“It’s time for action!” wrote Kiran Sidhu alongside her coloured handprint that she left on a white sheet of paper spread outside the Spice Radio 1200 AM studios on Thursday (January 28).  

Last June, Sidhu was sprayed with water from a garden hose by the wife of Delta's white police chief, Neil Dubord.  

At the time, Sidhu was trying to climb over the rocks near Centennial Beach to reach her car because the tide coming in.  

Lorraine Dubord picked up her garden hose following an argument. She accused Sidhu of trespassing into their residential property.  

Surrey RCMP recommended two charges, one for assault and another for uttering threats, but the B.C. Prosecution Service decided to refer Dubord to the Alternative Measures Program rather than prosecute her.

The incident coincided with protests across U.S. following the death of an African American, George Floyd, as a result of police violence. This reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked angry demonstrations against systemic racism even in Canada.  

Sidhu’s story was immediately picked by the media and antiracism activists promptly came to her defence.

This month, Sidhu, who is an antiracism educator herself and is active in her teachers’ union, visited the Burnaby-based radio station to participate in its seventh annual Hands Against Racism campaign.

She narrated the whole incident during a live conversation with Spice Radio and lamented how the racist undertone of the episode was largely ignored by the media even as the power imbalance in that situation was clearly visible and Lorraine Dubord had suggested that she “go back”.  

Sidhu also shared her firsthand experiences with racism in the past and the work she has been doing to educate students and the community at large about how to combat growing hatred.   

Launched on the birth anniversary of towering civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. on January 15, 2015, this year’s campaign was officially kicked off on January 14 by B.C.'s parliamentary secretary for antiracism initiatives, Rachna Singh. 

The campaign encourages participants to dip their hands in colours and leave behind a handprint on a white sheet of paper alongside a message against bigotry.  

Spice Radio CEO Shushma Datt has aimed to link this campaign with Holi, an Indian festival of colour that brings people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds together and breaks down barriers of discrimination.  

The campaign has been recognized by the B.C. government as well as several municipal governments in the province.  

The handprints from each year’s campaign are framed to be permanently displayed at the Spice Radio studio. Among the most prominent people who have joined the campaign so far are Premier John Horgan; the first turbaned Sikh defence minister of Canada, Harjit Singh Sajjan; and former prime minister Jean Chrétien.

That's in addition to well-known and uncompromising grassroots social justice activists such as Harsha Walia.  

Walia was one of the recipients of annual Hands Against Racism award for 2020.  

Last week, Kamika Williams joined the campaign. Williams is part of the Anti-Racism Coalition that initiated the Black Shirt Day campaign to encourage school kids to wear black shirts on King’s birth anniversary.  

The petition launched by the group has received close to 10,000 signatures, suggesting that this day is likely to be recognized by schools across B.C. from next year onward.  

This campaign coincides with the one launched by Spice Radio with a similar goal.    

Williams shared her personal stories and firsthand experience with racism as a child born to mixed-race parents. This came during the morning buzz show hosted by Safeeya Pirani.  

Williams revealed that she had to endure discrimination at school because of her dark skin. She also spoke about how deeply she's been influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement, which was sparked by systemic racism against Black people.