Soundscapes of Resistance: Racialized youth in New Brunswick explore identity through sound [audio]

Eleven youth from across New Brunswick have created original audio soundscapes exploring identity, belonging and discrimination, as part of a project called Soundscapes of Resistance, which was launched by the NB Media Co-op in January.

Following a series of workshops, the soundscapes were featured at a public listening event, which took place in April at Mount Allison University in Sackville.

The participants who created the soundscapes are students, immigrants and children of immigrants. Some have lived in New Brunswick all their lives while others arrived more recently.

Each soundscape begins with an everyday moment at places such as a border crossing, a grocery store, a classroom or an airport and explores what those moments reveal about identity and how people are perceived.

All 11 pieces are included below.

Megumi Ozawa

Megumi Ozawa is a fourth-year psychology student at the University of New Brunswick who grew up in Wentworth, N.S. Her soundscape looks back on childhood in a multiracial family and the repeated experience of being stopped at the border because her father is Japanese.

Oluwanifemi “Bube” Adelaja

Oluwanifemi “Bube” Adelaja is a Nigerian student who graduated this spring with a degree in criminology and criminal justice, with a focus on law, social justice and community advocacy. Her soundscape explores the quiet and loud moments of navigating identity as a racialized immigrant.

Hala Zein Alabideen

Hala Zein Alabideen is a psychology student with an interest in language, history and artistic expression. Her soundscape begins with being bilingual, then draws from her mother’s experience of language-based discrimination while building a business in New Brunswick.

Kevinique Stubbs

Kevinique Stubbs is from Nassau, Bahamas, and currently lives in Sackville, N.B. Her soundscape begins in a grocery store, where a routine exchange becomes a prolonged interaction involving questioning, verification and security footage over a small price difference.

Yousif Alfarra

Yousif Alfarra is a Palestinian high school student from Saint John. His soundscape reflects on Palestine, on speaking out, and on the emotional weight that comes with visibility and consequence.

Lanny Nguyen

Lanny Nguyen is a fourth-year commerce student at Mount Allison University from Ho Chi Minh City. Her soundscape examines the stereotype that Asian students are naturally good at math, and how that stereotype reduces people to a single expectation

Mike Ta

Mike Ta is a commerce student from Hanoi, Vietnam, studying at Mount Allison University. His soundscape focuses on being told his English is “so good,” and what sits underneath that comment.

Arinze Ndubuisi

Arinze Ndubuisi is a commerce student at Mount Allison University. His soundscape moves through isolation and connection, reflecting on how community was built through music, movement and shared space.

Nabiha Tasnuv

Nabiha Tasnuv is a Bachelor of Science in aviation student at Mount Allison University, originally from Bangladesh. Her soundscape takes place in an airport, capturing what it feels like to be watched, delayed or treated differently while everyone else moves through.

Tony Nguyen

Tony Nguyen is a recent graduate of Mount Allison University. His soundscape reflects on the experience of starting over in a new country.

Anonymous

The final piece is from an anonymous contributor, a science student in New Brunswick who also works part-time and plays competitive badminton. Their soundscape reflects on a moment in sport when a casual interaction became an experience of cultural misunderstanding and racism.

The 11 soundscapes will also be featured in an episode of NB Pod, the NB Media Co-op’s podcast.

This project is made possible with funding from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.