Inclusion Infusions: Black Liberation Otherwise

Posted on Friday, January 31st, 2020

Tomorrow marks the start of Black History Month. During Black History Month, Canadians celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians who, throughout history, have done so much to make Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate and prosperous nation it is today. The 2020 theme for Black History Month is: “Canadians of African Descent: Going forward, guided by the past.”

I’m sure you are all looking forward to next Wednesday’s keynote Beyond Inclusion – Black Liberation Otherwise by Robyn Maynard. This event will be hosted in Nawapon at 10:00am, everyone welcome, and the livestream link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvFk0N5XdE4

To get you thinking about the topic of racism in Canada, I’d like to share some powerful facts from Robyn’s book “Policing Black Lives: State Violence from Slavery to the Present”.

  • Canada had segregated schools (separating Black from white students) for over a hundred years, and the last segregated school in Canada closed in 1983.
  • Black students in the Ontario system are nearly 8 times more likely to face discipline than white students.
  • A 2006 census survey found that only 54% of black youth reported that they felt supported by their teachers.
  • Black residents of Ontario are ten times more likely to be shot by the police than white residents, despite being only 3.6% of the Ontario population.
  • Across Canada, the rate of Black unemployment is 73% higher than the rate of unemployment help by white Canadians.
  • Data from 2001 revealed that Black persons made up 60% of the persons deported from Ontario since 1995, becoming the population expelled most frequently for criminality.

All of these fact should have you asking why, and how does this happen? Your curiosity should be sparked, and please note down your queries and ideas to ask to Robyn Maynard as a expert who can hep us more deeply understand the systems underpinning inclusion and exclusion in Canada.


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