Canadian Congress Hosts Weekly Lunch & Learn Series on Black History, Impact and Excellence and Educates People on Social Justice
Alex Ihama
Global Strategist, Executive Coach, Inspirational Speaker, Bestselling Author, Executive Director @ Canadian Congress, School of Greatness & Credit Union Transformation (25+ Years of Impact in 300+ Cities in 30+ Nations)
The lived experiences of Black people in Canada, the United States, the UK and other societies, communities, corporations, and countries where they are a minority are quite different from the predominant narrative and everyone else, including other minoritized groups.
Whether at school or work, encounters in the healthcare, judiciary, government, community, and social services or in their day-to-day lives, they are often faced with a series of systemic barriers that have hindered their personal, professional, and socioeconomic progress for over 500 years.
In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada and today, twenty-eight years later, Black people continue to be hindered by systemic racism and even blatant and fatal brutalization as recently seen with the murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis.
While Canadians are quick to attempt to use the grave injustices that Blacks undergo in the US to justify the insignificant effort and insufficient progress in Canada, the Black experience remains the same in both nations that benefitted from slavery for about 500 years.
In a report by the Ontario Human Rights Commission Black residents of Toronto were overrepresented in several violent incidents with police. The report found that Black Toronto residents were 20 times more likely than White residents to be fatally shot by Toronto police between 2013 and 2017. During that time, Black Canadians also account for nearly 30% of use-of force-cases, 36% of shootings, 61% of use-of-force cases that resulted in civilian deaths and 70% of police shootings, according to the report.
As we recognize the 28th Black History Month in Canada, let us not forget the monumental effort that is still required to achieve equitable justice for everyone, no matter the colour, ethnicity or creed.
The 2023 theme for Black History Month is: “Ours to tell”. This theme represents both an opportunity to engage in open dialogue and a commitment to learning more about the stories Black communities in Canada have to tell about their histories, successes, sacrifices and triumphs.
Like in the case of George Floyd, the world has seen yet another gruesome video of the lynching of another young Black man.
Like in the case of George Floyd, Tyre Nichols called for his mom as a group of police officers kicked the life out of him.
Like in the case of George Floyd, other officers who came to the scene joined in the brutalization with no attempt to stop their colleagues from evil.
Why the extreme group attack by policemen on unarmed Black men?
What about Black men that seem to irritate and agitate some police officers even when their lives and the lives of others are not been threatened?
Despite the supposed progress in the quest for social justice, why are the lives of Black men taken by groups of police officers for nothing - or a mere traffic offence?
Are the government and judicial, economic, and academic systems doing enough to tackle anti-Black racism?
Some of us may not have experienced or witnessed the type of lynching that took the lives of George Floyd, Tyre Nichols and thousands of Black men and women, but we are struggling with mental health from the severe emotional labour of navigating the system of Whiteness.
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Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, told the media that his stepson suffered a cardiac arrest and kidney failure because of a beating by the officers. Attorneys for the family said that an independent autopsy they commissioned found that Nichols suffered "extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating."
By why? Why? Why?
If we could all come together to put COVID-19 under control, why not come together to stop this pandemic of anti-Black racism?
As Canadian prepares for the twenty-eighth Black History Month celebration, let us question our preconceived assumptions about Black people which are mostly based on the longstanding biases in how matters about people of African descent are portrayed in mainstream media.
In honour of Black History Month, the Canadian Congress will be hosting weekly Lunch and Learns, every Wednesday, starting February 1st, for the entire month.
Each session will focus on aspects of Black brilliance, greatness, and community and how everyone can get involved to create a cohesive corporate culture and a society that is just, inclusive and equitable.
For 28 years, Toronto-based artist Robert Small has painted portraits of accomplished Black Canadians in honour of Black History Month. His artwork culminated in a poster series called LEGACY, which is currently on display at the Niagara Artists Centre.
Aside from his office, Small’s artwork has also been hung in schools across Canada, every branch of the Bank of Montreal, and as part of an anti-racism campaign in over 20 Toronto subway stations.
Additionally, his art was featured on the side of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union’s Yonge and Wellesley building as a mural.
“[When I was younger], they would think that you’re some radical if you asked for a Black face on the wall,” Small recalled. “[Now, people] come to me saying they’ve grown up with my poster and that their mother used to get a poster every year.”
Aside from being a self-taught artist, Small is also an entrepreneur and educator.
He graduated from the University of Windsor with degrees in sociology and criminology and has a teaching degree from York University. Small’s first experience in entrepreneurship was through his first job outside of university at Black Pages Directory, which was a telephone listing of Black businesses in the GTA.
We invite you and your teams to join today’s Lunch & Learn series on #BlackHistory as we chat with Robert Small about what Black History means to him and how he has and continues to use his talents to educate, inspire and empower millions of Canadian and other around the world on #socialjustice, #equity, #diversity, #inclusion, through art.