and was trained to be part of the model minority: How are you going to fit in? What are you going to be known for as a student? These were big things. There were a lot of academic expectations placed on me as a young kid. There wasn’t too much of my own culture that I could connect with. In grade 4, I moved schools to McCauley School, which was closer to Chinatown [inner-city Edmonton]. I saw more Chinese students at McCauley.
It is now apparent to me that I didn’t have a dominant culture that I wanted to align with. When you’re young, you don’t think too much about who is around you. It wasn’t part of my wondering.
How did your younger experiences impact your relationship with your own heritage?
It [heritage] didn’t matter too much to me when I was younger. As I got older, I realized I didn’t hang on to the cultural traditions as much as my classmates. My mom decided to enroll me in Chinese Saturday school. My mom’s assumption was that I was dominated by a white culture. I thought Saturday school was remedial, and it felt like a punishment as a [young] junior high student. I can speak and understand, but can’t read or write very much of it. There is some regret in terms of not being as connected as I should have been. I looked Asian, had an Asian name, sounded Asian. I didn’t know too much about it besides what my mom taught me: the celebrations (Chinese New Year, etc.).
Growing up in a community that was different from your culture, was there ever a sense of conflict between your own culture and the culture around you?
I would define myself as a product of meritocracy. I worked really hard, and I checked all the boxes. No one ever looked at me and told me I hadn’t earned my spot. Some of the conflicts erupted when I had my mom wanting to normalize me into the Canadian fabric. That air of multiculturalism was a priority. She wanted me to have every opportunity. She didn’t want me to be ostracized. Any conflict didn’t boil down to culture.
I didn’t feel that connected to my culture as a young person. As I grew older, I saw more value in being in touch with it and understanding where I came from. Even until university, I was okay conforming – I didn’t take part in Chinese cultural programs. As I got older, I decided to connect. Not only does it become a point of pride, but it helps you define where you belong and how you might see yourself in this country in terms of representation. By the time I figured out I wanted to be a teacher, I realized that representation was a big reason why I wanted to teach. If my students can see themselves represented in me, then there’s an opportunity for me to take part in this equity work.
Did you ever feel conflict between others from different backgrounds?
I recall being younger and discussions between friends in the same age group might include, “how Chinese were you?” or “how Vietnamese were you?”. When I was younger, I do recall kids who were half were made fun of. Imagine you’re in an Asian club at school – those students might be asked why they were there. I felt more at odds with that, as opposed to my own culture.
I learned a lot of what I know from my mom when my parents divorced. I didn’t have a father figure in my life that was going to teach me certain things. But that conflict did not boil down to culture.
How strongly do you feel connected with your culture today?
Cultural citizenship is a lot like regular citizenship. I brushed off a lot of wisdom from elders that I knew. I thought that as a young person, I knew better. I realize there is a lot of wisdom out there, and I should not have been as dismissive as I was.
Being more in tune with my culture and cultural norms: I see more value in learning about them now and embracing a Chinese world view, and knowing Chinese Canadian history (railroad, headtax). Now more than ever it’s time to unravel how we might all live in better relations when we think about taking up equity work, Black Lives Matter, indigenous reconciliation and contemporary moments with Asian hate. Being in tune with more cultural teaching and other ways to get connected or involved – it is certainly one way to begin to understand more about each other, and how we can live in better relations.
One of the biggest fears – the “us versus them” mentality you end up with [from] all these competing interests which seek to divide people. This is how racism is further developed. It is a social construct that people are different from one another, and then it becomes a point of contention.
What are some values/traditions that are important to you?
The Asian mentality for a lot of people is about conforming. I disagree with that. Conforming doesn’t necessarily help you and it perpetuates the idea that western culture is the culture. But part of that exceptionalism, essence and hard work is not something I would let go of. The opportunities and experiences I’ve had, I’ve worked to create. I don’t think a lot of what I‘ve built in my life had anything to do with cultural heritage or ethnicity. Hard work does matter, and it is an investment in yourself.
