On this final day of Black History Month (in Canada and the USA at least), I bring you this image from a historically significant burial ground in the Niagara region of Ontario. This is part of The Urban Guide's BHX game series for Black History Month. You can read more about the burial …
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Black Heritage Experience
Wow! It's been about a year since I have written here.... But I'm back - and of course it's my favourite month to gripe about. Black History Month. If you've followed me for a while you know that there are so many reasons I dislike "special months". Yes, they can raise awareness and that's …
Lessons from a Slap
Maybe you have seen it, maybe you have heard about The Slap at the Oscars. “Everyone” seems to be talking about it. In fact it has overshadowed many amazing aspects and "wins" of the night, sadly. So, what I want to focus on here is what we can learn from it. While I don’t condone violence of …
Blackface, Anti-Black Racism and Change
Last week a TDSB teacher went to school in Blackface for Halloween. You can read about it here. Egregious enough on its own, it seems that complaints weren’t acted upon until the end of the day. Think about that.... This means students of colour (the school in question was in a culturally …
False Accusations and Weaponized Tears
I was going to write something "lighter" this week, but then I saw the video on Instagram of a white woman in a store, crying and screaming and saying she was being threatened by a Black woman who was videotaping her. The video opens with what looks like the white woman coming to hit the Black …
Canada – Facing The Truth
Tomorrow is Canada Day. If you’ve received the Inclusion Insight for a while, you’ll know how I feel about it. Canada: 150 years of...? Why I won't be saying Happy Canada Day today. What does Canada Day mean to you in light of the recent discoveries of mass and unmarked graves at …
Diversity, Inclusion, Resistance and Change
I went for a walk early this morning. The sun was just coming up and the roosters were crowing all around the neighborhood. I could hear the wind rustling in the trees and when I looked up at the sky I saw two sets of clouds: darker ones lower in the sky and lighter ones higher in the sky catching …
[Continue reading] Diversity, Inclusion, Resistance and Change
Changing the Narrative
In the wake of recent events in Canada regarding the discovery of a mass grave at a former residential school, Egerton Ryerson's statue was torn down on the Ryerson University campus in Toronto, and the university is considering a new name. We saw this same type response during the swell in the …
A Moment of Significant Change
“This can be a moment of significant change.” Those were US President Biden’s last words at his address yesterday about the guilty verdict in George Floyd’s murder trial. I see the possibility, and I hope he proves this to be the case. He certainly has put some important wheels in motion …
Emancipation Month
If you live in Toronto, did you know that August is Emancipation Month? And that August 1 is Emancipation Day? I didn’t. You can read about it here. So what? Acknowledgment is very important. So, Emancipation Day/Month is a good idea. But we have to know about it, and do something with it, in …