A "Zoom bomber" disrupted an anti-racism workshop held online but couldn't prevent the rest of the anti-racism festival from being successful. (Youtube/Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation)

By Spencer Sterritt

heinous interruption

Activists denounce racist ‘Zoom bombing’ during Nanaimo anti-racism festival

Mar 24, 2021 | 4:31 PM

NANAIMO — A racist online attack in the middle of an anti-racism arts festival held in Nanaimo has proven why the festival is important.

An online workshop was “Zoom bombed” on Saturday, March 20 when a panelist was specifically addressing anti-black racism. The attack interrupted the panelist with several seconds of profane racist slurs, which shut down the rest of the workshop.

Randy Fred, a prior panelist from Nanaimo who spoke about about Indigenous racism during the workshop, said it was a nightmare.

“It felt horrible. Here were were discussing anti-racism and then this totally racist person come in unexpectedly. It was really nightmarish.”

It was the first time Fred had experienced “Zoom bombing,” which became a prominent security threat during the COVID-19 pandemic as many in-person interactions shifted online to the video conferencing service.

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Sonnet L’Abbe, a prominent Nanaimo activist and VIU professor, has experienced Zoom bombing before, though not at the anti-racism arts festival.

She said it’s a much more violent and aggressive act than people would expect and called it an attempted slap in the face for people advocating for change.

“It makes it difficult to look at your screen or have your sound on because it’s so aggressive. It’s startling and meant to shock, to push people right out of the space. Something gross and in your face like this Zoom bombing is a huge example of trying to keep people in their place.”

L’Abbe said the targetted attack is deeply ironic.

“When we ask how we can fight this attitude expressed in the Zoom bombing, it’s ironic the anti-racism festival is the kind of work that helps us fight that attitude. In a way, the Zoom bomber validated everything the festival is trying to do. It showed the work being done is valuable and needed.”

Jennifer Fowler, executive director of the Central Vancouver Island Mulitcultural Society who hosted the festival, said the work being done through the festival was successful outside of the “disgusting and hateful” Zoom bombing.

“This festival was meant to bring people together in a dialogue. It’s a powerful way because it brings people together and brings to light anti-racism issues for people who may not have come to a panel on anti-racism but would come to a conversation with an Elder about their culture. That’s what many of the workshops did.”

Workshops ranged from learning about new food dishes to the revolution and evolution of the African braid.

The hallmark of the festival is a 48-hour film challenge, where 14 teams created short films centered around anti-racism efforts.

“They’re very powerful,” Fowler said. “They were created by teams who wanted their voices and their stories heard. This was about the sharing of stories, they’re importance and how powerful they can be when doing anti-racism work.”

The first place winner of the 48-hour film challenge can be watched below:

This was the fifth year of the anti-racism arts festival and the first time it was hosted in Nanaimo.

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spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt