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What’s New for February 2014
Two more months of winter, folks; and the days are already a little brighter. As we send out our newsletter this afternoon we’d like to say “Kung Hei Fat Choy!” to all of those celebrating Chinese New Year. May you and yours have a prosperous year of the horse!
February is Black History Month!
“As a people, with roots dating back to 1603, African-Canadians have defended, cleared, built and farmed this country; our presence is well established, but not well-known. The celebration of Black History Month is an attempt to have the achievements of Black people recognized and told.” – Ontario Black History Society
Black History Month is an opportunity for Canadians of all backgrounds to promote education and empowerment as we reflect on the current social contributions of African-Canadians and those contributed throughout history. Here at the University of Toronto, there are a number of events planned to mark this thematic month, including the Black History Month Opening Ceremony on February 12th collaboratively organized by the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office, Hart House, Massey College and the Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and Practice.
February 24th to March 1st is Indigenous Education Week!
The University of Toronto’s First Nations House will be coordinating a series of events in partnership with a number of University departments and divisions to promote Indigenous Education Week (IEW) 2014. Look out for more information on the First Nations House website and Facebook Page about the IEW 2014 events including a public lecture by Dr. Linda Tuhiwai Smith – the University of Waikato – renowned author of “Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples.”
Save the Date!
Wednesday Feb 5th – The Forgiveness Project: Reconciling Historical Injustices and the Role of the Public Apology and Forgiveness. Following a successful first term of events in the Wounds into Wisdom series that allowed for a deeper investigation around the complexities of forgiveness and reconciliation, Hart House and its presenting partners continue their explorations into contested histories, social conflicts and a way forward that addresses injustices in meaningful ways. The practice of forgiveness including its connection to restorative justice, public apology, redress and reparations plays a significant role in efforts to reconcile historic wrongs, resolve conflicts and to attain justice, whether committed at the individual or institutional level.
When: Wed., Feb. 5, 2014, 6:30–8:30 pm
Where: East Common Room, Hart House
Cost: Free / Register online at eventbrite.
Wednesday Feb 12th – Black History Month Opening Ceremony: MLK Was Here – Readings and Reflections on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 CBC Massey Lectures Conscience for Change. In honour of Black History Month, Hart House, the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office, the Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study & Practice and Massey College are pleased to present this important event reflecting and exploring the words and life of one of North America’s most preeminent speakers, thinkers, activists and social leaders of the 20th century: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The evening will be moderated by Prof. Melanie Newton and speakers include: Prof. Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto, Prof. Angela Hildyard, Vice-President Human Resources & Equity, Prof. Marilyn Legge, Bob Rae, Sheldon Taylor, Vanessa Jev, and Modele Kuforiji.
When: Wed., Feb. 12, 2014, 6:30 pm
Where: Great Hall, Hart House
Cost: Free / RSVP http://mlkwashere.eventbrite.ca
UNFILTERED: TRUTH TALKS
This session’s topic is “Internalized Oppression” and is presented with support from New College.
How have ideas in mainstream media/popular culture influenced the way you see yourself? Have these ideas been positive? Negative?
How has the way in which you see yourself shaped your interactions with your friends, family and community?
What might be some ways to confront problematic ideas/images, especially when we internalize them?
Mainstream media and popular culture come together to circulate particular ideas and images of certain groups of people. As we view and sometimes internalize these ideas, we may find that we perpetuate problematic assumptions about race, faith, creed and/or ethnicity. Join us in a discussion of your own personal experiences and/or knowledge with recognizing, understanding and combating internalized oppression.
When: Mon. Feb 3rd from 4pm to 6pm
Where: New College room 2008
Refreshments will be provided.
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/687700154586134/
More Events
(If you wish to request that your event be included in our monthly newsletter, please submit requests to antiracism@utoronto.ca at least one week prior to the beginning of the new month.)