However, some folks have to endure pain to work hard and there are issues with that. It would be unreasonable to expect that everyone has the same opportunities to work hard, because the ability to do things is a point of privilege for people. While I do believe in respecting elders, I also believe the perspective of young people needs to be considered. If we don’t consider this, we’ve eliminated a perspective.
How does your heritage or culture impact your life at work or home?
Oftentimes, a lot of assumptions are made about a person based on the way they look. A big part of it is centered around representation. In my role as a teacher, I’ve never believed that teaching was about delivering textbook content and calling it a day. That [who you are as both a person and teacher] is something I lean into - the lessons I learnt, and my own cultural experiences. Ultimately, I try to take those learnings with me in my day-to-day work.
For the most part, a lot of my culture influences what I do, as I ‘wear’ it. My ethnicity/race is something that is more than a status – it is a situation. It is something I live with everyday. Earning your keep was so critical that if you didn’t, you would confirm every stereotype in the book. The easier thing to do was to brush it off, and be silent about it. That is becoming increasingly not acceptable – to stay silent.
There is a priority in taking up equity work, and it’s not necessarily about being required to brush it off and stay silent. It is a balance of integrity. If my students can see themselves represented in me and see themselves continuing equity work, that is important to me. I came to the realization why my representation is going to matter in the work I do. Even when I started [teaching] at Victoria, there were very few persons of colour on the teaching staff.
I believe in the power of storytelling. When I look at curriculum documents, I consider whose story is being told and whose is being omitted. When you think about what type of citizen the education system creates, a lot of it has to do with the representation piece. If you don’t see yourself represented in the curriculum you’re teaching or learning, you’ve automatically been disenfranchised. That representation – especially in light of the new K-6 curriculum – is something worth noting.
What are your thoughts about breaking the model minority and not conforming?
“ We have to be co-conspirators in this work toward racial justice. This is different from an ally: reposting and sharing things. Being a co-conspirator means you need to be involved in the work you do. ”
We are in an era where we have to be unapologetic about who we are. We didn’t necessarily choose who we are. You should not have to surmise your own cultural identity for the convenience of someone else. We have to be co-conspirators in this work toward racial justice. This is different from an ally: reposting and sharing things. Being a co-conspirator means you need to be involved in the work you do.
When we talk about being a citizen of the world, it has a lot to do with your cultural loyalties. There will be different levels at which people engage in their own culture. There is nothing to lose from doing that – to hear the stories, to know more, to carry that down. The era in which we live is very much characterised by social reconstructionism – cultural transformation. Yet a lot of times, the passing down of traditions or culture is seen as preserving it.
We can’t just hold on to every tradition because it is a tradition, as it can restrict us in taking up racial justice work. We need to consider the reason by which we keep traditions. We are very good with holding on to a story that we find comfortable. That’s part of the grand narrative and why euro-centric beliefs perpetuate. The toughest conversations are the ones we need to have, and it requires us to think a little deeper.
For those of us in the Asian community who feel disconnected from their culture, do you have any advice for being able to reconnect with their culture?
Typical answer is “get involved” but I think there is more to it. There is a lot of value in listening – understanding what is already going on in the community. A lot of people who get involved are looking for something to connect to. If you find a reason to get involved, that can become a guiding light for you.
Listen to others. Don’t approach with thinking you have the solutions. Take up advocacy: Find people that are like-minded, that want to explore them [culture, issues, etc] further with you. If you want to look deeper into some of these issues in terms of getting involved, it may be as simple as getting a group of people together and having a conversation about the possibilities and potential. Make sure you’re appreciative, and take some time to listen.
What is your favourite thing about your culture?
Dim sum. When I saw the film Crazy Rich Asians, I saw the concept of family. Family is represented in so many different cultures. It is central to who we are as individuals. There is something great about gathering around the dim sum table or the big family dinners: The big fish, red bean dessert. A common element of humanity is that we all have to eat at some point.
Everyone has a different journey. If we are just going to be silent and do the same thing, how can we expect anything to change? Some people enjoy where they are, they feel welcomed into Canadian society – unintentionally assimilated, and they may be satisfied with that. That is how they identify – can’t say they are wrong to be doing so. If the goal in life is to live in better relations, we need to ask ourselves, “what is that step forward to achieve that?”
