Trust Requests (1/3) | Confront Racism

Trust Requests

Part 1

Description

The Black Faculty Collective at the University of Waterloo:

“In the spirit of collaboration, we offer below some ‘trust requests’ to you. As an aside, we use the term ‘trust requests’ to mark an innovative language difference from the linguistic choice of [the] Black constituencies on University campuses in the USA.”

“Partners do not demand actions from each other. They build trust through consultation, collaboration, and real partnership. Demands arise when the consultation, collaboration, and partnership break down.”

This assignment is due Friday October 30th, 2020 - 11:30 PM and represents 10% of your final grade.

Instructions

Students will be required to contribute to two (2) online Trust Requests. Each student will submit a Trust – an action item to challenge anti-Black racism – in a collaborative document online.

Document 1 will outline action items for the University of Waterloo. This document will be submitted to senior leaders at the University.

Document 2 will outline action items for the Region of Waterloo. This document may be submitted to the Region of Waterloo.

Abstracts

The University should implement a course taught by a collection of Black professors that is only open to Black students.
Representation and funding for mental health services including hiring more Black counsellors and increasing mental health resources for Black students
The University of Waterloo should introduce more bursaries, grants and scholarships tailored towards Black students.
The University of Waterloo should implement a mandatory Black history course for all students as well as faculty to participate in every year. Every year a course that incorporates concepts such as challenging anti-Black racism, as well as Black history, should be required for all students and faculty to complete regardless of their program.
Mandatory anti-Black racism course that encourages students to be anti-racist and educates them on the significance of current and historical racial issues.
Hate crimes against Black University of Waterloo students should be treated more seriously and depending on the severity of the hate crime should lead to expulsion, suspension, or a public apology to the Black community from the student who committed the hate crime.
The University of Waterloo should increase funding for resources such as hiring more mental health professionals, especially those of colour, so that Black students feel more comfortable in seeking mental health services, as well as to increase overall accessibility of mental health services for all students.
Throughout their written documents, the University of Waterloo consistently uses the term “Black community”. It is necessary that the University recognizes this as a form of racism and officially changes all published and future works to say, “Black communities”.
Hold faculty members who use racial slurs in professional/academic settings accountable for their actions (a conversation and a promise are not enough).
Seminar to celebrate Black excellence and diversity.
Business startup grant/award for outstanding Black and Indigenous students upon graduation.
An increase of Black professors and staff members. Branching out the diversity of the staff members to support and represent the growing diversity of students.
UW courses should be inclusive and educate students on all the different Black communities that exist (eg. LGBTQ+, mixed Black people, Black people with disabilities, etc.)
The University of Waterloo should have a program dedicated to the mental health of Black students, with Black counsellors fit to help students with their experiences regarding racism.
Create a book club for students where they read books based on Black culture and history. This will give students a safe place to share their thoughts on the book and discuss.
The University of Waterloo has done a poor job when it comes to helping their Black students. There is a certain negligence when it comes to their Black students and listening to what they have to say. The university needs to set up a system for Black students where they can go to talk to someone and get help when/if they need it. They need to create an environment that is welcoming. An environment in which students can feel comfortable and safe in.
Set up peer counselling and tutor groups specifically where black students can connect with other black students and learn together.
The university of Waterloo should have a group of Black individuals as a support system where Black students can go to report any incidences that they may encounter of anti-black racism in order to make Black students feel safe and feel they have a strong support system that will really have their best interest in mind.
The University of Waterloo should have bi-monthy seminars/symposiums specifically talking about this issue. It should have guest speakers (students, parents, teachers, any outside perspectives) to talk about their experiences with racism and how they worked to challenge it. They can be recorded and put online as well.
Faculty members should undergo mandatory anti-racism training before they begin teaching. This way the leaders and role models at our university are more educated and can continue to spread that education and awareness through the students that they’re teaching, inspiring the desire for change.
Host forums for Black folk and people of Black descent to forge a path to make the University of Waterloo more diverse and welcoming to Black folk.
UW needs to have more clubs and programs for Black youth leadership.
Create services to help Black members of LGBTQ feel safer in our community, counselling and educating other students around the difficulties they go through for both race and sexuality.

Trust Request for the University of Waterloo: The University should implement a course taught by a collection of Black professors and is only open to Black students.

I chose this Trust Request because I don’t believe that a solely Black course has happened before at UW. It could be seen as counter-productive because it is excluding non-Black people from the course, but in doing so you are creating an environment that can be
more effective for young Black students. I think it would be significant to have a lecture hall filled with black people learning and collaborating. It would be a space to share personal experiences of being a Black person in society with people who can relate and understand where you are coming from. While the University of Waterloo does have a course on How to Challenge anti-Black Racism, it is catered for people of all types of backgrounds. As a Black student in that class, it is as though when I speak I am speaking for the whole Black community and must speak in a way to help educate the non-Black students who want to learn about all the wrongs the Black population must endure. If there was a course for only Black students, discussions may not have to be as filtered. For example, discussions about the first time you experience anti-Black racism or the first time each person was proud of their Blackness wouldn’t have to be censored around what a non-Black counterpart was comfortable with.

Not every person is the same, so there would still be an abundance of different opinions and stories to be shared. Being an academic class, students would be able to learn from a collection of different Black educators about pressing issues revolving around Black history and living as a Black individual. It would become a hands-on experience in challenging and confronting anti-Black racism while understanding where it all stems from currently and historically. The content taught would apply to the students which could be a prompt for better participation and interest amongst them. In an earlier module, we discussed how to be liberated, one cannot give in to preconceived ideas. So if we bounce off the idea that change starts within, then the first way to challenge anti-Black racism is if the people who are most affected by it are the ones given the techniques to effectively confront it. If every year, all of the Black first-year
students can come together, they not only get to create a community but also learn life-long lessons. If this course existed, I can only imagine how it would positively impact my life. Trust Request for the Region of Waterloo: Regional officials should put more effort into
communicating with the Black population to ensure no inherent bias within any regional services, policies, and events. I chose this Trust Request because I feel like it is such a basic preventative measurement for anti-Black racism, but it still is not being met. Once a line of communication is open between those in a position of power and those who are usually inferior in society, the Black community, then necessary change can occur to combat anti-Black racism. While having a city celebrating the culture is one way to prevent and challenge anti-Black racism, if those who fall victim to racism are not able to let those in charge know, then nothing can be done about it. If a city does not know about the culture or how to respectfully showcase it, an event thrown by the city can be viewed as racist which is counterproductive.

Communication between civilians and the government has always been important and when the government is not effectively providing sufficient standards for the people they represent, chances of protests and riots can occur. If people can talk and trust the city, then the city is able to function more cohesively. It is just like in a classroom setting, if the students do not communicate with the educator, the educator doesn’t truly know how to help their students succeed. Not only do students become more successful when they can talk to their teachers, but they become more engaged in other aspects of the school community. So if there was a strong
and safe line of communication between the regional government and the Black community, the Black community would be better off and more engaged within Waterloo. This may also lead to a larger Black population in Waterloo. There are so many ways to get the conversation started. Right now with Covid-19, virtual forums and town halls may be a good place to start. If there was a website or write-in program where Black people could give recollections of how they feel like anti-Black racism is being confronted by the Region of Waterloo. Young people would be more likely to get involved if the program was online while elders may require an in-person or mailing procedure. Implementing a program or an occasional town hall would not be enough. As an institution whose priority should
be helping all of the people it represents, more than actions are needed. There must be a commitment behind the actions, using the information and opinions collected to systematically change areas where Black may feel disadvantaged.

As a Black woman, the constant reminders that the colour of my skin may put me at a disadvantage in society is exhausting. Being interracial, I’ve had to acknowledge that there is a lot about being a Black person in society I may not fully understand and know. If both of these Trusts were implemented they would be very supportive. In both senses, I would be able to have a community of people who understand where I’m coming from while having a safe space to learn and be confident change is being made. I think that the only reason that racism exists is that at some point, the physical differences between people became threatening and in order to ensure
that White people could maintain their power they had to suppress other racial groups. At the end of the day, the colour of our skins is the only thing that made us different and all the systematic oppression that came from it has no actual reason to still be in place today. Because I carry a constant fear since I am a Black woman in society, I feel as though I almost have no choice but to challenge anti-Black racism in every setting I am in. I will not let my race negatively impact the education that I am paying so much for, nor will I let it make me uncomfortable in the city I live in. So if that means that I must commit to being in a constant battle to ensure that I have an
adequate place in society, I will.

