I recall many instances where “double consciousness” (woman and person of color) was a factor in the discrimination I experienced. I remember the first time I became aware of my location in Toronto. I was in elementary school and a boy called me “nigger”. The teacher heard him and told him to apologize, because it wasn't a nice thing to say. He reluctantly apologized and that was the end of it. He was not properly reprimanded, his parents were not informed of the incident and neither were mine. Likewise I didn't tell my mother because I was sure she would talk to the teacher and I felt embarrassed1. Fast forward 5 years later, in high school, a similar incident occurred where the word “nigger” resurfaced. Only this time I not only asked for an apology, but I asked for it in writing and for his parents to be notified; as I learned from my previous experience, apologizing is sometimes not enough. As a result, in this last experience I was a different person, not because I was older but because I wasn't ashamed of who I am. By that point I had unfortunately experienced so much prejudice that I did not internalize my pain, but used it as a vehicle to drive my resistance. Resistance to speak up when I feel I am being wronged, resistance to not tolerate it when someone uses my color, gender or status as a means to make me feel small while making themselves feel relevant. These two experiences I recounted brought to my attention the stark reality of the challenges I must and will continue to face because of my position, but they are also why I no longer remain silent about the things that matter in my life. Toronto has been my home for more than half my life and I can appreciate that, even though I'm disadvantaged... middle of paper... my counterpart, black male people, particular people and in my case black men e I use the term loosely2. Caribbean Canadians, especially Jamaicans, have a very bad reputation in Toronto. They are undoubtedly seen as drug dealers or murderers and unfortunately in my opinion everyone is perceived as such, until proven otherwise. Considering that Canadian Caribbean women are not stigmatized as “violent offenders” or “delinquents”, then in this regard I can say, in comparison, that as a Caribbean woman I have less prejudice. 3In conclusion, not everyone you meet in Toronto practices racism or discrimination, however, if you remain silent when you see it, or feel it is not your problem, we will succumb to the dangers of our silence. As Audre Lorde once said "it means learning to be alone, unpopular and sometimes insulted... because the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house"”.