A local community activist is applauding a Windsor councillor's call for a report on systemic racism in the city.
"We're a very diverse community and it's very important that we maintain a community that's safe and enriching to all peoples who are living in it," says Teajai Travis.
Travis believes councillor Fabio Costante's request for a look into issues like hiring practices and how streets and buildings are named is well overdue.
He says putting together a report in one thing, but taking action will be far more challenging.
"The perfect scenario would be, the Corporation of Windsor, they adopt these words wholeheartedly,” he says. “They get all the necessary requirements from administration and then we can start to move forward with creating safe spaces for everybody in the municipality of Windsor to live and to thrive in."
Travis says it’s good to see the younger generation is getting far more engaged in efforts like the Black Lives Matter movement.
"I'm noticing young people becoming very engaged. It's an inspiration,” he says. “I truly believe that we've come to a point where the younger generations are going to carry us all the way over the bridge into a just community.”
Travis also says it's great to see the city responding to pressure from the public, adding "The City of Windsor is going to have its feet held to the fire now that it has to deal with the engagement of a younger population who refuses to back down to any types of systems that are going to cause any sort of oppression to diverse populations."
There's no word yet when the report might come back to council, but Travis says he's looking forward to seeing what's included and how the city plans to move forward.
— With files from AM800's Rob Hindi