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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MARKS BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND INDIGENOUS EDUCATION WEEK
“Until all of us have made it, none of us have made it.” Rosemary Brown – Canadian politician, first black woman elected to parliament
February is an important month for anti-racism and cultural diversity in Canada. February marks Black History Month and Indigenous Education Week. Many communities at the University of Toronto will be reflecting on their heritage and sharing their histories with us this month. Let us all take some time to recognize and honour the communities that contribute to making U of T great! Come out to one of the many Black History Month and/or Indigenous Education Week events taking place this month.
What’s New for February 2016
The Deadline for 2016 IDERD Call for Nominations is almost Here! Submit a nomination for a student, faculty or staff member.
Do you know someone on campus who is doing anti-racism work or are you doing it yourself? Then this call is for you. Submit a nomination to recognize a member of the University of Toronto community doing anti-racism work. The deadline for nominations is February 12, 2016. The Awards will be handed out at the IDERD Awards ceremony in the spring.
Hip Hop for a Different Future:
Decolonization, Spirituality and Social Transformation
Hip Hop culture is a manifestation of the radical imagination of Black and Brown youth coming of age in post-industrial South Bronx in the mid-1970s, an era marked by massive joblessness, defunding of schools and youth spaces and programs, the expansion of the prison industrial complex, and the militarization of urban space (Akom, 2009; Rose, 1994).
These youth dreamed of a different future, liberation for their communities and for themselves, and began building toward it innovatively, resourcefully and defiantly. Hip Hop emerged as a site for creativity, play and insurgency, countering alienation and disillusionment by engaging youth with humanizing discourses and cultural practices (Akom, 2009; Williams, 2008).
Hip Hop is anti-racist and de-colonial as a cultural movement, art form, educational philosophy and way of being. This series of events features critical conversations with artists, scholars, educators and activists on Hip Hop, decolonization, liberation, spirituality and preferred futures.
Black liberation: A conversation with Jasiri X with Professor Beverly Bain
6 pm, February 24, Presentation Room, Student Centre, University of Toronto Mississauga
Hip Hop for a different future: Decolonization, spirituality and social transformation
Dr. Mark V. Campbell, Hawa Y. Mire and Jasiri X with Dr. Kyle T. Mays
6:30 pm, February 25, East Common Room, Hart House, University of Toronto St. George
Rhyming for Black and Indigenous liberation: A conversation between two emcees
Jasiri X and Shibastic with Professor Karyn Recollet
2 pm, February 26, Music Room, Hart House, University of Toronto St. George
Presented by the Multi-Faith Centre, First Nations House, Hart House and the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office, University of Toronto
Indigenous Education Week
The 2016 Indigenous Education Week at the University of Toronto will be held from February 22nd to the 26th. Indigenous Education Week is a series of events for students, staff, faculty, and the community to participate in and learn about Indigenous knowledges, nationhood, and the diversity of Indigenous nations. Our broad theme for 2016 is Land and Pedagogy. As Indigenous peoples, our relationship to the land is paramount and is connected to health, spirituality, and nationhood.
All events during Indigenous Education Week are free and open to the public. There is an accessible entrance via Bancroft Avenue and an elevator at the back of the North Borden Building. First Nations House has a gender neutral restroom. If you require specific accommodations, please contact Susan at 416.978.8227. For full list of events go to the First Nations House website.
Anti-Black Racism Conference & The Akua Benjamin Public Lecture
The Anti-Black Racism Conference: Community, Resistance and Criminalization will rigorously advance the scholarship on social issues facing Black Canadians and find meaningful and sustainable ways of addressing these problems by bringing together leading academics, community members and organizers, students, human services providers, policy makers, and artists across Canada.
The inaugural Akua Benjamin Public Lecture will commemorate 50 years of Black activism and resistance in Toronto. This year The Lecture will honour the late Black leaders Marlene Green, Charles Roach, Dudley Laws, Gwen & Lenny Johnston and Rosie Douglas.
The Lecture and Conference take place Feb 18-20.
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.)
Thursdays, Feb 4 – 11, Room 207, 2F, Multi-Faith Centre, 569 Spadina Avenue REIMAGINE EVERYTHING Workshop Series! This workshop series is inspired by the remarkable life and work of legendary Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs. In On Revolution: A Conversation Between Grace Lee Boggs and Angela Davis (March 2, 2012, University of California, Berkeley), Grace compelled the audience to “reimagine everything,” to do, think and imagine differently to “create the world anew.” These series of workshops invite us to Reimagine ourselves and the word.
Monday, Feb 08, 11:30 am – 2 pm Lunar New Year Lunch! Celebrate the Year of the Monkey with our Lunar New Year Lunch. Locations around campus will be serving a special meal. Choose from two menus both for a set price of $7.95 plus tax.
Tuesday, Feb 9, 7 pm, Hart House Theater Glorious and Free? Views from the Underside of National Security. Hart House is proud to announce the 15th Anniversary of the Hancock Lecture, a signature Hart House event where emerging thought-leaders and social commentators present important and provocative ideas that are relevant to Canadians. Join us on February 9th for the Hancock Lecture with Azeezah Kanji, lawyer, columnist and social commentator, and take part in a timely conversation that has galvanized Canadians and policymakers, and influenced the outcome of the 2015 federal election, the racialization of national security policies. The lecture will be followed by an in-depth discussion and Q&A moderated by award-winning journalist and social activist, Desmond Cole. Cost: Free with valid Student ID / $10 for non-students / Reserve your seats online!
February 19 – 20, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street (POD 250): Anti-Black Racism: Criminalization, Community and Resistance Conference. The Anti-Black Racism Network is pleased to announce its two day conference at Ryerson University to advance the scholarship on social issues facing Black Canadians. The conference will foster meaningful and sustainable ways of addressing these problems by bringing together leading academics, community members and organizers, students, human services providers, policy makers, and artists across Canada. Register early to Secure space.
Friday, Feb 26, 6 pm, Earth Sciences Centre, 22 Russell Street, Room 1050 “And Still We Rise: A New Generation Arises for a New Time” a Lecture by Robert A. Hill. A graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of the West Indies, Robert A. Hill is Research Professor of History at UCLA and Editor in Chief of the multivolume edition of The Marcus Garvey & Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, a multi-volume long-term research project of the James S. Coleman African Studies Center at UCLA. Professor Hill is also the Literary Executor of the Estate of C. L. R. James and the editor of the multi-volume edition of The C. L. R. James Archives published by Duke University Press. THIS IS A FREE AND PUBLIC EVENT. ALL ARE WELCOME. And IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE!
Disclaimer: This newsletter may contain links to non- Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO) websites. These links are provided solely as convenience to you. The ARCDO is not responsible for the content of any non-ARCDO websites and does not endorse the information contained therein.