An important resource to help support your organization in deepening its work of examining, confronting & dismantling systemic racism and specifically anti-Black racism.
Over the past weeks, people in Canada and around the world have been grieving, frustrated, angry, suffering and mobilizing as more and more news is shared of the insidious and violent ways in which racism is directed at Black people.
Anti-Black racism is policies and practices embedded in Canadian institutions that reflect and reinforce beliefs, attitudes, prejudice, stereotyping and/or discrimination that is directed at Black people (African descent or origin, African Black Caribbean, African-Canadian, Canadians of African descent) and is rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement and colonization here in Canada. Anti-Black racism exists in Toronto. Black Torontonians are contributing to all areas of city life-adding their talents and assets to make Toronto stronger, more vibrant and more successful, and yet Black people in our city continue to face the legacies and consequences of our history which have created systemic barriers that impact their life chances. Anti-Black racism is not only structural, nor is it always overt or intentional. It can present in daily interactions, implicit biases and other subtle but damaging ways.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the long-standing racism that Black people face in society. The City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism Unit (CABR) has been leading the implementation of the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately impacting Black communities, our colleagues in CABR have developed an adapted Anti-Black Racism Analysis Tool to serve as a resource for governments and community organizations that are committed to making their services, planning, practices and programs more responsive to the unique and specific experiences of Black communities.
We have attached the tool in this email so that you can take concrete actions to make Black lives matter at every level of your organization.
You can also take and share this 30-minute interactive e-course, "Call it Out", that offers a foundation for learning about race, racial discrimination and human rights protections under Ontario’s Human Rights Code. See here for the course link: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/learning/learning
The course offers a historical overview of racism and racial discrimination, explains what “race,” “racism” and “racial discrimination” mean, and provides approaches to preventing and addressing racial discrimination. Note: Call It Out is designed for use on desktops, laptops and tablets in landscape orientation.
The Anti-Black Racism Analysis Tool and other resources we share can help you make meaningful changes to address anti-Black racism by holding yourselves accountable and being transparent with community members, your employees, participants and governance members. We are committed to working with you to build inclusive community organizations that engage in anti-oppression practice.
We all must commit to the continuous work of being actively anti-racist. Individually and together, we can and must speak up and take action for change.