In Canada, we celebrate Black History Month each February because Jean Augustine, the first African Canadian woman elected to Parliament, made a motion in 1995 that passed unanimously.
At the Women’s Centre, we are committed to accountable anti-racism, to listening and learning from people who are the experts of their own experiences, and to directing our privilege and power toward an equitable future.
In keeping with the theme for Black History Month 2023, “Ours to Tell,” we will highlight stories, podcasts, and articles by Black feminists, activists, journalists and artists. Join us in celebrating the invaluable critical perspectives and creative contributions of Black women and gender-diverse people this month and every month.
Essays + Articles + Films + Webinar:
- Learning from the 60s (Audre Lorde, Harvard University, 1982) https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1982-audre-lorde-learning-60s/
- Remember Africville (Directed by Shelagh Mackenzie, NFB, 1995) https://www.nfb.ca/playlists/nfb_celebrates_black_history_month/playback/#4
- Curating early Black experiences in Kingston, Canada’s first capital, a city long defined by histories of whiteness (Qanita Lilla, The Conversation, January 19, 2023) https://theconversation.com/curating-early-black-experiences-in-kingston-canadas-first-capital-a-city-long-defined-by-histories-of-whiteness-197336
- “I’m Glad That Someone Is Telling the Nursing Story”: Writing Black Canadian Women’s History (Karen Flynn, 2008) https://karen-flynn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/I_m_glad_that_someone_is_telling_the_nu.pdf
- They Are More Than Research Subjects: Recognizing the Accomplishments of Black Canadian Nurses (Karen Flynn, 2021) https://nursingclio.org/2021/01/31/they-are-more-than-research-subjects-recognizing-the-accomplishments-of-black-canadian-nurses/
- Sisters in the Struggle (Directed by Dionne Brand & Ginny Stikeman, 1991) https://www.nfb.ca/playlists/nfb_celebrates_black_history_month/playback/#26
- Roots and Resistance (webinar) explores connections between sexual violence, state violence, and healing from collective and individual sexual abuse and trauma for Black survivors in Canadian context. (Yamikani Msosa, Learning Network, 2018) https://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/webinars/recorded-webinars/2018/webinar_2018_4.html
- Police Abolition/Black Revolt (Robyn Maynard, 2020) https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/topia-009
- How Mary Ann Shadd Cary set the blueprint for abolitionist feminist writing (Huda Hassan, CBC Arts, October 27, 2022) https://www.cbc.ca/arts/how-mary-ann-shadd-cary-set-the-blueprint-for-abolitionist-feminist-writing-1.6631709
- Writing Myself into Existence: An Essay on the Erasure of Black Indigenous Identity in Canadian Education (Etanda Arden, The Yellowhead Institute, January 28, 2021) https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2021/01/28/writing-myself-into-existence/
Podcasts:
- Don’t Call Me Resilient (EP 1): What’s in a word? How to confront 150 years of racial stereotypes (featuring Cheryl Thompson, Assistant Professor, Creative Industries, Toronto Metropolitan University, and author of Uncle) https://theconversation.com/whats-in-a-word-how-to-confront-150-years-of-racial-stereotypes-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-1-153790
- Don’t Call Me Resilient (EP 12): Making our food fairer (featuring Melana Roberts, President, Food Secure Canada and Tabitha Robin Martens, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, UBC) https://theconversation.com/making-our-food-fairer-dont-call-me-resilient-ep-12-transcript-171583
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