72: Systemic Racism | Prakash Diar

Prakash Diar talks about systemic racism, what's going on in Canada, racism facing Indigenous Peoples in Canada, diversity and inclusion training, his time during South Africa's apartheid, and the South African case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

--

Prakash Diar was born in South Africa to 3rd generation indentured labourers of Indian descent. He is the first in his family to attend university and the first lawyer in his community, having to serve in all areas of the law, especially in human rights given the unjust and evil system of apartheid.

He was arrested at court and detained in solitary confinement for a month (without charge). His life was thereafter threatened by the state. Canadians helped him and his family come to Canada 34 years ago.

In Canada, Prakash has won major human rights cases including a systemic racial discrimination case for racial minorities. He then worked on the Indian Residential Schools class action, settlement and its implementation. He has trained over 2,000 DOJ lawyers and paralegals on Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. He designed, developed and leads the training for federal public prosecutors on systemic discrimination and the over-representation of Indigenous (and Black) peoples in the criminal legal system. Prakash is a published author, an Anti-Discrimination and an EDI consultant.