The group of members-elect, along with a handful of trustees and unsuccessful candidates, accused the Hamilton Spectator of taking part in “a journalistic practice that has perpetuated anti-Black racism”. They’re refusing to speak to the publication moving forward unless their list of demands are met. Photo credit: PlusVG Architects
On Thursday, October 27, just three days after the municipal election, five incoming Hamilton Councillors, as well as five incoming public school board trustees, signed a letter that implied The Hamilton Spectator (The Spec) took part in behaviour that “perpetuated anti-Black racism”. All signatories are refusing to speak to The Spec until their demands are met.
Amongst those who signed the letter are five incoming Councillors, including Cameron Kroetsch in Ward 2, Nrinder Nann in Ward 3, Tammy Hwang in Ward 4, Craig Cassar in Ward 12, and Alex Wilson in Ward 13. A number of incoming public school board trustees also signed, including Sabreina Dahab in Ward 2, Maria Felix Miller in Ward 3, Todd White in Wards 5 & 10, Paul Tut in Ward 13, Graeme Noble in Ward 15. Four unsuccessful candidates also signed the letter.
Their accusations stem from an article published by The Spec on October 20, 2022. The article reported on an individual named Samson Dekamo, who is black, who was arrested for helping kidnappers escape in a murder/kidnapping/home invasion on Glancaster Road in Mount Hope that took place on September 16, 2021.
The story included details that Dekamo is a community organiser involved in the “defund the police” movement and that he formerly worked for the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion and Hamilton Students for Justice which are “anti-racism/anti-oppression” organisations.
The letter’s signatories imply that, by reporting on Dekamo’s activism, The Spec was contributing to “anti-Black racism” and targeting these “anti-racism/anti-oppression” organisations. They also took offence to a separate article by The Spec that used the phrase “barbarians at the gate” to describe non-incumbent candidates vying for election.
As a result, all signatories are refusing to speak to The Spec indefinitely until their demands are met.
Kroetsch, Nann, Hwang, Cassar, Wilson, and others demand that:
- The Spec takes steps to “acknowledge the harm it has caused”
- The Spec “apologises to those impacted”
- The Spec “comes up with an action plan that both addresses our concerns and is accountable to the communities and individuals who have been harmed by its actions”
Both The Spec’s editorial board and Editor-in-Chief Paul Berton responded to the letter in separate articles.
Berton wrote that “context is everything in news, and we endeavour to include it wherever possible. If I was charged in a crime or involved in any other newsworthy event, you can rest assured I’d be identified prominently as the editor of The Spectator.”
The Spec has also reviewed the article in question “and believes the information and context is both accurate and relevant.”
“At the heart of this story was a home invasion in which an innocent member of our community lost his life. Charges and suspects in that crime are a matter of legitimate public interest, reflected in the fact that multiple media organisations published the story,” the Spec continued.
An article from CBC Hamilton on Dekamo’s arrest reported the exact same details as The Spec article. It is unclear why the newly elected Councillors, trustees, and unsuccessful candidates who signed the letter took such a strong stance against The Spec’s coverage but have not said the same about the CBC.
Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Kevin Geenen reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on social media. He is a regular contributor with The Hamilton Independent and has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. He is known for Hamilton Neighbourhood Watch crime updates and no-nonsense news graphics. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa and later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal from Governor General David Johnston and formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He is currently employed as an Office Administrator at RE/MAX Niagara Escarpment. His journalistic work is independent of his other positions.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
