Canada’s academic community has been invited to participate in Scholar Strike, planned for September 9 and 10. We intend to empower our community members to participate so that they can listen, learn, and grow.

Participation in this action is voluntary, and the University supports its community members using this time in the way that will benefit them most. Participation can also take many forms. Some in the academic community will choose to directly participate in these two days of reflection and learning, while others will search for different ways to advocate for change, such as in-class exploration, deepened research, or joining online anti-racism sessions.

Faculty and instructors who choose to participate in Scholar Strike are asked to communicate to students and to their Academic Administrator any changes to class schedules or academic obligations with as much advance notice as possible as per the Responsibilities of Academic Staff with Regard to Students Policy.

I want to be clear – the University of Manitoba condemns all forms of racism. Anti-BIPOC racism (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) has no place on our campuses, in our curricula, or in our governance systems. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion must form the bedrock of our institution, and indeed, all modern and accessible universities in Canada. The University is continuing to work on developing an action plan to address racism through the work of the Office of the Vice-President (Indigenous) and the President’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

More information about Scholar Strike, including the key note address by journalist and activist Desmond Cole, and a Programme Schedule of cross-campus digital teach-ins can be found at https://scholarstrikecanada.ca/. All are encouraged to participate in these important conversations.

I understand that this is a difficult and uncertain time. If you need support, please reach out to the resources below. An important part of this moment is taking care of ourselves, and taking care of each other.

Resources for Students

• Student Counselling Service https://umanitoba.ca/student/counselling/index.html
• On-campus and Community Crisis Services https://umanitoba.ca/student/counselling/students_in_crisis.html

Resources for Faculty and Staff

• Employee and Family Assistance Program https://umanitoba.ca/admin/human_resources/staff_benefits/eap/EFAP.html

For more than 400 years Black people on Turtle Island have been experiencing disproportionate rates of abuse, incarceration, marginalization, structural poverty, exclusion, racial profiling, and brutality at the hands of an unjust system and society. As a Faculty, we are committed to work directly with the Black community to bring an immediate end to these injustices.

The Faculty of Social Work joins with the CASWE-ACFTS Student Committee and the Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Issues (RECI) caucus to actively work to end individual and systemic oppression against the Black community. Our Faculty is prepared and committed to taking the following actions identified by the CASWE-ACFTS Student Committee and the Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Issues caucus:

• Denouncing anti-Black racism within our Faculty;
• Ensuring the equitable selection, retention, and degree completion of Black students within the Faculty;
• Supporting Black personnel, instructors and practitioners within their programs especially those who experience multiple and intersectional forms of oppression;
• Hiring of more Black professors within the Faculty of Social Work as well as developing adequate retention and support mechanisms;
• Dedicating resources towards developing social work curriculum and teaching resources specific to anti-Black racism, in consultation with Black students, practitioners, scholars, community members; and
• Honouring the autonomy of Black community leaders, activists, practitioners and scholars and their calls for the de-funding of police and the investment into health and social services and community initiatives that serve and empower Black communities.

In addition to the above actions, the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Social Work will:

• Encourage voting and support for politicians and community leaders who make it a priority to end systemic violence against Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized groups;
• Work with Black organizations, agencies, and programs, to actively protest, mobilize against, and engage in planning and actions to end systemic oppression;
• Actively work with the police, community, and government, to create partnerships that create new, innovative, and humanitarian social work policing approaches and models to protect and advocate for the well-being of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized groups;
• Continue our financial support for the funding of research and conferences that are organized by Black academics, colleagues and students; and
• Join organizations, such as the United Way, that help to financially support organizations and agencies that actively work to promote the well-being of Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized groups.

At the Faculty of Social Work, we will continue our mission of promoting respect for human rights and dignity, individual worth and well-being, diversity and social inclusion, and the principles of social justice, while strengthening our learning environment to better promote and support Black people.

Please contact us if you have any concerns, suggestions, and comments regarding the Faculty of Social Work Anti-Black Racism Call to Action or if you would like to collaborate with our researchers.

Faculty of Social Work
University of Manitoba
521 Tier Building
R3T 2N2 Winnipeg MB

Email: social_work@umanitoba.ca

umanitoba.ca/social_work