Anti-racism: Moving beyond acknowledgment toward meaningful, systemic change

UM student Sammi Oni calls anti-racism work at UM “essential.” She is in her third year of the finance and accounting major in the Asper School of Business.

She says the strategy is important to her because “it recognizes the everyday realities that racially-marginalized students navigate and commits to doing better. It pushes our community to move beyond acknowledgment toward meaningful, systemic change.”

Sammi Oni.

“It gives me hope that we’re building a university where inclusion isn’t just a principle but a practice.” – Sammi Oni, student

Oni is also a Fellow in Equity, Anti-Oppression and Social Justice, a student program offered by the Office of Equity Transformation. Her Fellows project focuses on supporting the development of Black Studies at UM and contributing to institutional work that advances equity and social justice on campus.

Oni says this anti-racism work gives her hope. It “helps shape a campus environment where belonging isn’t something you have to fight for,” she says.

“It gives me hope that we’re building a university where inclusion isn’t just a principle but a practice.”

A strategy to support our commitments to equity and social justice

The UM Anti-Racism Strategy sets an ambitious goal of combatting institutional racism and moving towards racial justice. It advances anti-racism and Reconciliation for transformative change and to foster a vibrant community.

Roy Albright Obah.

Student Roy Albright Obah is another participant in the Fellows in Equity, Anti-Oppression and Social Justice program. For his project, he is working with Human Resources in the review of the Employment Equity Policy.

He says, “As a Black international student, this work reassures me of the institution’s commitment to meaningful change and to ensuring that all students feel seen, supported, and valued. It affirms my confidence in UM’s efforts to address inequities in a practical and intentional way.”

Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity), says that an institutional endorsement of the strategy is also a significant step at a time when some post-secondary institutions are shrinking away from anti-racism, anti-oppression and equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) work. Chen leads UM’s Office of Equity Transformation (OET), which oversees the strategy.

Learn more about the UM Anti-Racism Strategy The strategy is informed by past and ongoing work by many community members, including: Office of Equity Transformation, the UM Anti-Racism Task Force, Anti-Racism Policy Committee, Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management, and Rady Faculty of Health Sciences Dismantling all Forms of Racism Policy.

A commitment to ‘being the kind of institution our community deserves’

Michael Robertson is the current chair of the UM Board of Governors, which endorsed the strategy.

He says, “The Anti-Racism Strategy is an expression of the University of Manitoba’s commitment to being the kind of institution our community deserves — one where dignity and opportunity are shared by all.”

“The strategy moves us closer to the equitable, responsive university Manitobans expect and need.” – Michael Robertson, Chair, Board of Governors

Michael Robertson.

Robertson is a passionate advocate for equity and community service and sees the new strategy as integral to the university. A former partner at Cibinel Architecture Ltd. for over a decade, he currently works as a consultant as an expert in Indigenous design and community development. In 2024, he was awarded the UM’s Distinguished Alumni Award in Community Service.

“This work matters deeply to me because universities only fulfill their mission when everyone can learn, teach and thrive without barriers,” he says. “The strategy moves us closer to the equitable, responsive university Manitobans expect and need.”

Vice-Provost (Equity) Tina Chen agrees. She says, “It’s important to be intentional and specific in taking meaningful anti-racist actions to dismantle systemic racism and to mitigate the harms caused by all forms of racism.”

She notes that the UM Anti-racism Strategy is based on enduring principles of human rights and is informed by community input and ongoing work done at the community level over many years. 

Amplifying the significance of racial justice for the entire UM community

Going forward, Chen says, “Our commitment to anti-racism and Reconciliation is a collective responsibility; all community members have a role to play.”

She adds, “We want to enhance the visibility of ongoing anti-racism efforts and provide a framework to continue this work.

“The strategy foregrounds shared humanity, equity, and care, as it calls people in through a focus on learning, dialogue and actions necessary to advance anti-racism at UM.”

Learn more about the UM Anti-Racism Strategy 

UM Anti-Racism Learning Framework

Earlier this year, UM introduced the Anti-Racism Learning Framework, a comprehensive educational pathway designed to support our community to participate in dismantling racism in all its forms.

As part of this commitment—and in alignment with provincial legislation—all UM employees are required to complete annual anti-racism training. The provincial anti-racism course, launched in April, is a foundational component of the framework. Faculty, staff, and student employees must complete the course no later than December 31, 2025.