Through “consultation, collaboration, and real partnership” (Black Faculty Collective) between the Black community and the University of Waterloo, I request that the University of Waterloo hires more Black counselors and provides more mental health resources for Black students. Throughout history, Black has been labeled as “bad” and racist ideas andpolicies are “integral to social practises and institutions” (Harris). In order to combat anti-Black racism, it is essential that society acknowledges the cultural trauma that has occurred as a result of enslavement, oppression, discrimination, and systemic racism(Halloran). According to Dr. Joy DeGruy, post-traumatic slave syndrome is a result of generations of violence targeting the Black community, with no intervention by mental health professionals to address the trauma victims have experienced (DeGruy, 2016).Undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, due to enslavement, meant that symptoms such as an exaggerated startle response, feelings of a foreshortened future, and angry outbursts were normalized in Black communities and have been passed on to future generations. (DeGruy, 2016)

Additionally, “being the target of anti-Black racism throughout our lifespan can have adverse effects on our mental health and physical wellbeing” (City of Toronto,2020). Black individuals frequently experience microaggressions, distrust, scrutiny, difficultly accessing mental health supports, and inappropriate reactions from professionals when discussing trauma, such as disbelief or white guilt. These struggles can lead to mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. (City of Toronto,2020). On top of those challenges, Black communities face “misdiagnosis, undertreatment, and failure to diagnose” depression and anxiety which means many Black individuals do not receive the support they are seeking. (City of Toronto, 2020). Moreover, stigma surrounding mental health is prevalent in the Black community, because the generational impacts of enslavement have created a stereotype that mental health disorders are a sign of a weakness, or that Black individuals weren’t“ sophisticated enough to develop depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders” (McLean, 2020). Consequently, Black individuals are about 15% less likely to seek support compared to White individuals (McLean, 2020). Black students at the University of Waterloo experience many mental health challenges that “have an impact on academic performance and whether they stay in school” (Anderson, 2020). Students at the University of Waterloo require access to Black mental health professionals that are more likely to understand the cultural trauma associated with Anti-Black Racism and provide culturally appropriate mental health services. Anderson suggests that in addition to hiring Black counselors, universities should invest in organizations that can help raise awareness and tackle mental health concerns Black students face, including offices for diversity, equity, and inclusion or student organizations. (Anderson, 2020). Black students are often discouraged from seeking help because they could be “labeled as a threat simply for seeking help” or because cultural mistrust makes it extremely difficult to share personal experiences with a white professional (Anderson, 2020). By providing diverse mental health supports and increasing advocacy to promote mental health for Black students in university organizations, the University of Waterloo can address Anti-Black racism on campus and create an environment where Black students feel much more confident and comfortable accessing support.

Personally, I have made a commitment to address and report racist actions of students and staff on campus. I will also continue to raise awareness for both mental health supports and anti-Black racism present in society, by educating myself, having conversations with my family and peers, and posting resources on social media.

Trust #1: The University of Waterloo should introduce more targeted bursaries, grants and scholarships for Black students.

I chose this action item because many of my peers’ trust requests were already centered around improving comfort levels and increasing resources available to Black students at the University— which I still think is the most important course of action. However, after reading through the many trust requests from universities across Canada and the US, I decided to go in this direction instead, which also seemed important. This action item would involve the University offering more financial support to Black students, in the form of scholarships, bursaries and grants. The Black on Campus Coalition at Ryerson University had a similar request for their university, in which they stated that “post-secondary education has long been considered to be the greatest social equalizer, capable of opening new pathways to economic and social mobility for the most marginalized members of our society” (Black Liberation Collective). Unfortunately, this great social equalizer is further out of reach for minority groups, including the Black community.

In Robyn Maynard’s book Policing Black Lives, she addresses the fact that “Black communities are already subject to extremely high rates of poverty and unemployment across Canada and experience discrimination in accessing social and health services” (Maynard 81). One example of this is illustrated by 2012 data from the Toronto District School Board, which found that 48 percent of Black children lived in families with incomes of less than $30,000- a rate five times higher than that of white children (Toronto District School Board 2012 in Polyani et al. 2014). On top of this financial burden, Black students are often discriminated against in the school system, and are discouraged from the “conventional” path of pursuing a post-secondary education. The racist stereotype that Black students are not as intelligent as other students makes it all the more difficult for Black academics. As one of Canada’s top-rated universities, it is imperative that the University of Waterloo takes more steps to support Black students financially— they already face far more barriers in pursuing a post-secondary education, and UW must ensure that they are not then discouraged simply because they cannot afford it.

The creation of more financial aid for Black students in particular would give them a more equitable chance of accessing post-secondary education, despite the fact that they are more likely to experience financial need. It is only fair to provide more financial support to those minority groups who experience disproportionate levels of poverty. Money is not going to solve anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo, but ensuring that Black students do not face financial barriers on top of the many other systemic injustices they face is certainly part of the solution. My personal contribution to challenging anti-Black racism at UW feels minimal right now since we are all online. However, reading They Said This Would be Fun certainly opened my eyes to the gross levels of discrimination that Black students face on university campuses, and I want to continue to learn how to recognize and challenge even the less-overt instances of anti-Black racism, so that I can be a better ally to my Black colleagues when we are back on campus.

Trust #2: The Region of Waterloo should reallocate the funding used to place uniformed police officers in secondary schools, and instead use these funds to increase the presence of social workers in schools and in the community.

I chose this action item because, in considering ways to lessen anti-Black racism in Waterloo Region, my thoughts unsurprisingly drifted toward the police. The School Resource Officer (SRO) program is a WRPS program that places uniformed police officers in high schools across the region, as a “direct liaison for school staff, students and their families to connect with support services within the community” (Waterloo Regional Police Service). Even looking at that job description, from the WRPS website, it is clear that these officers do not have a necessary or helpful role to play in the education system. As Robyn Maynard says in Policing Black Lives, “Black youth are often treated as suspects rather than the children that they are, in the very place where children get socialized and educated” (217). When teachers and administrators view Black students this way, they are more likely to get police involved for smaller behavioural issues. In fact, Maynard cites that “in a school in Durham, Ontario, an investigation by the provincial Human Rights Commission found that black students in the Ontario school system were nearly eight times more likely to face discipline than white students” (218). When this problem is combined with the presence of police officers in schools, more Black students face arrest and other negative interactions with the police.

The WRPS’ description of the Resource Officer program states that “the SRO will make regular school visits to spend time with students and help develop awareness of various topics”, including bullying, mental health, and policing as a career choice (Waterloo Regional Police Service). The answer to the last item could easily be sought out by a student outside of school hours, and as for the first two- why would a student seek out a police officer to talk about these topics? They fall under the expertise of a social worker. The root of many behaviours that students are disciplined for include mental health issues, difficulties at home, and other problems that a social worker would be able to address, and their intervention— not the police’s— should be the first step. To use the police as “liason” between staff and students, rather than a last resort, contributes to the criminalization of Black youth and, in the words of the African Caribbean Black Network of Waterloo Region, is one of the “first steps in the school-toprison pipeline” (CTV News Kitchener).

Overall, having a police presence in a learning environment does not make anyone feel safe, and the money spent on the SRO program could be better spent on proactive, not reactive, solutions to the struggles of Black youth in the Waterloo Region school system.

Currently, my personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the community is to read and educate myself on historical and current issues of anti-Black racism, so that I am more prepared to challenge these instances in my own life. I also try to support local Black-owned businesses and listen to what Black folks have to say about the current issues facing their community.

University of Waterloo Trust

The trust action I have recommended is that the University of Waterloo implements a mandatory Black history course. This course would be required by all students and faculty to participate in, regardless of their program or department, every year that they attend, teach, or work at the university. This course would focus on concepts such as challenging anti-Black racism as well as cover content about Black history in Canada and the racism Black people face today in Canada.

