Racial stereotyping still a problem, say 2 black Maritimers

It's not uncommon for MarcusMarcialand Fidel Franco to hear racial slurs and to be stereotypedbased on their skin colour.

That's why the two blackMonctonianswere not surprised to hear that someone used the N-word when talking to a taxi driver in Dieppe recently.

They now hope the driver will share his experience on their podcast, Black in the Maritimes,to let others know that racism is stilla problem in the Maritimes and deserves more attention.

"If this happened in the States, it would have went viral, it would have been all over Twitter, it would have been all overFacebook," saidMarcial. "People would have been talking about it."

Racial slur at Burger King

Ronald Delice, a soldier and part-time taxi driver, was at a Burger King drive-through on May 28when one of his passengers asked the employee serving them if he liked the song playing on the radio in the cab.

• N-word delivered at Burger King drive-thru in Dieppe
• Perspective of black Maritimers shared in Moncton-based podcast

The song was by black rapper 50 Cent, and the employee replied "No, I don't like n--gers."

Ronald Delice said he was shocked by the comment and plans to file a complaint with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission.He also confronted the employee about his comment, who apologized, saying he meant nothing by it.

The exchange was caught on camera by the cab's passengers, and the employee hassince been fired.

Marcial and Franco said it's not uncommon for them to hear about these kinds of altercations.

"It's a very common thing growing up here," said Marcial. "I was even out lawn boarding with my friends, a couple weeks ago, and racial slurs get shouted at me all the time."

When you are somebody of colour you will face some type of racism, especially when it's a predominantly white place.- Fidel Franco

"When you are somebody of colour you will face some type of racism, especially when it's a predominantly white place," added Fidel.

He said that althoughthe Burger King employee was fired, he's not the one "facing the court of public opinion."

Both men felt the employee should have been named, because "that's a mindset, that's a trend, so that's going to follow him to any job he goes to," said Marcial.

Ignorance, lack of information

While Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday this year, the Canadian Human Rights Act wasn't introduced until 1977. The billprotects human rights and fundamental freedoms, including protecting people against discrimination based on their raceor colour.

"So the 150 years that we have as a country, coloured people have only been totally having equal rights for 30 years," he said. "So it's not really that long."

Marcial said that it's ignorance and a lack of educationabout black culture and history that leads people to use racial stereotyping and slurs.

I'm 30 and I personally feel I shouldn't have to deal with that kind of flack. How is this happening in 2017?- MarcusMarcial

He added thatit's disappointing, with more education about black history in schoolsand racism being discussed more openly on social media and in pop culture, to still see racism taking place so often.

"I'm 30 and I personally feel I shouldn't have to deal with that kind of flack," he said. "How is this happening in 2017?"