United Against Hate rally's anti-racism artwork has been dismantled in Dentonia Park... again

Erin Horrocks-Pope Tuesday, September 02, 2020

UPDATED Wednesday, September 03, 2020

On Saturday, August 29, community members gathered at Dentonia Park to hold an anti-racism art rally.

This event was organized in response to a racially-charged assault that occurred at the park in June when Mark Austin, a black East York resident, and his white partner Candance Zinkweg, were the victims of a violent crime.

On June 25, the couple was walking their dog in the park when an altercation broke out which led to Zinkweg being knocked to the ground and kicked in the head by two white men.

Mark Austin and Candance Zinkweg stand in front of the United Against Hate banner in Dentonia Park on Saturday, August 29. Image from Sapphira Charles.

Austin was threatened with future gun violence and called the n-word by a third white man during the altercation.

Police arrived on the scene, though failed to respond appropriately to the situation according to Austin, which he deemed could be attributed to the colour of his skin.

No charges were laid until July 7, on which day community members and anti-racism groups held a rally outside 55 Division to demand that the Toronto police take action.

In the weeks since the assault, coalition groups took time to organize a socially distanced community rally, and The United Against Hate art rally was held on Saturday, August 29 to reclaim the park for all who use it.

People came together on Saturday, August 29 to use art in protest of racism in Dentonia Park, and the Beaches-East York community as a whole. Image from Sapphira Charles.

Sapphira Charles is a Beach resident and anti-racism advocate, who worked closely in organizing the rally.

"Hundreds of community members showed up to the art rally to create art on large banners, posters, and with chalk through the playground. Messages of love and anti-racism," Charles told Beach Beat. "The final artwork was a display of the community uniting against hate."

The event was a great success and went on until 7 p.m. and later that same evening, someone had dismantled the artwork and distributed it into various garbage bins around the park.

"All of that community work and planning thrown away in just a few hours," Charles said.

Austin searched through the park and was joined by others to replace the salvaged artwork.

The artwork stayed up for another two days until it was found torn down again on Tuesday, September 02.

On Tuesday, September 02, this photo was taken at Dentonia Park showing the remnants of the event's anti-racism artwork after it was dismantled by an unknown person or persons. Image submitted by Sapphira Charles.

Beaches-East York MPP Rima Berns-McGown attended the rally, describing it as both healing and empowering.

"What happened at the park on Saturday was a community coming together to say we won't tolerate hate," Berns-McGown told Beach Beat. "Every time something like this happens, we will get together. We will say "No". And we will grow stronger."

Berns-McGown knows that unfortunately there are "nodes of hate-mongers and white-extremists" within the community of Beaches-East York.

"They've been here forever, and very obviously during the campaign. They came to all the debates. They made themselves known, and you can feel it when you're around where they are."

Berns-McGown further explains that her office deals with complaints about racism and hate constantly.

When she learned of the first tear-down of artwork in Dentonia Park she says she was obviously upset, but not surprised.

Sapphira Charles (left) with MPP Rima Berns-McGown (right) at the United Against Hate art-rally in Dentonia Park on Saturday, August 29. Image from Sapphira Charles.

After the first tear-down of the artwork Zahra Dhanani, co-owner of Old's Cool General Store, shared an idea for creating a permanent art installation with a message of unity against hate.

Dhanani is a very active community activist and strongly believes that it's long past time for monuments to be put up, and murals to be made, which represent the strength, resilience, and power of black people and other systemically marginalized communities.

"Across the world, there are huge monuments to colonial, racist figures that really make marginalized people feel excluded and unsafe," she said. "These monuments to people who enacted slavery or owned slaves or created racist legislation stay around forever."

"If we're going to change as a society, we need to put up monuments that represent how we can be better as a society."

"Enough is enough," Dhanani told Beach Beat. "The leaders who represent anti-racism. The leaders who represent humanity for all. The leaders who represent dignity, respect, and equality for all of society, not just one group. Those are the people we need to start valorizing. Those are the messages we need to start enshrining and keeping as permanent fixtures that we look towards."

Dhanani and others are now working hard to sort out the steps that need to be taken in order to get an art installation approved for display in Dentonia Park.

Moving forward with this project will include gaining community input and support, and backing from officials.

MPP Berns-McGown is already on board and has thrown her full support behind this initiative.

"It won't happen overnight," Berns-McGown said in a Facebook post. "But we can make it happen."