HOW CAN WE BE BETTER ALLIES TO OUR BLACK COMMUNITY?

What does justice look like for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmad Arbery, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Dreasjon Reed, João Pedro, and all the other Black lives that were lost at the hands of racism and systemic injustices?

What is our individual responsibility in addressing racism and acts of violence in our home, workplace, and community?

What are we personally willing to risk, to give up, to let go of, to lean into in order to ensure marginalized groups are not only able to survive, but thrive without any fear or prejudice?

These are questions we should be asking ourselves as we continue to unpack the layers of societal and systemic racism and call to action the inequalities and the injustices faced by our Black friends, coworkers, and community members. 

More than 1/5 of Canadians are people of color with 1.2 million self-reporting as Black, including 620,000 women and girls.

While we have been navigating this pandemic which has prematurely taken many lives despite race, our Black friends, coworkers, and community members have had to manage a disproportionate burden as they continue to watch people who look like them be gunned down while out for a jog, murdered in their homes, threatened while bird watching in the middle of Central Park, and mercilessly chocked.

Each time these tragic and unfathomable incidents occur, many of us are left wondering what we can do to support our Black friends, coworkers, and community members in a real and meaningful way.

Companies like Warner Bros, Microsoft, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, Twitter, Twitch, Ben & Jerry's, YouTube, HBO, Glossier, Nordstrom have used their brands, positions and platforms in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

As allies, we NEED and HAVE to:

IDENTIFY THE ISSUE – Recognize how institutionalized prejudice, discrimination and oppression are being denied, minimized and/or justified. We cannot continue to be party to the problem by remaining blind to each other's skin colors, silent from fear of retaliation and nonconformity to societal expectations and standards, or ignorant from lack of education and awareness.

KNOW YOUR HISTORY – Educate ourselves on anti-blackness, systemic oppression, privilege, and the role our community plays in upholding systems of inequality and systemic injustices.

CALL IN – Call our family, friends, and community leaders in dialogue around anti-blackness and violence against marginalized groups, and hold them accountable for their words and actions, as well as the roles they may play in those systems.

CALL OUT – Silence in the face of oppression is tantamount to consent. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". We need to use our voices and platforms to call out injustices and demand change.

TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY – We should not get defensive if we say or do the wrong thing along the way. Instead, we need to take responsibility and do better moving forward.

LISTEN – Follow and listen to resources from our Black community members (leaders, podcasters, activists, authors). We should not put the onus on them to be our educators.

DONATE – Partner with and donate to organizations that align with your goals to support our Black community (George Floyd Memorial Fund, National African Canadian Association, African Canadian Legal Clinic, Minnesota Freedom Fund, Reclaim the Block, Black Visions Collective).

SUPPORT – Support and empower black owned businesses against institutional and racial barriers to help them strengthen our local economies, foster job creation, and hold larger companies accountable.

BUILD AWARENESS – Stay current on events affecting marginalized groups and share it forward. We should not stay silent when so many are imploding for our support for their freedom and justice. It is our collective responsibility to take action and display accountability and responsibility.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly – Martin Luther King Jr.