The Journey to Anti-Racism & Decolonization in my Childhood

The CDLI team sat down with Melrose to talk about the importance of her anti-racism and decolonization journey. Note, the interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

‘’I am currently a Master of Social Work student at the University of Calgary. I'm in my second year of the program, and I am working to specialize in clinical social work. I am a second-generation Filipino and come from a single-parent household with my brother, who has Cerebral Palsy. My anti-racism and decolonization journey started in my childhood here in Calgary. Growing up, Tagalog (the Filipino language) was one of the main languages spoken in my house. However, I cannot speak it fluently because my mother placed more emphasis on me learning English as I went to predominantly White schools. In that way, I think I grew up more on the Canadian side of things, but was still instilled with strong Filipino values. So it was interesting when I would go into school having those values, and interacting with White people and those outside of the FIlipino culture. At a young age, I began forming my own understanding of race and racism. 

I am a firm believer in the personal is political. By that, I mean my personal experiences and how I identify myself as a person is a political stance. For example, I grew up in a single-parent household; my mom, a Filipino woman, immigrated here in 1989. She raised my brother, who has a disability, and I. My upbringing and my social location, have shaped who I am and my worldviews. When you’re young, you don't understand how these experiences will shape your identity, but as you get older, you begin from your own understanding and realize your priorities.”