The following poems were created at Powering Equity: Canada’s first summit on race-based data for health on May 15, 2024 by A. Greg Frankson.
All poems © A. Gregory Frankson, 2024.
Haiku
medical “carding” –
a fear of efficacy
or race-blind nonsense.
like at a wedding
you get out what you put in
move talk to action.
anti-racism
for public institutions
an overdue Act.
measure racism
for healthy systems planning—
race to better care.
race or ethnic group
the mere tip of the iceberg.
inject intersect.
if you need to screen
a virus can knock you down
pick-ups may vary.
who aren’t we reaching
is a question important
only with the why.
tie race to health card
that makes a loud announcement
better left unsaid.
finding consensus
leads to a rough commitment.
perfect? no. but good!
five finger feelings
throw your hands up to the sky
make this moment count.
state explicit aims
stress community contexts
refine more, act strong!
lunch is a key time
participants are hungry
i think i’ll end here.
we embrace failure
for collective betterment—
lessons learned boldly.
building consensus:
a rare opportunity
to boost thought with strength.
Poems
The Summit
when you move into the space
of community—
power of reaching the summit
becomes plainly evident
once the conversations
about being there move forward ?
to admiration of the view
and the shared desire by all who
peer towards the horizon
shoulder to shoulder with their peers
to chart a path to follow
if we are to move from
this peak to touch the edge
of the possibilities the vista
illuminates with warm
beams of light.
Under Construction
inauguration
history under construction
the moment auspicious and unprecedented
a critical commencement
of a journey with proportions
both known and unknown
at the genesis there are
ingredients to the new whole
that lay about strewn like straw
underfoot—they pad the path
to forward progress and we are
informed of them from several
of the horses’ mouths
fragments like shards that stab
those who lend helping hands
make the blood flow as sharply
as pressure that rises from frustrations
that flow from the interjection of splinters
into palms that offer the chance for salves
if we take the time to work to solve
this state of vicarious engagement
to end the state of precarious
concealment that exists due to this
ease of exceptional deception
in a spirit of Sankofa
look it squarely in the face and recall
our history so we bring it forward
and learn from prairie progress to create
national systems of care, our history speaks
with a loud solidified voice that operates
in harmony, for we are not all at the same
point—resistance to the tide dissipated
in the face of the tsunami, and
an act taken passed us from the old phase
to a new paradigm
work always takes time
acknowledge this and move forward
drive through the congestion
with steely determination
to set aside those who traffic
in false narratives to obscure the
urgency in how we travel the road ahead
when key information is collated
collected and shared and housed, note that
while there is a need to keep it safe
and to ensure it is used for proper purpose
it cannot be prevented from being gathered
from the communities most affected
where the answers reside in homes
streets, centres, schools, and institutions
of the people most critically impacted
out of a fear of discovery that lo and behold
there is a race-based issue to confront
we cannot always wait for permission
to address an existing and percolating problem
the work requires energy for the grind
and filters best suited to the task at hand
our sustenance flows forth bold and strong
into a form that we are motivated to taste
sample solutions meant for us to drink in deeply
engagement in what governs actions taken
designed to protect rights in community
is fundamental to the cause of equity
rooted in the land upon which we stand
for those who first resided here and for
those who slaved to forge the foundations
slammed into the dirt of our societal soils
the vulnerable exposure of those in search
of equitable treatment provides cover for
everyone in ignorance of their status or ability
firm in support and stability for you and i
where the base is firm
and greatest vulnerabilities covered
the structure proves strong enough
to support and stabilize the whole
with the door open to offer access
to the heart that beats at the core of the matter
we sometimes take the long way to find
the proper form of progress we need to pursue
and when we find the methods that get us there
we find the sense of us reinforces in a tremendous
and transformative way
when we come together in the atrium
at the centre of our inaugurated construction
we lay a strong beam of support for the future
in a space that contains the product of our labours
momentum of material materializations
to provide principal principles
of a successful strategy
know that communities can raise up
through diversity and varied natures
reflect the challenges and customs
through respect for those we recognize
reciprocate in the lessons and new changes
that target your start to end well for everyone
in ethical treatment of subject the message sent
delivers a solution that keeps the whole intact
progress requires comfort with others’ discomfort
and the polite thing to do is put a hand on the book
make the pledge necessary to execute natural law
bind the social contract that creates the ties
to permit us all to put a bow on the foundation
smash the bottle to christen in a moment of celebration
as history takes its first bold step ahead
it’s time to break new ground.