I chose this trust as I think a mandatory anti-racist course is crucial in creating a safe environment for the Black students and faculty who attend the University of Waterloo. Creating a safe environment for Black students and faculty means educating those at the university who are currently uneducated about Black history and what it means to be an anti-racist. Teaching students and faculty the importance of respecting every human as an equal can help to eradicate the racism that occurs on campus. Whether online or in person, Black students at the university must not endure racial discrimination during their studying as it can have detrimental effects on their ability to succeed in their academics. Racism has been shown to have countless negative effects on one’s mental health, and during university, there is already a huge strain on a student’s mental health due to their academic workload. Black students who face the average mental health issues stemming from their academics are also forced to face mental health issues stemming from their racist peers and mentors, which is a lot to deal with at the same time and can make it discouraging to succeed in school.

This trust would contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo in so many ways. This trust would educate the countless number of uneducated students and faculty members about how to be anti-racist. Educating these members of the university will ultimately lead to most of the university’s population who leave the course understanding not only why it is important to be anti-racist, but also how to be antiracist. Myself, I have learned that even if you think you are anti-racist, there might be things you are doing wrong, but it is never too late to learn how to correct yourself. With most of the university’s population knowing how to be anti-racist, the community will become a safer and more peaceful environment for Black students and faculty. More specifically, this course will help aid Black students in succeeding in their academics through the safe environment provided for them.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo includes calling out people who use racist language and convey their racist ideas to others. Whether someone is using racist language during online discussion boards or on campus, not in a necessarily ‘school’ setting, I am committed to calling the person out and telling them why it is wrong to use racist language and that I do not stand for people who act in such a way. I would make a point to say that I do not want to be surrounded by people who have a racist mindset and that I would remove them from my life if their behaviour continues in the same way.

Region of Waterloo Trust

The trust action I have recommended is that the Region of Waterloo implements monthly events to support the multitude of various Black communities within Waterloo. These events could be held at different venues every month and would include things such as petitions to sign and fundraisers to donate to. The events would feature different individuals from the local Black community to help support either their businesses or their art, whatever each individual is passionate about. As well, Black educators, from the three surrounding post-secondary institutions, would come to speak as panellists about their personal race-related experiences and current-race-related issues Waterloo is facing at that time.

I chose this trust as I think spreading awareness about the race-related issues that are occurring in the Region of Waterloo can help to spark conversation about why these issues matter. Having local Black individuals and educators talk about current issues can make citizens feel like they better understand the cause they are donating to or the petition they are signing. Further, hearing someone’s personal racist experience can make citizens more empathetic towards a cause and fuel them to become educated about race-related issues within their city. If someone of importance hears about a racist occurrence and feels passionate about being part of the change, their donation or use of their platform could change lives. As well, supporting Black businesses and artists can aid in them becoming well known and getting the appreciation which they deserve.

This trust would help contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo in more ways than one. This trust would encourage a sense of humanity and empathy towards all the obstacles that Black people in Waterloo have faced and conquered. This sense of empathy will make citizens more open to understanding why racism is not tolerated and how to stand up, or challenge, against anti-Black racism. As well, this empathy will encourage citizens to do things like vote, sign petitions, and donate to important race-related causes in their city. This trust would also create revenue for local Black artists and Black-owned businesses which can help them thrive individually. This revenue and appreciation will gain local Black entrepreneurs the recognition which they most definitely deserve, but unfortunately do not get enough of. Events that are held monthly are an easy way to spread awareness about a topic as they usually receive a lot of media attention. Waterloo’s race-related issues would then not only be helped by the citizens of the city but also people all around Canada who see the event in the media and feel passionate enough to spread awareness or donate to the cause.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo includes signing local petitions, donating to local causes and supporting local Black owned businesses. I have decided to move back to London and so I will not be residing in the city of Waterloo, at least for now. My commitment includes actions that I can do online, but that can still make a change. I am signed up with change.org to receive notifications about petitions to sign and I try to keep myself well informed about what is going on in the cities around me. Keeping myself informed helps me be aware of the number of petitions I can sign and causes I can donate too.

Mandatory Anti-Black Racism Course in the University of Waterloo

Introduction: My Personal Story

At the start of the semester, I was convinced that I had nothing to learn from ARTS130 Challenging Anti-Black Racism. I never used racial slurs, I never mistreated anyone because of their skin-color and I was definitely not a racist; wasn’t that enough? My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the University starts with educating myself and those around me. It’s difficult for those with power and privilege to understand what they have without education. Within the first few weeks of the course, I was forced to rethink my views on race and acknowledge how I contributed to the problem with my indifference, silence and ignorance. Suddenly, a lot of my life was starting to make sense: from the way that I would often feel uncomfortable and guilty when race was brought up in conversation as to why anti-Blackness was seemingly perpetuated and normalized by my Chinese culture.

Digger Deeper: The Importance of Anti-Racism Education As one of the top education institutions in Canada, the University of Waterloo has the responsibility and power to teach students about one of the most prevalent issues in our society. The current Ontario curriculum misrepresents the Black experience, treating racism and oppression as historical artifacts, rather than ongoing issues. In our high school classes, we only learnt about the political significance of historical events, disregarding how many Black communities were—are still are—oppressed and marginalized by the systems built by the “heroes” in our textbooks. Knowledge of historical and contemporary anti-Black racism will help many better understand the true weight of their racial biases, microaggressions or ‘jokes’. Education will help students understand their society better, teaching them to identify racial undertones in social issues like police brutality, income inequality and housing discrimination (Francis, September 17, 2020).

Perhaps most importantly of all, students need to be taught how to challenge Black discrimination by being anti-racist. Simply promoting ‘non-racism’ or ‘diversity’ is not enough. Young adults need to be taught how to use their education, privilege and power to support, fight and advocate for a racially equitable future.

Although creating a mandatory anti-Black racism course may seem costly, difficult or even impossible, this is something that has already been implemented in other institutions worldwide. Guelph University, or example, is now requiring first-years to take a one-hour mandatory anti-oppression course that challenges student biases towards race and gender (Kahn, June 5, 2020). In the Philadelphia School District, African American history has been a required course for post-secondary graduation since 2005 (Toliver, June 25, 2005).

The school can not continue to simply offer cookie cutter remarks or performative PR stunts to combat anti-Black racism. There needs to be solid actions and efforts made to challenge the way students think about race. Currently, the University of Waterloo only offers optional anti-racism events for students and mandatory training for select staff. However, leaving anti-racism education to individual choice allows those with privilege to stay out of the important conversations, simply because they have the privilege to do so.

Defund the Waterloo Regional Police by $29.3M

Introduction: My Personal Story

How can I advocate to defund the police when my own father is a member of their force? After all, the police were my childhood heroes, protectors and role models, so how can I advocate to dismantle the system that they work for? Police corruption is an issue that I’ve been ignorant and uneducated on for a long time. Upon doing my research and stepping back to look at everything more objectively, I’ve come to support the movement to defund the system that has oppressed, beaten and slaughtered members of Black communities for so many decades. My commitment to challenging anti-Black racism means doing everything I can to support the police defunding movement. This can mean signing petitions, participating in protests, donating to organizations and educating myself more everyday.

Digger Deeper: The Importance of Anti-Racism Education Here are some key data points I found from my research

· The Waterloo Regional Police are 4 times more likely to stop a Black civilian on the street and ask for their identification (Outhit, April 11, 2020)

· Black individuals in the region are subjected to 16% of police force cases, despite only making up 3% of the census (Duhatschek, October 15, 2020).

· In 2020, the Kitchener-Waterloo police budget was $180 million, making up a third of the region’s property tax (Latif, June 5, 2020).

· Over the last few years, the police budget has been steadily increasing while social development funds supporting the community have been slashed (Latif, June 5, 2020).

The police force—including the one we have at Waterloo—is an institution built on racial oppression, discrimination and anti-Blackness. There needs to be serious fundamental and structural reforms, starting with defunding the Waterloo Regional Police by $29.3M.