Office of Equity Transformation (OET)

Find resources and opportunities to get involved and learn more about work being done by or in partnership with the Office of Equity Transformation (OET), which was established in 2023. The office supports UM’s commitment to accessibility, diversity and meaningful participation for all by providing leadership and coordination to address systemic inequities and to build community that’s rooted in equity.

The Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black Inclusion is a historically important document developed by post-secondary institutions across the country to declare their commitment to take action against anti-Black racism and to foster Black inclusion in higher education and communities. As a signatory to the Charter, UM affirms the overarching principles of Black Flourishing, Inclusive Excellence, Mutuality, and Accountability.

Taking action on these principles requires: recognizing the diversity and complexity of Black peoples, including Black peoples across the gender spectrum, Black persons with disabilities, and Black peoples in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; supporting and affirming all Black voices; and investing in Black initiatives at UM.

Eligible projects

• community-building initiatives
• events
• guest speakers/public dialogue
• celebration of Black excellence
• creative projects or exhibits
• film-screenings or performances
• community engagement

The fund does not support individual research projects; teaching release; course materials or fees; conference travel; or individual professional development costs.

Projects or initiatives delivered primarily by non-UM organizations are not eligible for funding.

Application timelines

There are two rounds of funding.

The deadline to apply for Round 1 is September 22, 2025.

The deadline for Round 2 is November 28, 2025.

Award funds must be spent by March 31, 2026.

Application requirements

• Lead individual(s), including name, position and UM email address
• Organization(s) or group(s) involved, where applicable
• Self-identification as Black, Black Canadian, African, Afro-Caribbean, or Caribbean
• University of Manitoba affiliation
• Project title and project description (250 words maximum)
• Description of how the project contributes to Black flourishing at UM (250 words maximum)
• Timeline
• Budget, including any received or requested funding from other sources
• Status of any projects previously funded through the Promoting Black Flourishing Fund

Apply now for the Promoting Black Flourishing Fund!

For further information, contact the Office of Equity Transformation at equity@umanitoba.ca

The two recently shared their own experiences with racism and their motivation to continue anti-racism work, and reflected on its significance to our community.

To advance that work, UM is providing meaningful learning opportunities for UM students, staff, and faculty at various stages of their learning journeys about racism and anti-racism.

UM’s Anti-Racism Learning Framework outlines an educational pathway to guide us as a community and individually as we work to dismantle racism in all its forms and to foster a vibrant community for all. The framework supports UM’s commitments to anti-racism and social justice as outlined in our strategic plan, MomentUM: Leading Change Together, and complements the Truth and Reconciliation Framework.

Join the work of fostering a vibrant community, advancing reconciliation for transformative change, and building a stronger, more inclusive UM for all.

Watch:”UM’s commitment to anti-racism: A campus for all.”

Personal experiences and systemic and structural racism

Sometimes racism speaks and makes itself known. But racism isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s in the way doors quietly close, opportunities slip away, or voices go unheard.

Angie Bruce shares an emotional story going back to age 11, when she was in grade six. As she was having learning difficulties, her teacher pulled her aside and asked her if she had been drinking, playing into harmful racial stereotypes. Later, thanks to interventions by her mother, Bruce was diagnosed with dyslexia and got the learning supports she needed. But the effects stayed with her.

Tina Chen remembers walking home from elementary school through the park. Encountering older kids, she heard them call out with a racial slur used for Chinese people, and sounds they thought mimicked Chinese language.

 In those moments, she says, “there would be an intense feeling of fear, of shame, of anger.” Some of those feelings still linger, adds Chen.

“It’s for those reasons, here at the University of Manitoba, I’m committed to making this a place where we all know we belong,” she says.

Watch: Experiences and motivation for anti-racism work.

Racism is hurtful and harmful. It diminishes dignity. For anyone who experiences racism at any level, racialized hatred and race-based stereotypes can feel intensely personal; racism can be internalized and carried for a lifetime.

And the harms of racial discrimination are wider than the significant emotional effects.

Racism can affect mental health; it “also has impacts on equality and opportunities…. Such widespread inequities are not the result of individual racist actions and beliefs alone, but of deeply entrenched systemic racism,” as stated in this Discussion Paper on Systemic Racism from the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

As the commission notes, “Racism and racial discrimination can be manifested explicitly or implicitly, directly or indirectly, at individual, institutional, and structural and systemic levels.”

