Millions of people have demanded that racial bigotry be extracted from important institutions like the police and health-care system, but how can we dismantle systematic racism in the long-term? Let’s look at our education systems.
black lives matter
Canadian musician to open new collaborative space for young Black artists
A picture published on the University of Ottawa’s official Instagram page featuring a Protection Services officer sporting a thin blue line flag patch on Aug.25 has sparked outrage in the U of O community. After being lambasted by students the publication was taken down hours after it was published.
The Black Lives Matter protests following George Floyd’s death have made it clear change is inevitable. But that change needs to also benefit and include Black womxn.
A few months ago, I read former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power’s memoir, The Education of an Idealist. In it, she asked a question that has stuck with me since: “What is the nature of individual responsibility in the face of injustice?” writes second-year University of Ottawa Law student Nemee Bedar in a letter to the editor.
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“This march is not a social media moment, this is not another hashtag. We call upon the government to take concrete actions for black voices that demand an end to anti-black racism in Canada, because we matter.” – Sameha Ahmed, organizer, No Justice Until Peace.
“I think the very fact that we’re here means that we understand…the intersections between class and other various forms of discrimination,”—Kathryn LeBlanc
Protests are an inherent part of social change and activism. Women’s right to vote, the civil rights movement, and many other important social movements throughout history could not have progressed and amassed the support necessary for things to change without the power of peaceful dissent.
Although it’s easy to criticize the U.S. while Kaepernick’s story dominates headlines, the problem isn’t contained to south of the border.
We need to demand that Capital Pride acts as a platform to lift injustice from the shadows, educate the public, and put civil rights back to the forefront of political discourse.
The rally was part of a nation-wide movement organized by Black Lives Matter (BLM) Toronto in light of the death of Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali man with autism who was killed by two Ottawa police officers in July 2016.
Dorimain said the march had two goals, to raise money for BLM Toronto and to get politicians to say they support the movement. “We were asking our mayor and councillors to support what’s going on over there because it also happens here in Ottawa,” she said.
One of the artists behind this mural was Kalkidan Assefa, an Ottawa-based artist also known as @drippin_soul, his Instagram handle and tag for his art. When members of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) decided they wanted a mural painted in the University Centre (UCU) for Black History Month, they knew exactly who to call.
Organizers of the Black Lives Matter movement from across Canada and the United States gave a keynote speech opening the second annual Activist Assembly hosted by the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) on Nov. 6.