This proposal, supported by researchers in the ACB Network of Waterloo calls for the reallocation of police resources into struggling areas of the community that tend to be a source of crime (Latif, June 5, 2020). Most of the time, people turn to crime as a last resort because they lack the support and resources to take care of themselves and others. In a 2015 study done by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council, researchers found that the root causes of crime in the region stems from economic conditions (poverty, unemployment and housing crises), social and community conditions (stigma, discrimination and lack of social support) and mental illness/substance abuse (Root Causes of Crime in Waterloo Region, May 2015).

Police are trained to enforce the law and address crimes, not care for individuals struggling with poverty, mental health, drug addiction and unemployment. Defunding the Kitchener-Waterloo police does not mean removing all cops in our community. Instead, a portion of their resources will be reallocated to social service programs to help marginalized members of the community. This can mean hiring more social workers to help with mental health crises, decreasing the cost of addiction rehabilitation or investing in poverty reduction and employment incentives. Police defunding will help disband the corrupted institution marginalizes Black individuals with racial biases, discriminatory law-enforcement and police brutality. Police funds should be used to help Waterloo, not used to enforce tighter, more racialized restrictions on our community.

Hate crimes against Black University of Waterloo students should be treated more seriously and depending on the severity of the hate crime should lead to expulsion from the University, suspension, or a public apology to the Black community from the student. This means that when a student commits any sort of hate crime, like black face or harassing a student of colour the situation should be taken more seriously when it comes to punishment. Depending on the severity of the hate crime the student who committed the crime should be expelled from the University of Waterloo, suspended for a fair period of time, or should have to make some sort of public apology to the Black community and the student in question.

After Black people were able to start pursuing post-secondary education, there was a rise in hate crimes due to the privileged white students thinking the Black students shouldn’t be allowed to go to post-secondary. Hate crimes have ranged from signs being left on student’s dorms or school buildings saying hateful things, students wearing offensive clothing or displaying themselves inappropriately, to students attacking other students based on the colour of their skin. When a Black, or another student has been a victim of a hate crime their situations aren’t taken seriously. The authority, which could be campus officers or police, usually won’t take it seriously and advise the student not to press charges or pursue legal action because ‘it won’t do anything’. In October 2019, a racist and homophobic note was posted inside a dorm at Queen’s University, threatening to “scalp you all” and “make you bleed”, (Martis, 2020). This is just one example of many where hate crimes have been made against Black and other students and the school make no effort into finding the perpetrators. Which is why these situations need to be taken more seriously, and more legal action should be taken in these situations.

Increasing the action against hate crimes in the University of Waterloo community will help challenge Anti-Black racism by showing other students that hate crimes won’t be tolerated in academic environments. When they see that action is being taken against those who are committing hate crimes, and that the school is taking action to make sure those who commit hate crimes are caught others are less likely to commit hate crimes themselves. Since they know what will happen if they do it and won’t want to be expelled from the University. It will also make more Black students feel safer knowing that the school is doing everything it can to properly punish those who commit hate crimes. They won’t feel like their situations are being taken lightly because of white privilege or other factors that may have caused schools to not properly punish those who committed hate crimes previously.

Campus is not frequently being used now, so hate crimes are probably very low right now. But when it’s being used again, I want to make sure I do my best in challenging anti-Black racism. Some things I plan to do around campus is learn more about anti-Black racism and more about the history of Black people so that I can better understand. I also want to be very aware while going around campus, if I see anything that could be considered a hate crime, I’m going to look around for anyone who may look suspicious and then go report it to the correct authorities and act myself if they won’t do anything. I also want to involve myself in any organizations in the University that may also be fighting against anti-Black racism and do anything I can to help them in the fight to challenge anti-Black Racism.

The Region of Waterloo city councils' members should take a short mandatory course on Anti-Racism against Black communities to better understand their situations and how and where to start helping improve their living conditions. This means that anyone who is admitted into the city council for the Region of Waterloo, they should have to take a mandatory course on anti-Black racism. This is so the members of the council can better understand what Black communities must deal with on a regular basis and maybe inspire them on different ways they should start to improve their living.

As city council their job is to regulate policies, and recently have passed some policies regarding Black communities. But in most cases policies like these are only made to please the public, and when it really comes down to it Black communities are still being ignored. This is because council members probably don’t know about the impact of anti-Black racism, and the history of what Black people have gone through in Canada so because they don’t know they don’t think that it’s important to the way those in Waterloo Region live. By making it mandatory to take a small course about anti-Black racism, these council members will understand how important challenging anti-Black racism is to society. Understanding the conditions of any race including minorities is important to fighting for change, that way the council can see what areas they are struggling in and places they have been struggling for years and through that the council can help with the process of making our society better. Obviously challenging anti-Black racism doesn’t fall only onto our city councils, and they are not the only ones at fault, but they can and should be doing their part in any way they can to contribute.

In the Region of Waterloo, Black people and other minorities may not make up a large percent of our population but that doesn’t mean that they should be overlooked. Canada is all about multiculturalism, so all cultures and ethnicities should be considered when it comes to the city council. By making it mandatory for these city council members to take a course on challenging anti-Black racism and the history of Black people in this country, they will be able to help contribute to challenging racism in our region. This will better improve the living conditions of minorities in the Region of Waterloo area, and thus improve the happiness levels as well and overall satisfaction of citizens living in the region. There will be more equality in the Region of Waterloo and will hopefully inspire other regions to do the same until one day all of Ontario has established this trust and improved equality everywhere.

Once again, because of the pandemic I’m not often going out in the Region of Waterloo but there are still many things I will be doing at home. Social media is a good way to spread information, I did sign petitions at the start of the Black Lives Matter Movement this past summer and did try to spread information about the cause and challenging anti-Black racism as much as I could through my social medias. When I am back to being around, I would like to help in any way I could, if that means going to protests, reporting incidents when I see them or intervening in a peaceful way then you can count on me. I also hope to go to some fundraisers or donate money where I can, to show my support in the ongoing fight for equality and challenging anti-Black racism.

Trust Request - University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo is known for always striving to ensure the success of its students and staff. Given that the school holds a world renowned reputation, it is without a doubt that one can say that the students at the University of Waterloo experience a great amount of stress and pressure. This, as a result, calls for a need in an increased amount of mental health services for students and staff. But have these resources been sufficient for the entire school? And in particular, has it been providing for the needs of Black students at the University of Waterloo? The University of Waterloo should increase funding for resources including mental health services as well as hire an increased number of mental health professionals, specifically those of colour. This will not only increase availability and accessibility to mental health services for staff and students around the school, but it will also help Black students feel more comfortable when seeking the services they need.

I chose this Trust, because as a student of colour myself, I know how uncomfortable one can feel in seeking mental health services from someone who may not be able to relate to issues in the same way as me. Similarly, Black students may prefer to seek help and advice from Black mental health professionals, who may be able to relate more to the student, and increase the overall comfort that the student will feel when seeking help. I also believe that these students should feel like these resources are always accessible, because mental health care must be seen as a fundamental right, just like any other healthcare is. Also, it is crucial that Black students have the opportunity to access the support that they need, as acts of anti-Black racism continue to be a prominent issue. This therefore emphasizes the need to fund for more resources and to hire more Black mental health professionals..

This will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo through a number of ways, the first way being an increased number of Black employees on campus. Increasing the number of Black employees/mental health professionals on campus will increase diversity within the school staff, as well as be a form of encouragement for Black students. Hiring more Black employees will ensure that the University of Waterloo stands for equal rights and opportunities for all races. Another way in which this will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo, is through ensuring that Black students have equal access and comfort when seeking mental health services. As mentioned earlier, Black students may feel more comfortable in seeking help and support from professionals who will be able to relate to them more and therefore show more compassion. The more Black professionals that are hired, the more accessible these mental health services appear for Black students, which therefore challenges anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo.

I have witnessed incidents of racism at the university several times through other students. My commitment in challenging anti-Black racism is that rather than staying quiet like I have always done in the past, I will use my words to stand up against the actions and ensure that I stop tolerating racism in the school setting.