Feb 4, 6pm-9pm, IB 150 (UTM): Moving Forward 2014: Black History Month Opening Ceremony. Our Opening Ceremony will be in the form of an informative, open dialogue meeting. We will have 3 guest speakers from various ethnicities. Our speakers will encourage us keeping the “Moving Forward 2014” theme in mind, discussing roadblocks or trials they have faced personally and their methods for overcoming these obstacles.
Feb 4, 6pm, Woodsworth College Residence (UTSG): Sex, drugs & medals: Gender Politics and the Olympic Industry? Helen Lenskyj, a former professor at OISE, will speak on the negative social, political and environmental impacts of the Olympic Games.
Feb 5, 12pm-4pm, Student Centre (UTSC): “Soul Food” – The Annual food festival hosted by Caribbean Connections and the African Students Association.
Feb 5, 5pm-7pm, IC 208 (UTSC): Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes Film Screening. The documentary features revealing interviews about masculinity and sexism with rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Jadakiss, and Busta Rhymes, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and cultural commentators such as Michael Eric Dyson and Beverly Guy-Shetfall. Critically acclaimed for its fearless engagement with issues of race, gender violence, and the corporate exploitation of youth culture. This screening is presented by Build. Act. Change. and UTSC’s Jamaican Canadian Student Affiliation.
Feb 7, 2pm-3:15pm, OISE (UTSG): Philosophies of Iethi’nihsténha Ohwentsia’kékha (Land): Pathways for (Re)membering and (Re)cognizing Indigenous Thought in Education presented by Sandra Styres (OISE, University of Toronto) as a part of the CERLL Colloquium Public Lectures.
Feb 7, 5pm-6pm, 21 Sussex Ave Rm 415 (UTSG): Latin American Discussion Group #1: Canadian Mining in Latin America. LAS and OLAS present the first of a soon-to-be regular discussion group on Latin America and Latin American issues! The first discussion will be on the role of Canadian mining corporations in Latin America.
Feb 7, 7pm-9pm, 519 Church Street: From Quarantine to Criminalization: Public health responses to HIV and our history of activity interventions.Presented by the AIDS Activist History Project and AIDS ACTION NOW!, please join us for this special night. The purpose of this event is to capture, document and share a collective history of activist interventions to push back against public health interventions in the early days of HIV activism in Toronto and Ontario at large. There will also be space to talk about strategies moving forward and how to learn from these experiences for the future.
Feb 8, 10am-5:30pm, 45 Willcocks Street (UTSG): Decolonizing Our Minds 2014 – Identities, Collectivities and Imagined Communities. Over the past six years, the Equity Studies Students’ Union has annually hosted the Decolonizing Our Minds conference so as to identify and interrogate the ways in which different groups of people practice resistance. This year we examine how identities are actively negotiated and constructed, ultimately bringing together “non-traditional” communities against colonial domination and structural oppression.
Feb 8-13, Ryerson University and York University: Searching for New Imaginings: Facing Challenges for Activism and Justice in the University with Professor Sarah Schulman. Ryerson and York Universities are pleased to announce “Searching for New Imaginings: Facing Challenges for Activism and Justice in the University,” a series of three events with Sarah Schulman, Distinguished Professor of English at The City University of New York (College of Staten Island).
Feb 10, 5pm-6pm, Emmanual College (UTSG): Inter-Faith Ceremony. Experience the diversity of faith and secular traditions at the University of Toronto. Participants will be we expressing their feelings of being compassionate from their respective traditions. This is a unique opportunity to witness Non-Theist (Chinese), Theist Indian and Pranic Healing, Secular Humanist, Wiccan, and Christian practices on compassion. Presented by the Multi-Faith Centre for Spiritual Study and Practice.
Feb 11, 6pm-8pm, Ryerson University: Remembering Africville – Rez Film Talk. This short film depicts Africville, a small black settlement that lay within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the 1960s, the families there were uprooted and their homes demolished in the name of urban renewal and integration. More than 20 years later, the site of the community of Africville is a stark, under-utilized park. Former residents, their descendants and some of the decision-makers speak out and, with the help of archival photographs and films, tell the story of that painful relocation.
