Walking through Vari Hall, fourth-year psychology major Tamika Johnson picks up a York region newspaper. Messages of gun violence, theft, and other crimes run rampant through its pages, with the finger of disapproval constantly pointed towards members of her own community, Jane and Finch.
Johnson skims the pages with a familiar feeling of dismay. The picture of Jane and Finch’s youth population is painted clearly in the paper’s narrative: troublesome, delinquent, and even criminal.
Johnson, 27, was born in Jamaica. She is a former resident of the Jane and Finch area. The community has always held a special place in her heart, but it is aggrieved by the constant stereotyping of its inhabitants.
Perpetuated by popular media, the “danger” myth of Jane and Finch is widespread—even amongst York students and faculty, a population situated mere minutes away. Johnson recognizes that a communication barrier between York and the Jane and Finch community has resulted in a damaging reputation for the neighbourhood.
“I think the relationship between York and the Jane and Finch community needs a lot of work. It’s an institution versus [the Jane and Finch community’s] youth, and youth in the media are either seen as unable to represent themselves or as rebellious,” says Johnson.
Johnson has taken a stand against the stigmatization of her heart and home by founding Boss Magazine. While others dwell on mainstream media stories of gun violence and poverty, Johnson works ardently to inspire a better informed public.
The youth-led Boss aims to dispel the danger myth of the neighbourhood by showcasing positive activities of the Jane and Finch community and its vibrant youth population. The publication covers a range of lifestyle and fashion topics to appeal to a diverse audience.
“There was nothing for us to voice our own views of what we like, what’s really happening in the community, and the creative vision that youth have,” says Johnson on the pre-Boss Magazine era.
Johnson has attempted to engage the York population by reaching out to students, specifically those interested in fashion and business, and encouraging them to get involved with the magazine.
“[York] shouldn’t be a separate entity from the area,” she says. “It is part of the Jane and Finch community, it should have a mandate to engage.”
Johnson continues, “There are a lot of students that are [at York] for writing, and I wanted to give them a platform to [promote] their own talents.”
Currently, Johnson is still looking for more York students to work with Boss. She wants the magazine to be a vehicle for talent and to bring in youth to be a part of a project they can be proud of.
Johnson is extremely proud of her accomplishments with the magazine thus far. For her, the overwhelmingly positive reaction to Boss Magazine from the Jane and Finch community is its own reward.
“People from the community opened the magazine and saw themselves,” she says.
Johnson feels strongly that reconnecting York and the Jane and Finch community will be mutually beneficial because their proximity allows them to share resources.
Lorna Schwartzentruber, manager of York University’s Community Engagement Centre, is deeply focused on repairing the relationship between the two communities as well.
“Most understandings of the Jane and Finch community don’t reflect its reality. Stereotypes have been processed year after year, and students don’t often take the time to experience the community, which perpetuates a power imbalance,” says Schwartzentruber. “We need to challenge some of those stereotypes by getting a more holistic view of the community.”
The Community Engagement Centre is making efforts to strengthen university’s ties to the community by making York a better neighbour.
“York has a social responsibility as a large organization to be a good neighbour, and contribute in positive ways to the community it is a part of,” says Schwartzentruber.
Their “Student Orientation to Working in Jane and Finch,” for example, will pilot this September in an effort to unpack some of the issues faced by this community for students so they may better understand systemic oppression in marginalized communities and be able to engage with the community without fear or judgment.
Schwartzentruber strongly feels that this is just the beginning of uniting York with Jane and Finch. “Through community engagement, we can increase the learning potential for students, while simultaneously strengthening the community,” she says.
Natalie Coulter, a communications studies professor at York, is another strong advocate for community engagement. Through her classes, she has given her students the opportunity to participate in various community engagement projects with different organizations in the Jane and Finch region.
“I hope [York students] have a new understanding of [the] richness of the community that goes beyond school,” says Coulter. “I hope when students leave [York], they are proud that they both went to York University and that York University is in the Jane and Finch community.”
“The separation is not just physical—it’s also in terms of knowing and understanding the community,” she says. “I realize that there are incredibly rich resources in this community that represent a huge array of opportunities for students.”
Projects like Johnson’s and Coulter’s provide a channel of communication between the two communities that students can get involved in.
Johnson is amazed that Coulter’s students have become involved with the magazine, and this exemplifies how Boss is one step closer to reaching this common goal.
Although Johnson is excited about the current progress and attention to these initiatives, she realizes there is much more work to be done, and that the process will be an arduous one.
As a York student and a Jane and Finch native, the burden of the stigma against her community is her own, and it pains her to see her school and her home at odds when the media so often targets them both. But she is hopeful that more people will join her fight for change. When that happens, the students of York and the people that make up Jane and Finch may stand together in a celebration of diversity, talent, and a sense of unity.
By Demitiria Neofostistos and Amara Hannah
With files from Samantha Chelsea and Samantha Herson