Trust Request – Region of Waterloo

A recent article published by CBC News explained how new numbers in the Region of Waterloo have proven that Black people are overrepresented in cases in which police officers have used or threatened to use force, drawn their weapons, used physical force, or used a conducted energy weapon on a person. Members of Black communities were involved in 16% of incidents in which police officers used force, despite them only making 3% of the regional population (Duhatschek). White people on the other hand made up 66% of incidents in which police officers used force, but they take up 78% of the regional population (Duhatschek). This proves that police brutality and over-policing of Black communities is an on-going issue in the Region of Waterloo. This needs to stop. The Region of Waterloo should implement measures within its Law Enforcement to ensure that racial profiling does not take place, and to put an end to the over policing of Black communities in the region. I understand that acts of racism are ultimately an outcome of the individual person’s racism. Therefore the Region of Waterloo must implement serious consequences, such as jail time, for Law Enforcement authorities who endanger the lives of others due as a result of racial profiling. Measures must also be taken to review the Region of Waterloo’s police training programs, to ensure that Law Enforcement authorities practice skills that will protect Black communities, not endanger them.

I chose this Trust/action item because over policing and police brutality continues to endanger the lives of those in Black communities all across the world. How can governments claim to be against anti-Black racism when they have not even taken serious measures in order to challenge it? The longer we allow Law Enforcements to be treating Black communities like this, the more it shows how little governments actually mean what they say about equal rights and treatment. I believe that challenging anti-Black racism in the Law Enforcement is an excellent way to not only show support for Black communities, but also to raise awareness to other Institutions that may not be challenging anti-Black racism in the ways that they should. Another reason as to why I chose this Trust is because Police officers are meant to protect communities and ensure safety, not the opposite.

This Trust will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo by ensuring safety and security for Black Communities. As a person of colour, I want to be able to go about my day trusting that my life, nor the lives of other people like me, is at risk due to racial profiling. I know that residents of the Region of Waterloo will feel safer if they know that measures have been set in place that will ensure the absence of racial profiling. This Trust will also contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo, by being a great method of raising awareness about how acts of racism will not be tolerated in the community.

Raising awareness using my social media platform is my personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario and Canada. I will ensure that I stay up to date with the most recent and relevant news on anti-Black racism, and be sure to raise awareness on it as well. I will also continue to email government officials in regards to consequences that must be set in place for those who violate the rights of others due to racism. Finally, I will continue to sign petitions, as well as donate to charities and Black owned business as my commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario and Canada.

Racial categorization is the process of placing people into distinct groups based on variation in phenotypic physical features (Maddox). Broad terms such as ‘Black community’ are deeply rooted in language, despite being inaccurate and offensive in nature. The use of ‘Black community’ is an example of racial categorization that has been commonly used throughout written documents published by the University of Waterloo. It is necessary that the University recognizes this as a form of racism and officially changes all published and future works to say, ‘Black communities’.

Black Lives Matter has amplified calls to recognize institutionalized racism and implement policies that reflect the need for change. The University of Waterloo was successful in responding to these voices through the development of the President’s Anti-Racism Taskforce (PART), and Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity, and Equity (RAISE). However, many of these steps forward are hindered by language used in written statements by President Feridun Hamdullahpur such as: Statement on the ongoing violence against the Black community (Hamdullahpur). Published on August 27, 2020, this work speaks to ongoing police brutality and offers supports for students in need. While the intention of the piece is rooted in solidarity, it is necessary to recognize the need for inclusive, non-singular, language that does not equate the needs of all Black students as the same.

The term ‘People of Colour’ (POC), has been recognized as being unacceptable language for it reinforces stereotypes and affirms non-whiteness. As highlighted by author Yolanda Moses, POC must be looked at critically as it, “lumps all of us together” (Moses). Similarly, the use of the term ‘Black community’ is said with a failure to recognize the diversity among Black communities. To assume that anti-racism McCloskey 3 strategies will be universally successful for all Black students is to promote a racist idea. A racist idea is defined, by author Ibram X. Kendi, as: “any idea that suggests one racial group is inferior or superior to another racial group in any way” (Kendi, 20). By using the term ‘Black community’, we are allowing Whiteness to be the standard by which all others are labelled.

This small change in language brings a much larger step towards challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo. The newfound awareness that comes with acknowledging the difference between community and communities allows individuals to locate themselves and ensure common language is not being used to reinforce stereotypes. This change will allow the University of Waterloo to move forward with meaningful ways of aiding Black communities and challenging anti-Black racism while not being limited by contradictory language. In order to demonstrate a commitment to change, it is necessary for the University to formally edit all published works as well as release a statement highlighting for students the need to recognize moving forward with this new perspective. The University furthermore must commit themselves to never again using the term ‘Black community’.

All those seeking to challenge anti-Black racism must make a personal commitment to question the language being used in written and spoken contexts. It is only after looking at material critically will individuals and institutions be able to acknowledge the difference between ‘Black community’ and ‘Black communities’. This transformative shift away from racist language is a steppingstone in the University of Waterloo’s commitment to challenging anti-Black racism.

It is necessary for any elected body to be representative of those they are intended to serve. The Region of Waterloo is consistently seeing an increase in total population of Black communities. Despite this valuable growth, Waterloo City Council fails to represent this demographic shift and currently lacks racial diversity. It is necessary that the Region of Waterloo’s elected representatives are racially reflective of the district.

The Region of Waterloo has responded to recent Black Lives Matter movements with thoughtfulness and in solidarity. In recognition of their privilege, Waterloo region’s heads of Council acknowledge the need to do more in order to challenge anti-Black racism (Redman). According to the Region of Waterloo’s 2016 Census on ethnic origins, visible minorities and aboriginal peoples, 15.1 per cent of the population identifies as Black (Census). Were City Council to be equally representative of the 15.1 per cent, one of the seven councillors would identify as Black. However, in 2018, not one candidate or elected City Council member was a member of a Black community. The absence of Black candidates does not demonstrate a lack of leadership with Black communities. Contrary to this, it represents the presence of systemic barriers holding leaders back from these opportunities. As highlighted by authors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox, it is the “psychological barriers that leave minority candidates perceiving themselves to be less qualified and ultimately less electable than those who have the benefit of prior representation” (Lawless and Fox). It is the responsibility of City Council to actively find meaningful ways of eliminating these systemic barriers and seek leadership from minority candidates.

Although dedicating themselves to doing more in order to challenge anti-Black racism in Waterloo region, it is questioned how equipped Waterloo’s City Council is in making decisions for Black communities when they are lacking any form of representation from visible minorities. It is necessary for an elected body to ensure that they are always working alongside those that will be directly affected. Waterloo’s City Council is asked to consider adding an Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee which would “advise council directly based on the mandate outlined in their terms of reference” (Committees). It is requested that this committee be formed of Black leaders from the Region of Waterloo and that emphasis is placed on how to best serve the diverse needs of Black communities and how to challenge anti-Black racism. This advisory committee will furthermore allow City Council to implement policies that reflect the perspectives of those they are intended to serve. All those, including myself, whose lived experience is from the perspective of White privilege, must make a personal commitment to listen before acting and advocate for proportionate leadership in elected bodies.

The lack of diversity on City Council leaves gaps of representation that do not reflect the demographic of Waterloo Region. In order to successfully challenge antiBlack racism, it is necessary that input from Black communities is accepted and valued. The implementation of an Anti-Black Racism Advisory Committee would provide the opportunity for City Council to challenge their lack of representation and advocate for Black communities. An elected, democratic, body must take every action necessary to ensure that those in positions of power are speaking from lived experience.

The action item I have for the University of Waterloo is to hold faculty members who use racial slurs in professional/academic settings accountable for their actions. A conversation and a promise are inadequate actions.

I chose this action item in light of recent events at the University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University. In March, it was brought to the university’s attention that professor B. J. Rye had been using the n-word in her lectures. There is no appropriate context in which a White professor can use any racial slur. The University of Waterloo and St. Jerome’s University have since received a lot of backlash after they failed to adequately address the incident. A university that claims to “condemn all forms of racism, within and outside of our #UWaterlooCommunity” (@uofwaterloo) must act accordingly. Dr. Scott Kline, the interim president of St. Jerome’s University at the time, defends B. J. Rye’s use of the slur, saying that it was “used in the context of a lecture on discriminatory and harmful language, used in our society.”