Unlearning racism, dismantling racist structures, advancing anti-racism

This annual occasion on March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, recognizes not only the historical injustices and prejudices fueled by racial discrimination — but the ongoing nature of racial discrimination.

In Canada, Indigenous peoples, racially marginalized people, and marginalized religious communities face racism and discrimination regularly. Institutions such as universities are inextricably linked to Canada’s colonial legacy, with racial inequities manifested through policies, practices and culture.

It’s why the work of anti-racism, including UM’s Anti-Racism Learning Framework, is so necessary.

Learn more about UM’s Anti-Racism Learning Framework

Read the Mar. 21 message to UM community from Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity), and Angie Bruce, Vice-President (Indigenous).

Join the ongoing learning journey for anti-racism and the collective work of dismantling racisms at UM. Join the work of fostering a vibrant community, advancing reconciliation for transformative change, and building a stronger, more inclusive UM for all.

“This work is not only important; it’s essential.”  – President Michael Benarroch

March 21 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

This annual occasion recognizes historical and ongoing injustices and prejudices fueled by racial discrimination. In Canada, Indigenous peoples, racially marginalized people, and marginalized religious communities face racism and discrimination regularly. Institutions such as universities are inextricably linked to Canada’s colonial legacy, with racial inequities manifested through policies, practices and culture.

We underscore UM’s fundamental commitments to anti-racism and social justice, outlined in MomentUM: Leading Change Together, UM’s 2024-2029 strategic plan. This includes a call to work together to dismantle systemic racism, to advance Reconciliation for transformative change, and to foster a vibrant community for all.

UM’s Anti-Racism Task Force, established in 2022, gathered voices from across our campuses, while building on decades of community anti-racist activism at UM.  It recommended areas for immediate action focused on education, policies and processes, and aimed at eliminating all forms of racism across all areas and levels of the institution.

“This work is not only important; it’s essential.”  – President Michael Benarroch

The learning journey on racism and anti-racism

To advance these foundational commitments, UM is providing meaningful learning and engagement for students, staff, and faculty at various stages of their learning journeys about racism and anti-racism.

UM’s Anti-Racism Learning Framework outlines an educational pathway to guide us as a community and individually as we work to dismantle racism in all its forms and to foster a vibrant community for all. The Anti-Racism Learning Framework supports and complements the Truth and Reconciliation Framework: Time for Action.

The Anti-Racism Learning Framework is responsive and flexible. It seeks to increase visibility for the many learning opportunities on racism and anti-racism organised by units, groups, and individuals across UM campuses. It also highlights centrally-organised workshops, events, and series with a racial justice lens including the Public Classroom initiative, Indigenous Scholars Series, Indigenous Summer Institute, Fireside Chats, and Data Justice Series.

Starting in April 2025, the framework will include shared foundational learning delivered through annual Anti-Racism Training, as mandated for all public employees by the Manitoba provincial government. We look forward to sharing more information about this course in the coming month.

“A truly great university is one where every person, from every background, feels safe, valued, and supported to contribute and to thrive. Our commitment to anti-racism is a commitment to action, to accountability, and to building a stronger, more inclusive UM.”  – President Michael Benarroch

Motivation and experience into action

We each have our own experiences with different racisms that inform and spur us to promote anti-racist work at UM. We invite you to watch “A campus for all” video for more about our motivation for this work — and its vital significance to our community.

We invite you to join us in the ongoing learning journey for anti-racism and the collective work of dismantling racisms at UM. Join the work of fostering a vibrant community, advancing reconciliation for transformative change, and building a stronger, more inclusive UM for all.

Sincerely,

Angie Bruce, Vice-President (Indigenous)

Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity)

The annual fund is an initiative of the Office of Equity Transformation. Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity) says, “We are happy to once again support a variety of community-led initiatives that further Black flourishing and contribute to fostering a vibrant UM community. I want to thank the students, faculty, and staff for their efforts in showing us what Black flourishing means to them.”

Created in 2021 to reflect UM’s commitment to anti-racism and the Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black Inclusion, the fund embraces the diversity and complexity of Black peoples through supporting and affirming Black voices and investing in Black initiatives at UM.

Fund applications were due in October, with successful applications receiving funding for projects that must take place by March 31, 2025.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Note: Some projects are also funded through other sources.