The Laws of Skepticism
strangely, folks are skeptical
when governments gather data
based on race and ethnicity
and remain unimpressed
with plans to enshrine it in law
unless oversight proceeds
with cultural competence and sensitivity
and information is used appropriately
respectfully and with exceptional care
by trained and competent researchers
those who wish to deny the truth data shows
and spread misinformation
or should the guardians of the figures
misapply principles one project to the next
or communicate without thought
in ways that create new forms of harm
it all falls apart and change
drowns in the cynicism
falls into the pit of a polarized chasm
and vanishes into the oblivion
of political expediency.
Meaningful Mitigation
successful implementation of
considerations to mitigate
any potential harms to peoples requires
a commitment to disruption of racism
from its origins to stated sought solutions
plus meaningful engagement embedded
in support and expertise capable
of expressions of cultural competency
and ethical enactment of principles
to demonstrate ownership to community
engender trust with firm governance
and public sharing with lines that link it
with expertise rooted in human rights
and a strong commitment to social justice.
Colourful Collections
Indigenous without the Mi’kmaq
African Nova Scotian and African Descent
collectively replace “Black” and
European Descent replaces “White”
when the health data comes to reflect
these and other realities in its collection
having more variety in the basket that
more accurately represent its contents can
provide a more holistic vision on plain sight.
Policy Nirvana
without the data we don’t have the basis
and without the basis we’re stuck in stasis
if stasis is the basis then
we’ll miss ‘em with the system
if our system’s stuck in stasis
is there mystery we missed ‘em?
if the data has a bias then who believes reports
when reports upon the data may give bias to the courts
or to immigration stations, or revenue or borders
the bias in the policy is contrary to our good order
and nirvana? it would be more timely interventions
with policy for all to see the positive prevention
of erosion of our trust that’s been ethically produced
transparently explained for disarming racial tension
the data is the gateway to more modern progressions
with reports and policies that ease potential for regressions
unsticking from the stasis is the basis for creation
of solutions to the mysteries that stifle elucidation.
Accurate Context
the scourge of discontented content context
may stem from disregarded cultural competence
things get kind of tense when stakeholders make nonsense
of weighty racial matters of incredible significance
based on information that sometimes misrepresents
what actually happens within community experience
to defend statistical accuracy in its magnificence
regarding key events with a high level of prominence
the most senior political figures in the order of precedence
in concert with federal mandarins of highest eminence
use strength in quantitative and qualitative evidence
to share this raw intelligence with enlightened relevance.
Storytime
who possesses the story being told
by folks who have been traditionally disadvantaged
when there is disproportionate disenfranchisement
so when the statisticians and clinicians at the
behest of public services and elected politicians
go out to learn what the story may actually be
technical and participatory extrapolations
about the diverse groups interviewed in this nation
will draw their own conclusions with allusions
to truths, fallacies, myths, prejudices, and illusions
that play a socially constructive role in building boxes
that determine a health-slanted analysis
to plot interventions and policy directives
that define sector-wide actions and collaborations
we can never lose sight that the authors
are not at all the people who held the pens
but the source of the ink at the base of activity
who live their lives under petri dish observation
and if we decide at some level that though
the story is clearly theirs to be loudly enunciated
those who move their words forward
are accountable primarily to each of them
for the ways they proceed from there
in how the story is punctuated.
All poems © A. Gregory Frankson, 2024.
To inquire about having poet-in-residence services at an upcoming event or learn more about his previous and upcoming work, check out www.gregfrankson.com or contact Greg at 416-732-3625 or greg@voiceshareinc.com.