Implementing this action item would mean holding faculty accountable for their actions. Without actual consequences, no lesson is taught. Faculty members who use racial slurs in professional/academic settings will continue to perpetuate racist behaviour on the University of Waterloo campus. Take the example of B. J. Rye. There is no justifiable reason for this White professor to be using anti-Black racial slurs. Considering that she is well educated and works in an academic setting, she should full well know the implications behind the word that she used. She received no consequences and elected to take part in sensitivity training. This action item would have a committee handle infractions on a case-by-case basis, treating each case according to its severity. This committee would assess severity based on the impact of the case, if the faculty member should have had the common sense to avoid the action, and if that faculty member has had previous infractions.

This action item would contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo by eradicating racism from classrooms, thereby creating safe spaces for education for all students and faculty of colour. Every student at the university should be comfortable going to class without fear of racist remarks and actions. Furthermore, no student should be deterred from taking any course because of the designated professor. By holding faculty members accountable and delivering fair consequences for their actions, we teach them about the impact of those actions and how they affect others. Educating them on the impacts that they have on others will eliminate those actions in the future. If racist behaviour continues to be a pattern for that faculty member, then they should not be employed by the University of Waterloo.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo is to join UW RAISE (University of Waterloo Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity, and Equity) is a service available to all undergraduate students run by students of the university that focuses on “education and advocacy, peer to peer support, and community building to address racism and xenophobia across campus.” I would like to be a member of this team to work with them to challenge anti-Black racism at the student level. All in all, holding faculty members who use racial slurs in professional/academic settings accountable for their actions is not only a viable course of action, but a necessary one to uphold the University of Waterloo’s stance against anti-Black racism.

The action item I have for the Region of Waterloo is to create and/or integrate positions for Black leadership within Waterloo, such as in social services, school boards, and other public institutions.

I chose this action item because as of 2016, Black people make up 15.1% of the Region of Waterloo’s population, while the council of the Waterloo Region is composed entirely of White people. This council is not representative of Waterloo’s population and is therefore incapable of voicing matters important to minority communities in the region. Reasonable representation of minorities including the Black Community should be seen in this council to better serve the people in the Region of Waterloo. Creating leadership positions for Black people brings a voice from the Black community into decision-making groups, allowing for social issues to be addressed that may not have been addressed otherwise.

This action item would mean either adding Black leadership positions onto existing councils, boards, and committees, replacing existing positions, or some combination of the two. It would not be limited to the council of the Waterloo Region but would extend to other public institutions such as Waterloo Region District School Board and Grand River Transit. These leadership positions would take feedback from the Black Community of the Region of Waterloo through surveys, suggestion tabs of corresponding websites, and meetings. This feedback would include what the Black community feels needs correcting in the Region of Waterloo to better suit their needs. Those in these positions would then take that feedback to inspire the implementation of new policies. Each council, board, and committee would have Black representatives make up approximately fifteen percent of their members. This is a just and reasonable percentage to more or less accurately represent the Waterloo Region’s demographics. As demographics change, this percentage would change along with it.

Creating and integrating positions for Black leadership within the Region of Waterloo contributes to challenging anti-Black racism by implementing the feedback from the public. In theory, a White representative would be able to implement race-based feedback just as well as any minority. However, in practice, a Black representative would be much better suited to implement the feedback given by the Black population because they would be much more empathetic to the issues. A White representative can read about instances of anti-Black racism in Waterloo but will never experience it for themselves. It is the empathy from a specifically Black representative that makes this action item one that contributes to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo is to attend protests. Protesting not only raises awareness and educates the public on pertinent issues but agitates political leaders into taking a stance and setting a course of action. I believe that more people, myself included, need to learn more about the anti-Black racism that occurs not just in other cities and countries, but in our own neighbourhoods. Attending protests is an excellent way to connect with and learn from others. Once safe to do so, I plan to attend protests here in Waterloo.

Integrating and creating positions for Black leadership within the Waterloo Region allows for representatives to empathize with the Black community and implement change that truly makes a difference, stemming from their own experiences as well as from those around them.

Black Excellence at the University of Waterloo (UW) - Trust 1

Black excellence is most often seen as a Black individual achieving something ‘against odds’. This may include: being accepted to a post-secondary institution, receiving a scholarship, being signed to a sports team, or starting an important job like a doctor. It’s anything that makes it seem like a Black individual has overcome racism; they have proved White people wrong. However, upon reading various opinion articles, I’ve learned that the version of Black excellence that currently exists isn’t ideal as it puts a lot of pressure on Black individuals. Black excellence extends beyond receiving a scholarship or being granted admission to a university. In an article I read titled, “I’m tired of #blackexcellence”, Kevin Williams describes Black excellence as “[Black] people doing the best they can with the circumstances they have” (Williams). When we talk about racism, we must remember that equality and equity aren’t the same thing, which Kevin’s definition highlights well. It’s a matter of equal outcomes rather than equal opportunities, and we must celebrate all of the outcomes of Black individuals. This is why I think we should reinvent Black excellence, and celebrate it accordingly here.

I’m asking UW to run a Black excellence session that is open to students and staff. It would be a diverse event with various parts. The first part has to do with cultures; Black people are often grouped all together. They might be referred to as “African American”, but not all Black people are African American, and the culture across communities differs. Ethiopians won’t practise the same traditions/culture as someone from Sudan, or Jamaica. So, in order to kick off the session and familiarize people with the many excellent Black cultures, there would be a potluck. People can begin to share their excellence by celebrating their cultures with others. Following this, would be a show. Black individuals would be invited to celebrate Black excellence by performing; whether it be a cultural dance/song or a personal talent of any sorts. Black individuals would also be welcome to share their stories with the audience, whether it be about their personal experience being a Black individual or with racism, or simply just a story that they want to share regardless of the contents.

How does this challenge anti-Black racism? Our society often forms stereotypes both consciously and unconsciously about groups of people. All of which develop from systemic racism, whether it be due to the lack of accurate Black history, or from the prejudice faced by Black people from law enforcement. The thought processes are challenged when we are put into a setting that allows us to build new relationships and create new experiences. In addition, humans learn a lot from observation, so, listening to Black voices can take us far. In fact, Monique Morris, who wrote a book about the criminalization of Black girls, said in an interview, “Centering the voices of [Black] women and girls moves us toward a deeper understanding about their lived experiences, and forces us to confront the routine (and often ignored) victimization, exploitation and discrimination that occur in their lives” (Anderson), and it is safe to say that the same idea can be applied to all Black individuals. We must hear their voices. All of this will contribute to challenging pre-existing ideas and/or developing them further, in the right direction.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at UW is to continue listening to Black voices and staying up to date about on-campus incidents. I am committed to aiding the construction of a safe and anti-racist environment at my University so that everyone can reach their full potential.

Bias Training in the Region of Waterloo - Trust 2

Last year, I was introduced to unconscious bias training at my part-time job. I work for Nike, a very large and diverse company. Managers worldwide underwent mandatory diversity and unconscious bias training (Chen), which was passed on to all Nike employees. Unconscious bias is described as, “social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness” (University of California). It can be found in the workplace, health care, and everyday life. For example, a study done by Stanford University revealed through various experiments that essentially, Blackness has a “stereotypic association” with crime (Frueh). This is a form of unconscious bias, as it is rooted in the systemic racism that is prevalent in our society. It can be seen in the portrayal of Black individuals in the film industry (being violent), and in history. It’s important to recognize that we can have biases about various topics, including disability, gender, physical appearance, race and so on. However, there is a heavy emphasis on racial bias because it is “well documented” (University of California), meaning that it is recognized as an issue and plays quite the role in racial discrimination.