Changing the Narrative book club

• Date and time: Friday, January 31 from 6 to 7:15 p.m.
• Location: 409 Tier Building (Fort Garry campus)
• The book club, organized by the Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP) in support of the Black Student Collective, creates space for centering Black stories and literature. This reading and discussion will focus on the book, “A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara”.
• Instagram: @changingthenarrative.um
• Email: changingthenarrative.um@gmail.com

Finding Your Voice: Black Health Symposium

• Date and time: Saturday, February 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Location: Joe Doupe Concourse, Basic Medical Sciences Building (Bannatyne campus)
• The UM Black Medical Students Association (BMSA) is hosting a symposium for black undergraduate and high school students with an interest in pursuing healthcare as a profession. The full-day event will consist of panel talks, keynote speakers, and educational workshops to address systemic barriers and unique challenges faced by black learners and to help instill confidence to thrive in the medical fields.
• Register here.

Working in Solidarity: Confronting Structural Discrimination and Mental Health Inequities

• Date and time: February 7, 2025 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
• Location: Round House Auditorium, 319 Elgin Avenue. Red River College, Exchange District Campus and online (zoom)
• The Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP) in collaboration with UM’s Department of Anthropology and Red River College is hosting the 3^rd annual mental health event.
• The event, featuring keynote speaker, Dr. Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey from McGill University, will explore how the intersections of race, social class, immigration status, sexuality, and gender shape distinct mental health challenges among Black Canadians. Other panelists include:
  • Heidi Marx (Dean, UM Faculty of Arts)
  • Sana Maboob (Prairies Can, Senior Administrator to the Assistant Deputy Minister)
  • Jamie Moses (Minister of Economic Development, Investment, Trade and Natural Resources of Manitoba)
  • Nina Condo (Community activist)
  • Peter Donahue (Dean, UM Faculty of Social Work)
  • Tina Chen (UM Vice-Provost, Equity)
  • Shreeraj Patel (Vice-President, Royal Bank of Canada)
• Register here.

See Yourself Here

• Date and time: Wednesday, February 26 from 6 to 9 p.m.
• Location: Robson Hall, 224 Dysart Road
• Hosted by the Black Law Students’ Association in partnership with the Manitoba Indigenous Law Students Association, the event will include a panel discussion and opportunities for networking among BIPOC students, faculty, and legal practitioners. 
• Register here.

Empowering Voices: Amplifying Black Narratives in Leadership

• Date and time: February 28, 2025 from 5 to 9 p.m.
• Location: Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, 319 Elgin Avenue. Red River College, Exchange District Campus, and online (zoom)
• This Black History Month event is presented by the Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP), UM Faculty of Arts, UM Black Alliance (UMBA), Red River College, and University of Winnipeg. It will feature a keynote address from the Honourable Uzoma Asagwara (MLA for the Manitoba legislature).
• Register here.

The Black Experience podcast

• The soon-to-launched podcast, created by four University of Manitoba students, explores the challenges, triumphs, and everyday realities of Black students on campus, including topics like mental health, academics, and community life.
• Instagram: @theblackexperiencepod
• Email: contact@tbepod.com

See more Black History Month events

The concept of data justice places the collection, governance, and analysis of data in the context of social practices, knowledge frameworks, and power relations. It emphasizes that data practices must align with human rights values. Furthermore, data justice calls for data governance frameworks to be rooted in respectful relationships, recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, and critical examination of the structural and systemic conditions that inform how we think about, collect, steward and use data.

To promote the understanding and engagement with this important concept, the Office of Equity Transformation is launching the Data Justice series. This series will feature presentations and panel discussions on how data can be leveraged to identify systemic inequities and support actions that reduce barriers and narrow gaps for marginalized people. The Data Justice Series aims to spark meaningful conversations and encourage the UM community to critically explore the role of data in shaping a more equitable future.

“Data is essential to evidence-based decision making. Yet, there’s unequal power between data subjects, data aggregators, data analysts, data stewards, and data users, particularly in relation to marginalized communities. This means data can – and historically has – reinforced systems of oppression, including racism, sexism, and ableism,” says Dr. Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity). “However, data also can be a powerful tool to challenge and disrupt entrenched structures. I encourage UM community members to join us to learn more about data justice and the role of data in advancing equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity.”

Session 1: Anti-Ableism, Disaggregated Disability Data, and Data Justice

Panel presentation with members of the project team for the 2023 Dismantling Ableism Survey (DAS), including Tina Chen (Vice-Provost, Equity), Jennifer Dengate (Director, EDI Research and Projects, Office of Equity Transformation), and Cade Kuehl (DAS project coordinator and research assistant).