Feb 12, 5pm-7pm, R-SPACE (UTSC): “Vagina Monologues: Reclaiming our Narratives” hosted by SCSU F-Word & UTSC Womyn’s Centre.
Feb 13, 1pm-6pm, Canadian Blood Services (67 College St): Blood Drive. According to Canadian Blood Services, one person every minute in Canada needs blood. Just one hour of your time can help save lives! Co-sponsored by Health Promotions, Health and Wellness, Student Life, Hillel of Greater Toronto, Muslim Student Association, Multi-Faith Centre, and the Nursing Society.
Feb 13, 7pm-10pm, Meeting Place (UTSC): “I Woke Up Like Dis” – The Annual Black History Month Showcase hosted by African Student Association (UTSC).
Feb 24, 5pm-7pm, MW 160 (UTSC): “Shadism”- A screening and discussion hosted by the UTSC Womyn’s Centre.
Feb 27, 7pm-1am, Ajax Convention Centre: “Nuit Noire” – The Annual Black History Month Gala hosted by IMANI: Black Student Association (UTSC).
Feb 27, 7pm, First Nations House Lounge (UTSG): Screening – “Is the Crown at War with Us?” presented by the Graduate Student Union, Cinema Politica and First Nations House as a part of Indigenous Education Week 2014. It was the summer of 2000 and the country watched with disbelief as federal fishery officers appeared to wage war on the Mi’gmaq fishermen of Esgenoopetitj, or Burnt Church, New Brunswick. Why would officials of the Canadian government attack citizens for exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land? What happened at Burnt Church? Alanis Obomsawin casts her cinematic and intellectual nets into history to provide a context for the events on Miramichi Bay. Delineating the complex roots of the conflict with passion and clarity, she builds a persuasive defence of the Mi’gmaq position.
Feb 27, 7pm, Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave): Romeo and Juliet presented by the African Students’ Association. The African Students’ Association invites you to come and enjoy an African re-telling of the classical Shakespeare play, Romeo & Juliet, written and directed by ASA president Vanessa Jev.
Feb 28, 5:30pm-8:30pm, Ryerson University: Queering Black History Month. Please join the Ryerson Students’ Union and Ryerson Community as we celebrate Queer and Trans African, Black, and Caribbean People in Canada and Beyond! On Friday February 28th, 2014 we will continue to honour and re-insert the lives, experiences and amazing achievements of Queer and Trans people into the discussions of black history month.
March 1, 9am-6pm, AA Building (UTSC): The Uprising – Journeys of Resistance in our Communities featuring Michael Eric Dyson. The purpose of the Conference, presented by the SCSU’s Racialised Students Collective, is to provide a safe, positive and inclusive space in which UTSC students and community members can engage in important and critical conversations about race and how it intersects which systems of oppression such as class, sexuality, gender, ability etc. This space will interrogate the ways in which institutions, systems/structures and everyday practices situate, race through an intersectional framework in dynamics that inform power and privilege contextualized by colonial history in Western Society and the impacts this has on folks from racialised communities.
March 28, 9am, OISE (UTSG): 2014 Asian Canadian Studies Graduate Student Conference – What Difference does “Asian Canadian” Make? Power, Knowledge, and Resistance. This one-day, interdisciplinary conference will focus on the provocation of ‘Asian Canadian’ – including the application of such a lens in and of itself, but also its potential contributions to fields such as anti-racism, migration, geography, sexual and gender diversity, diaspora and transnational studies, history and more.
May 17, 6pm, Living Arts Centre – Mississauga: Sync Afrique. Sync Afrique is the biggest African cultural show in the city of Mississauga. It serves as a platform for showcasing and channelling talent, professionalism, skill and energy towards the preservation of African culture and the exposure of individuals to the richness of Africa. The concept of Sync-Afrique is to showcase all parts of Africa through various forms of art (theatre, music, dance, fashion and poetry) all of which contribute towards the educative goal of the show. The show aims to eradicate stereotypes through education in an atmosphere of diversity, multi-ethnicity and tolerance.