Our training session at Nike went over multiple days. Through a lot of learning, and some sharing, we achieved our goal of challenging and addressing our own unconscious biases. Not only did the training help my development as an employee, but it changed my outlook on the world. I’m able to apply everything that I learned to my life at school, work, and in social settings. The training was extremely beneficial, and something I think everybody should be required to and have the opportunity to explore. Essentially, I think the Region of Waterloo should implement a by-law making bias training mandatory across all workplaces.

While the training I did was to address all biases, this mandatory training would specifically focus on racial bias, seeing as it is the most documented and prevalent. It’s important to keep in mind that some people argue that unconscious bias training does nothing because many people can actually be very conscious of their attitudes and beliefs. However, addressing the root of the problem can make a big change in both scenarios. In order to deliver a training program that is as effective and beneficial as possible, we should ask Black voices from the region for their input, considering that Black communities are very targeted by racial discrimination. With their contribution, a contemporary module can be created that highlights what racial biases are, how they’re formed, the effects of them, how we can challenge them, and so on.

This will help challenge anti-Black racism in Waterloo Region by giving everyone the opportunity to address and challenge their pre-existing and current ideas, whether they realize they are there, or not. Tomee Sojourner-Campbell, a Development, Equity, and Anti-Racism consultant explains that “Lasting change (referring to the elimination of racial biases) can only occur when each individual develops their ability to identify their own racial biases, and identifies how these biases manifest in their workplace and client relationships” (Sojourner-Campbell).

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in Waterloo Region is to continue to use my own voice to speak out, whether it be at work, on social media, or in public. I am committed to challenging not only my own racial biases, but other peoples’ too, in order to build a safer and more inclusive Waterloo Region.

Trust Request - University of Waterloo: Reflection and Analysis

A business startup grant/award for outstanding Black and Indigenous students upon graduation.

Kitchener, Waterloo is home to two large Universities and multiple colleges, and is the perfect place for BIPOC businesses to run. Especially since graduating students are familiar and have first-hand experience about what the students/residents living there demand/need. This business startup grant is the perfect opportunity for Waterloo graduates to step into the world of entrepreneurship and use their education for further innovation for the community. Even if the business isn’t based in Kitchener, Waterloo, it is still beneficial for Canada as a whole to have more Black and Indigenous businesses. It creates more opportunity for jobs, and depending where it’ll be based, will help further diversify the population.

Businesses are tricky, and near impossible to start for a recent graduate who will have the burden of finding a job, paying student loans, and paying utilities/necessities. This grant will be a great way for leadership-driven, outstanding Waterloo graduates, to create meaningful change. But without help, without funding and support, this idea will only remain a theory. Now if you take into consideration the slashing of OSAP funding, Covid-19 pandemic, and lack of Black and Indigenous companies/brands in general, starting a business will appear even more unattainable.

Starting from 2019, OSAP slashed free tuition for students coming from families who make less than $50,000 annually down to 50%, half of the original. The elimination of the interest-free grace period, which previously granted students six months, interest-free, upon graduation, has now been changed to the immediate accumulation of interest the second the student graduates. The allocation of OSAP funds and grants are prepared to increase 72% - 82% for low-income families, despite these numbers favouring and prioritizing low-income families. This change only reflects the change in proportion rather than change of actual amount of money. So what ends up resulting is the increase of availability for more loans but a decrease in grants. The final takeaway is that the recent OSAP changes affect students as a whole, however the students hit the hardest will be ones from low-income families, which is primarily composed of Black and Indigenous students.

A TD commissioned poll in Canada discovered that young Canadians, especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and other POC had the hardest financial hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. The surveyees are young BIPOC Canadians, who are aged 18-34, the same age as many current students, and graduated students of The University of Waterloo. The poll revealed that 64 percent of Black Canadian surveyees expect to face a reduction of income, and almost 30 percent of Indigenous people expect to borrow money for essentials. Since the population growth in Canada of racialized persons (261% growth) between 1980 and 2000, poverty has become a significant problem within the racialized community. With about 362% living in poverty, much greater than their population growth.

Prior to the pandemic, many Black and Indigenous businesses/entrepreneurs were already struggling. An internal audit was conducted within large Canadian retailers in June 2020, which uncovered a bitter truth, that the shelves of these corporate giants comprise very little of Black or Indigenous owned business products/inventory, or none at all. Holt Renfrew’s Black owned businesses comprised less than one percent of their shelf space. Indigo’s product side carries zero Indigenous creators, and approximately .5 percent of black creators. Hudson’s Bay was discovered to have similar figures for Black-owned businesses, with the only difference being that they stocked one Indigenous brand. It’s obvious that we need more Indigenous and Black owned brands, and providing University of Waterloo students the ability and opportunity to make this come to fruition, will be a step in the right direction.

Now if you take into account the widening of of the financial gap of BIPOC enterprise owners, the cut of previous interest-free OSAP grace period, significant decrease of OSAP grants, the Covid-19 impact, the racialized poverty problem, and the discovery that many large Canadian retailers don’t or carry only a handful of inventory from an Indigenous and Black or black-owned businesses, It’s glaringly obvious that there’s an imbalance. It’s our responsibility to give our students the resources and support they need to even out this inequity. This grant is a great opportunity for our very own Black and Indigenous University of Waterloo graduates to make strides and help inspire change for a brighter, and more diversified, anti-racist future.

I am making a personal commitment to challenge anti-Black racism by not staying silent when racist policies and acts are committed. I will use my voice to educate my fellow peers and advocate for marginalized peoples.

Trust Request - University of Waterloo: Reflection and Analysis

Ban academic/applied streaming in all schools in the Waterloo Region.

“Streaming” refers to the placement system that places students into two educational programs, academic, applied, and locally developed. These placements are usually determined by teachers and a guidance counselor. However, this outdated, and frankly, racist practice disproportionately targets low-income Black and Indigenous students. Streaming students based on their “academic ability” is just profiling them. The school/teacher will look at you, look at your report card, and determine who you are and what you are capable of. They will recommend you to take academic or applied classes solely based on your current mark and the few months they spend with you in a classroom of over thirty other students. Which fails to consider any other factors such as, lack of resources, lack of motivation, or even biased teachers.

When I first chose this topic to this trust request, I remembered my grade eight science teacher, Ms P. She felt that I “wasn’t science inclined enough to take academic science.” She strongly recommended both my parents and I to choose to take applied science in grade 9 because I “wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rest of the students.” At that young age, I strongly valued my teacher’s opinions and I really believed that there was no way I could keep up, and I was very close to picking applied science. However, my parents urged me to take academic science. Once I started high school in academic science, I realized how much I love science, and how much I excelled at the subject. If I had taken that teacher’s advice, not only would the applied classes be under my skill level, it would’ve significantly limited my options when I reached grades 11 and 12. It took one teacher, 5 months to determine that I was incapable, and unsuited to learn alongside a class full of “academic students.” Despite this, I managed to graduate high school with a 93 percent average with both academic chemistry and academic biology.

Just like how I believed my science teacher was right when she said I was unsuited for academic science, these marginalized students who have been targeted by this type of systemic racism don’t fight back. The school system is built upon teacher expectations, test results, and student records. This inequity has become normalized, because it’s embedded into the very system that controls day-to-day processes, and marginalized students are almost always the last pick. Research conducted within Ontario school systems uncovered that students from low-income families, with Indigenous backgrounds, or special needs are more likely to be enrolled into the applied stream and four and a half times more likely to fail to earn a diploma compared to their peers in academic streams. When streaming occurs, it’s in grade nine, when students are aged fourteen, going through many educational, emotional, and mental developments. At this early age, asking them to make a decision that would ultimately determine or deter what their educational path is, is careless.

To take a larger look at the benefits of one educational program that actually helps it’s students reach their full potential, would be the grassroot programs funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation. This program has been proven effective for females to excel in school, by building confidence, strengthening their sense of cultural identity, and providing them valuable mentorship opportunities. A poll was conducted and found that seventy-five percent of girls who have gone through these programs feel more resilient, ninety-three percent feel empowered years later, and fifty percent say that the program helped boost their motivation and school engagement. Programs like this directly contrast academic and applied streaming, because it helps build off of the ‘educational foundation’ that the student already possesses, rather than segregating them based on one look at that ‘foundation.’

