Faculty of Arts

Silver and MacKinnon: Doing Research with Inner-City Residents

Oral History Centre event on Nov. 19, 2012: "Doing Research with Inner-City Residents"    

Dr. Jim Silver, Chair, Department of Urban and Inner-City Studies, and Dr. Shauna MacKinnon, Director, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Jim Silver and Shauna MacKinnon collaborate on both labour research and inner-city research. The projects they discussed in this talk involve their work with communities in the inner-city.

Dr. Silver talked about using oral history in a contextualized way, i.e., working with people in their community and conducting the research that they want. Their practice is to try to make a positive impact that will build the community in one way or another. Silver spoke about two projects as examples of this work, i.e., the Lord Selkirk Park and the Aboriginal Street Gang projects.

(i) The Lord Selkirk Park Project

At one time, this was perhaps one of the difficult neighborhoods in the city. The research team was invited by the community a history of it in 2005. Silver explained that oral histories were especially important in the early going of this project. From the extensive information gathered in interviews, it was apparent that there were many who wanted to complete their grade 12. An adult learning centre was established, and later an adult literacy program and child care centre. The program has since graduated 42 students. While in the 1990’s, half of the units were vacant, today every unit is occupied and the community now includes 20 African families. All of the units have been renovated and overall it is a better community.

(ii) The Aboriginal Street Gang Project

A member of the research team, Larry Morrisette, was approached by members of an Aboriginal street gang who wanted to be interviewed. The project started in 2009 and has continued over the past three years using the life story method. Members of the street gang were trained to do the interviews and then interviewed others in gangs and those close to gangs. One outcome of this work is a forthcoming publication, “Indians Wear Red,” the title of which refers to a quote from one of the individuals interviewed in the book.

Dr. MacKinnon spoke about doing participatory research with an emphasis on the relationships and involvement of community groups involved in this. Their research group has evolved an annual process which starts with a meeting of community based organizations in January, followed by the research work during the year, and then culminates with a report produced December. She stressed that the community groups don’t the work to be all “doom and gloom”, but also want it to reflect the great things going on and the hope that exists. MacKinnon discussed  some examples of this work from over the years.

(i)  Lord Selkirk Park (2005)

According to MacKinnon, it would have been difficult to say anything hopeful about Lord Selkirk Park in 2005. As one individual who was interviewed stated “I’d like to bulldoze this whole fricking place.” Yet, even a couple of years later, they found that it was a different narrative that emerged in their work.

(ii) Community Led Organizations United Together (2008)

In 2008, Community Led Organizations United Together (CLOUT), a subgroup of partners was formed to address the question “how are we measuring success?” in their organizations in part to provide accountability to funders.

(iii)  “It Takes All Day to be Poor” (2009)

In 2009, the project involved telling the story of those living in poverty and took the study took the form of diaries kept by four individuals. Significant observations emerged in these writings, such as “It takes all day to be poor,” which became the title of the report for that year, and the observation that “when you’re poor, you don’t have choices,” with the other side of this being that “having choices gives you self-respect.”

The report for that year, “It Takes All Day to be Poor,” took its name from an observation you don’t have choices, and with the other side of this being that having choices gives you self-respect.

(iv) “Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges” (2012)

The focus this year has been looking at:

· the challenges community based organizations face in terms of the one way nature of accountability where there isn’t always accountability of funders when, for example, there are funding cuts, and

· the divide in the city between people that Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal, living in the inner-city/outside the inner-city. 

This year’s report is entitled “Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges” and it will be released at an event at Thunderbird House on Dec. 12, 2012.

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