This panel will share how data justice approaches informed the methodologies and practices for the Dismantling Ableism Survey and highlight some of the ways in which institutional ableism is experienced by those with less noticeable disabilities and chronic health conditions.

Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Time: 10 – 11:15 a.m.

Location: 307 Tier Building (Fort Garry campus)

Register here.

Session 2: Why Anti-Racism matters to data / Why data matters to Anti-Racism

Organized in partnership with the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ Vice-Dean, Indigenous Health, Social Justice and Anti-Racism and the Offices of Anti-Racism and Equity, Access and Participation, this session features invited guest Dr. Malinda S. Smith, Associate Vice-President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) from the University of Calgary.

Dr. Smith will join Dr. Jillian Waruk (Public Health Epidemiologist, First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba) in a panel discussion about data collection, governance, and analysis in the context of social practices, knowledge frameworks, and power relations. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Delia Douglas (Director, Office of Anti-Racism, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences).

Date: Thursday, February 13, 2025

Time: 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Location: The Concourse Lounge, room 230, University College (220 Dysart Road)

Register here.

Stay tuned for information on upcoming sessions in this series! Visit the Office of Equity Transformation’s Learning and Engagement webpage.

The Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black Inclusion is a historically important document developed by post-secondary institutions across the country to declare their commitment to take action against anti-Black racism and to foster Black inclusion in higher education and communities. As a signatory to the Charter, UM affirms the overarching principles of Black Flourishing, Inclusive Excellence, Mutuality, and Accountability.

Taking action on these principles requires: recognizing the diversity and complexity of Black peoples, including Black peoples across the gender spectrum, Black persons with disabilities, and Black peoples in 2SLGBTQIA+ communities; supporting and affirming all Black voices; and investing in Black initiatives at UM.

Sponsored by the office of Equity Transformation, this is the third year of the fund. Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity) says, “It is exciting to see the diversity and creativity that comes from community-led initiatives for Black flourishing, and the ways in which these initiatives redefine our community. We look forward to receiving many applications that celebrate Black Life in the UM community.”

Promoting Black Flourishing Fund: Eligible Projects

• Projects may include, but are not limited to: community-building initiatives, events, guest speakers/public dialogue, celebration of Black excellence, creative projects or exhibits, film-screenings or performances, community engagement.
• The fund does not support: individual research projects; teaching release; course materials or fees; conference travel; or individual professional development costs. Projects or initiatives delivered primarily by non-UM organizations are not eligible for funding.

Application timeline:

• Application deadline is October 25, 2024. However, applications will continue to be accepted after October 25 and reviewed on a rolling basis as funds allow. 
• Award funds must be spent by March 31, 2025.

Application requirements:

• Lead individual(s), including name, position and UM email address
• Organization(s) or group(s) involved, where applicable
• Self-identification as Black, Black Canadian, African, Afro-Caribbean, or Caribbean
• University of Manitoba affiliation
• Project title and project description (250 words maximum)
• Description of how the project contributes to Black flourishing at UM (250 words maximum)
• Timeline
• Budget, including any received or requested funding from other sources
• Status of any projects previously funded through the Promoting Black Flourishing Fund

APPLY NOW

See also the Promoting Black Flourishing Fund webpage

For further information, contact the Office of Equity Transformation at equity@umanitoba.ca

The Listening, Learning, Leading series, organized by the Office of Equity Transformation, creates space on our campuses for engagement and discussion on difficult and complex topics. It aims to build foundations for understanding, beyond polarization.

“As a university, UM must model what it means to move into complexity,” says Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity). “We can and should take a leadership role to establish spaces for active listening and learning without expectation of agreement or resolution. Anti-Muslim racism, antisemitism, anti-Black, anti-Indigenous, anti-Asian and other forms of racism are perpetuated through dehumanization, simplified generalizations, and lack of understanding of the ways historical and ongoing hatred and discrimination impact people and communities. Providing opportunities for listening and learning builds a foundation for understanding and acceptance of diversity of opinion and of people, and helps create accountable and inclusive communities.”

There are two upcoming events in the Listening, Learning, Leading series, taking place at the Fort Garry campus.

Centering Humanity: Human Rights Frameworks in times of Violence, Discrimination and Hatred

March 28, 2024 at 2:30 to 4 p.m.

