IGNITE stands with our Black community and emphatically opposes hatred.
The horrific acts of anti-Black racism prevalent in today’s society must end. It is our duty to be part of the conversation and the solution, to end systematic racism by listening to and uplifting Black voices, challenging racist actions, and actively changing racist behaviours.
There is no place at IGNITE, Humber College or The University of Guelph-Humber for hate.
We are committed to ensuring students are safe, educated and have supports in place. Students in distress, please reach out. We’re here for you.
Black lives matter.
First off, what is an ally?
As discussed by Guidetoallyship.com, to be an ally is to:
- Take on the struggle as your own.
- Stand up, even when you feel scared.
- Transfer the benefits of your privilege to those who lack it.
- Acknowledge that while you, too, feel pain, the conversation is not about you.
So, in short, being an ally means that although you may not know what it feels like to be oppressed due to race-based discrimination, you take on the challenges Black people face as your own–what hurts one of us hurts all of us.
1. Commit to anti-racism
You are not exempt from the fight for Black liberation because you’re “not racist.” There is no such thing as “not racist.”
New York Times bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi explains, “One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist’. The claim of ‘not racist’ neutrality is a mask for racism.”
To commit to anti-racism is to resist racism whenever you encounter it—online, in your family, in your friend group, and in yourself.
2. Challenge your privilege
Do the events of this week feel surreal to you? That’s privilege.
Horrific events that seem out of the blue to non-Black people are the reality the Black community faces every day. The first step in combating anti-Black racism, as a non-Black ally, is recognizing that your life has not been made difficult in the same way a Black person’s has.
That does not mean your life has been easy; it means your life hasn’t been made harder because of the colour of your skin.
Acknowledging your privilege is not a quick and easy process—nor is it a comfortable one. Feelings of guilt and shame are natural when challenging your subconscious anti-Black beliefs. However, you must do the work.
Your present discomfort will help ensure the future of Black lives.
Support Black media
Small changes can make the world of a difference–and it doesn’t have to be hard. It could be as easy as reading as supporting Black books, movies, and podcasts.
Books to read
- Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
- Black Feminist Thought by Patricia Hill Collins
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo, PhD
Movies and series to watch
- 13th (dir. Ava DuVernay)
- When They See Us (dir. Ava DuVernay)
- Dear White People (dir. Justin Simien)
- I Am Not Your Negro (dir. Raoul Peck)
- American Son (dir. Kenny Leon)
- See You Yesterday (dir. Stefon Bristol)
- If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins)
- Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (dir. Stanley Nelson Jr.)
Podcasts to listen to
- About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge
- Intersectionality Matters! hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
- 1619 hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones
- The Diversity Gap hosted by Bethaney Wilkinson
- Pod for the Cause by The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
- Code Switch by NPR
- Pod Save the People hosted by DeRay McKesson
- Project X TV
3. Speak up on social media, but don’t stop there
It’s not enough to tweet #blacklivesmatter or post a black square to Instagram.
Performative allyship, according to writer Holiday Phillips, is activism that “involves the ‘ally’ receiving some kind of reward, in the case of social media the virtual pat on the back you receive for being a good person.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA03G6IphPp/
Your online solidarity is transparent and unproductive if you don’t commit to anti-racism in your everyday life. You can like, comment and repost until your fingers get sore, but you must also show up for the Black community when the hashtags stop trending.
Check in on your Black friends and family
Step two of Mireille Harper‘s 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship says, “This is an emotional and traumatic time for the community, and you checking in means more than you can imagine. Ask how you can provide support.”
Allyship starts by being of service to the people already in your life.
Support Black-owned businesses
Put your money where your mouth is—literally. When you buy from Black-owned businesses, you directly contribute to the financial futures of Black entrepreneurs.
Here are some Black-owned businesses you can support from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA):
Fashion
Food & drink
Wellness
Have difficult conversations
Many of the ways white supremacy manifests are evident in your casual daily interactions:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAq9_0uJary/
Non-Black people must challenge instances of covert white supremacy when they are encountered. Yes, even if it’s your best friend. Yes, even if you’re in public. Yes, even if grandma is “just old-fashioned.”
Failure to do so allows the oppression of Black people to embed itself further into the fabric of our culture, making you directly complicit to anti-Black racism.
Change starts at home. Talk to your loved ones about anti-Black racism and call out biases.
4. Sign petitions and donate
Currently, the petition to have George Floyd‘s murderers justly charged is the most signed petition in Change.org history, but it’s not the only petition you should know about:
- Justice for Tony McDade—McDade was a transgender Black man who was murdered by police in Tallahassee, Florida on May 27, 2020. The men responsible have not been charged.
- Stand With Breonna—Breonna Taylor, an EMT, was killed by police who broke into her home while she was asleep on March 13, 2020. The men responsible have not been charged.
- Justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet—Korchinski-Paquet fell to her death from the balcony of her 24th-floor apartment following en encounter with the Toronto Police Department on May 27, 2020. The petition demands a full inquest into the circumstances surrounding her death.
- Justice for David McAtee—McAtee, a restaurant owner in Louisville, Kentucky, was shot and killed by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) during a protest for Breonna Taylor on June 1, 2020. The Louisville police chief has been fired. However, the men responsible for McAtee’s death have yet to be identified and charged.
The official Black Lives Matter website also features a frequently updated list of petitions addressing issues relevant to its cause.
If you have the means to contribute financially, donate to the following funds:
- Black Lives Matter Toronto
- The Bail Project
- Campaign Zero
- Reclaim the Block
- George Floyd Memorial Fund
- Justice for Regis
Any contribution is a good contribution.
There are many ways to be an ally, and this isn’t a comprehensive list, but it’s a start. It’s on all of us to do the research and the work to ensure we end anti-Black racism. Your allyship will not be perfect, but it must be present.
In the words of writer, speaker and activist Ijeoma Oluo,
If you are in need of emotional support, make a virtual appointment with counsellors at Humber’s Student Wellness and Accessibility Clinic (SWAC).
Click here for additional resources and ways you can help.
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