Response By

Javeed Sukhera

Middlesex County Jail Ball and Chain, about 1830

iron Collection of Museum London; transfered from the London and Middlesex Historical Society, 1958

Response

In the words of Nelson Mandela, “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

 

It has been almost 200 years since these chains were used. Did the chains in our community disappear or have they become invisible? Have we absorbed them or internalized them? We remain chained yet we remain free as the struggle continues.

Headshot Dr. Javeed Sukhera in blue suit and tie

Clinician and researcher Dr. Javeed Sukhera is Associate Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and is cross-appointed to the Department of Paediatrics at Western University. His research explores stigma reduction and implicit bias recognition in healthcare professionals. Javeed is Chair of the London Police Services Board, a former member of the Association of American Medical Colleges Board of Directors, and past President of the Ontario Psychiatric Association.