Moderator, Tina Chen, will lead discussion from a panel of experts:

• Karen Sharma, Executive Director, Manitoba Human Rights Commission
• Nathan Derejko, Mauro Chair in Human Rights and Social Justice, University of Manitoba
• Art Miki, CM, OM, Japanese-Canadian activist, former MB Citizenship Judge
• Lionel Steiman, Senior Scholar, History, University of Manitoba (TBC)

Register for the ‘Centering Humanity’, March 28 session now.

Teaching Israel-Gaza War and the Middle East: A Conversation with Tami Jacoby

April 11, 2024 at 12 to 1 p.m.

Dr. Jacoby, UM professor of Political Studies, has been teaching Middle East politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict for roughly 30 years. She has published widely on Middle East-related topics and spent considerable time studying, working and living in Jerusalem.

Register for the ‘Teaching Israel-Gaza War and the Middle East’, April 11 session now.

Registration is required for both events and all panelists, participants and audience members will agree to the Community Accountability Guidelines at the time of registration. To ensure a safe space for dialogue, recording of events by attendees will not be permitted.

Learn more about the Listening, Learning, Leading series, and other opportunities for your learning journey at the Office of Equity Transformation Learning and Engagement webpage.

The Listening, Learning, Leading series, organized by the Office of Equity Transformation, launched Feb. 12 with a workshop on Digital Harms: Online Hate and Racism.

Vice-Provost (Equity), Tina Chen explains, “We have heard from members from various communities that UM, as an institution, must do more to foster meaningful relationships that can lead our community to be a place for informed dialogue. As a university, UM must model what it means to move into complexity.”

Chen notes that the university “can and should take a leadership role to establish spaces for active listening and learning without expectation of agreement or resolution.”

The series is intended to “make room for complexity without demands for resolution, to create a forum where compassion and humanity enliven debate within our community,” she adds.

Often that means getting beyond the familiar and comfortable, and actively working to change narratives of divisiveness, while inviting in multiple voices, says Chen. Taking leadership by creating intentional and accountable spaces for listening and learning is important, particularly now; these days the world can feel like a fraught and polarized place, from the troubled microcosms of online hate and echo-chambers to wider global conflicts and strongly held positions and lived experiences that shape how we interact.

“We want to encourage dialogue that reflects on the ways we talk, write, represent, and understand how the world works,” she says.

Learn more about the Office of Equity Transformation.

Building UM community through dialogue

The Listening, Learning, Leading series is one part of a broader strategy that envisions social change based in human dignity and empathy and engages people in the tug and pull of discourse and diverse views. The strategy will include learning workshops on key topics including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, as well as a pilot project for intentional multi-faith relationship-building.

The series brings in a variety of voices and perspectives, sometimes as part of panels and at other times as individual events or workshops. While various lived experiences, viewpoints, and expertise will be presented, we recognize not all viewpoints can be brought forward in one event; nor in one series. This series is intended as a starting point to model how we listen for understanding, learn, and engage – and to set the foundation for the difficult and focused discussions communities are asking for, but that many also feel we cannot yet have.

The series recognizes diversity within communities and does not expect any individual to speak for an entire community. Registration is required for these events — all panelists, participants and audience members will agree to the Community Accountability Guidelines at the time of registration. To ensure a safe space for dialogue, recording of events by attendees will not be permitted.

All events in this series will follow community accountability guidelines, with speakers and audience members agreeing to:

• Listen for insight
• Appreciate complexity
• Engage with respect the viewpoint of the speaker(s)
• Value dialogue
• Question for understanding, rather than to confront or challenge
• Value dialogue
• Debate ideas not the person
• Hold human dignity for all
• Allow speakers to be in spaces of listening and learning with each other and participants
• Carry this approach with you when you share learnings from the event

Details on upcoming sessions and learning opportunities are available on the Office of Equity Transformation website.

His dad, who’d come to visit, got visibly upset. It made a strong impression on Clarke as a young boy.

As much as he didn’t understand at the time, he says he’s thought through this moment in light of his current position as a professor, and with the knowledge he now has.

The assistant professor of anthropology at UM identifies as a Black man and is also the founder of the Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program and the upcoming community series Barbershop Talk Series: Black Men & Misconceptions.

“I’ll never forget,” says Clarke. “He said, ‘No. You’re going to be a lawyer or a doctor,’ right.

“It was [my father’s] way of dealing with anti-Black racism — in terms of ‘I don’t want to see my son be a bus driver. I want my son to be better because I know what the world is about’.”

Clarke notes that it’s an example of the ongoing and intergenerational impact of racism on someone’s internal world and self-worth — and on their mental health.

It’s not that deep, some people would say — but even microaggressions stick to the mind and internally question the Black person about their humanness.

“Mental health is not a moment, it’s a continuous thing that happens to an individual,” he says. “But when it comes to Black folk, it’s something that we have to deal with in many different ways.

“It impacts people’s ability to be human and impacts people’s ability to be — in a Canadian context — part of the fabric of Canada, to be a citizen. You know, when we think through anti-Black racism, it’s not a moment where you know you experience it and you get ‘over’ it.

“This is something that continues to impact the way you socialize, the way you work, even the way you interact with your children.”

Attend the 3rd annual Black History Month panel on Feb. 7, 2025 to learn more about the effects of anti-Black racism on mental health.

Clarke says his mother used to tell him, “Warren, you have to work harder than the rest” — a common refrain for young Black people from their guardians or parents.

But, he points out, not only are you having to work harder at your studies or other endeavours, “you also have to work hard at trying to assert yourself and believe that you’re human because anti-Black racism is stripping the humanness of a person, indirectly or directly.

“Even those microaggressions or slight moments of anti-Black racism — it’s not that deep, some people would say — [but] it’s something that sticks to the mind and questions the Black person about their humanness.”

ANTI-BLACK RACISM: MULTIFOLD, CONTINUAL EFFECTS

If Warren Clarke has a heart and a passion for his topic, there are a few reasons for that. It’s not only his lived experience and being a father, but also because of the many young Black men he’s spoken with and got to know while doing his research and community work.

His work and research has focussed on young and marginalized men who are Afro-Caribbean Black — ACB as the acronym— and their utilization in youth employment training programs in Ontario and Quebec. He found that their employment-seeking strategies are met with many barriers.

Too often, it means not only denial of certain opportunities, but a sort of denial of humanness.

It’s not only being Black and the accompanying biases, he notes, but additionally that they are met with gender biases about what it means to be a young man, mixed with social class or low social economic status.

Too often, he says, it means not only denial of certain opportunities, but a sort of denial of their humanness.

“And the only employment opportunities that these young men were receiving was labor-intensive work such as working in factories or only being perceived to be [suitable for short-term employment].”

So, he says, they were getting at times a doubled denial — from both potential and actual employers and their youth employment counsellors who were, in effect, categorizing them in this way.

Clarke saw, first-hand, the multifold, continual effects of racism, and the additional obstacles created by how relentlessly demoralizing and exhausting it is.

He says, “What I found when I was speaking with these young men, is that there was a constant struggle … to try to be a citizen, but also try to, you know, climb out of the marginalization … so they can assert themselves economically and equally.

“So this was something they were dealing with constantly. And because they were dealing with this constantly, they were questioning themselves about their work. They were questioning themselves. Should I even continue working? Should I just stop?”

For some of them, he says, it led to homelessness.

“One, they couldn’t sustain themselves in and through employment, but also they couldn’t find ways to challenge the anti-Black and gender biases and classism that they’re facing,” he explains.

“I have privilege in comparison to the young Black men who I was speaking with during my research,” he says.

But then, he says, “it doesn’t take away that I deal with anti-Black racism in other ways, right — and also to sustain my ability — you know, in the in the career that I’m in, or even as a father that I am. It still has impacts.

“It’s a hinderance in the ways in which we have to think, or take more time to think, on how to operate within our society.”

ALL PEOPLE ON DECK

Anthropology professor Warren Clarke.

Clarke also believes that we all need to be mindful that people deal with different types of social oppressions, and based on different characteristics of who they are.

“If we’re going to live in a way to move forward, we not only have to, you know, take space,” he says, “but we have to make space.”

For him, “we’re human beings first. That’s what it is. We’re human beings first and everything else comes after, you know.”

Clarke says that he will always champion the work against racism, but his work stems further, and beyond only anti-Black racism.

“I look at social oppressions holistically,” he says, “and I look at and try to understand people from different lived experiences so we can liberate people.

“To challenge anything, it’s not just one set of people, we need all people on deck — everyone, and we need to learn from everyone.”