The racist practices in the education system run deep, and it’s intertwined with the very roots of the Canadian school system. However if streaming in schools is banned in Kitchener, Waterloo, this will be a major step in dismantling and ending systemic racism within the education system. The province can’t immediately transition out of the ingrained practice of streaming without leaving these students vulnerable to a system that’s not designed for their success. However, with the careful and gradual change starting with Kitchener, Waterloo, we can take the steps necessary to create a necessary and meaningful change to our education systems.

Trust #1: For Waterloo University: An increase of Black professors and staff members. Branching out the diversity of the staff members to support and represent the growing diversity of students.

I chose this topic because I think relatability to people in positions of power and diverse representation is far more impactful than people give credit for. A Black professor holds a mirror up to any Black students, its a form of encouragement that is not possible for a white teacher to give. The National Bureau of Economic Research did a study in 2018 that looked at the affect same-race teachers had on their students. The results showed that having just one Black high school teacher lowered drop out rates for Black students and increased their likelihood of enrolling in college and post-secondary education. Having only one Black teacher made Black students 13% more likely to enroll in college, having two Black teachers upped that number to 32%. This idea of giving Black students a visible in-person example of a Black professional, provides students with one of the best motivators: a role model. Someone to relate to, strive to be, and someone who shows you can defy doubts society has consistently placed in your head. Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng a sociologist at New York University, recently published a paper that analyzed the impact Black and Latinx teachers have on their students. The overarching result: all the students, including white students, had significantly more favorable perception of these teachers.

These research studies aimed at the public-school system both elementary and at the high school level. But university, from my experience so far, is one of the most challenging and isolating transitions in a young person’s life. The classes are harder, you are living alone for the first time, you know no one around you, and stress is at an all time high for many students. Having Black professors who experience the racism and prejudicial attitudes of society support the experiences that Black students unfairly shoulder in dominantly white universities and colleges. At best, white professors can only empathize with racial struggles, while Black professors are overworked and tokenized as a representation of diversity at the University.

This action will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo because Black professors who are teaching courses related to racism are able to teach and discuss Anti-Black racism in a way white teacher simply cannot. They have first-hand experience and the ability to represent and encourage students dealing with the unfair prejudices, stereotypes, and racism at this university. Black professors can be a role model to students also impacted by racism. This is an aid to undo the internalized racism in students, which is a powerful tool in fighting oppressive systems and ideas.

After reading Eternity Martis’ book and being exposed to a glimpse of the challenges and racism faced by Black students in the university setting, I promise to not tolerant or accept my own ignorance. I will continue to learn how to challenge Anti-Black racism and to avoid being a bystander to not only violent obvious racism, but also to the normalization of microaggressions, stereotypes, pseudoscience, and tokenization. This class has opened my eyes to things I was disturbingly blind to, I’ve gotten the comfortable privilege of being ignorant to these issues for eighteen years. I am committed to bringing my learning from this class into my university experience.

Trust #2: For Waterloo Region: Proper recognition and investigation of Anti-Black racism in this region.

For my twitter assignment, I researched examples of anti-Black racism in Waterloo. There wasn’t any shortage of news articles: A mentally Ill Black man being beaten and arrested by Police, lack of justice for a young Black man killed in a park, The Canadian Heritage Alliance- a white supremacist group founded in Waterloo that claims to be “keeping Canada for Canadians”, and at the end of this search I stumbled upon the Pseudoscience flyers about interracial couples. After investigating several articles, I found a tweet posted by the mayor of Waterloo regarding the incident. The tweet says: “… I know it does not reflect the values of the residents in our community…”. Quite a comforting statement for white folks, congratulations you’re off the hook! But the reality is, this incident does in fact seem to reflect the values of the residents in our community. I read ‘they said this would be fun’, with absolute shock and gratitude for not going to Western, but when I looked at the statistics for hate crimes in Canada, the Waterloo region actually scored worse than London. In fact, it was the 7th highest in Canada in 2017.

This trust is requesting the acknowledgement of this community not being the ‘not racist’, wholesome place the mayor twitted about. One of the first actions for challenging anti-black racism learned from Nelson Mandala is education. Education requires attention, acknowledgement, and eventual understanding. The mayor’s tweet dismissed the need for any of these actions. Meanwhile, there’s an entire white supremacist group and Black victims are being overlooked by police and the public. This trust is a first step into education and destroying the comfort of ignorance encouraged by authority members.

Without awareness and acknowledgement, issues and ideas can’t be criticized and ended. Having proper public acknowledgement invites members of this community to look at themselves, this region, and each other with critical eyes. Bringing racial issues and injustices to light, recognition has the power to bring about individual and collective change. It makes needed conversations happen, conversations that are long overdue. Kwame Christian, Director of the American Negotiation Institute, says his motto is “The best things in life are on the other side of a difficult conversation, If we can have the conversation in a better way, we can make meaningful change in the world around us.” Dealing with a large scale, I feel that this is the most efficient way to further challenge anti-Black racism in the region. As Dr. Ibram X Kendi says in his introduction “Denial is the heartbeat of racism” and the heartbeat of Waterloo is seemingly strong. The tolerance of the Canadian Heritage Alliance, of disproportionate carding done by police, of police brutality, is as horrifying as its existence.

I wouldn’t call Waterloo home, but a lot of people do, and they don’t need my tolerance or ignorance moving in along with my French press and plants. I have a commitment to my peers to keep growing closer to being anti-racist, to challenge racism, to learn about it, and talk about it. Paying attention to my own impulsive jump to white fragility techniques when I’m confronted with the possibilities of my own actions or ideas being racist. I can bring this education and awareness into every space I occupy including the region I will be spending at least eight months for the next five years in.

@Fri at 4:48 PM

Hello ___!

I love the quote you related to my post and your message about fighting as an anti-racist against all odds. I feel like this message is hopeful and promising yet difficult to believe in and it's nice having the reminder that it is part of the process towards a more equitable world.

Thank you again for reading, I hope you enjoy your weekend :)

Educating Students on the Different Black Communities

When discussing topics about Black people, we have become comfortable with categorizing them as one group, referring to them as “the Black community”. While I am in a course that challenges anti-Black racism, it has recently come to my attention that it is incorrect to not specify which Black community I am mentioning. This Trust Request will outline the topic of educating students on the different Black communities in our society and how this will help contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo.

To start, I have chosen this topic because I have just learned that grouping every Black person into one community is in fact racist. By doing so, we are substantially reducing their personal individuality. When we talk about White people, we tend to incorporate their religion, sexuality, and gender, for example, when specifying which group of people we are discussing. We must acknowledge that there are different communities of Black people who all have different wants and needs.

The process of bringing awareness to this underlying issue must first start with the education system. When we learned about history in middle and high school, our teachers referred to Black people as a whole. This is important to note because due to the lack of education on Black history, it creates a homogenized perception that perpetuates stereotypes on Black people. For example, in the 1970s and ’80s American politicians including Ronald Reagan used the term “Welfare Queen”, which stood for the idea that Black people were too lazy to work, so instead they relied on public benefits to live (Covert, 2019). Individuals are more likely to believe that information is true when they hear it from a public figure such as the President. Since the President participated in this behaviour, it led the US citizens to believe that this stereotype of Black people is true. This is why it is crucial for education systems to start incorporating the different Black communities into their curriculum. Many people are not educated about this topic at home, so it is the education systems’ duty to provide students with this information - especially in a society that is widely diverse. By doing so, students will recognize that not all Black people are the exact same and that some of them might have different wants and needs. If the youth are deprived of this education, it will lead to a continuous cycle of future generations making the same mistake.

This change at the University of Waterloo will help challenge anti-Black racism because it will further educate students. By educating students at UW, these students will learn that the Black community itself is very diverse. Students will begin to practice defining who exactly they are talking about within the Black community which will eventually result in their peers doing the same. The curriculum for the courses at UW all align with each other in one way or another because what students learn in one class, will benefit them in another. This will help raise awareness within the school as students will continue to educate their peers on and off campus, and in their other courses. With one student at a time, the University of Waterloo can work towards diminishing the idea that all Black people are one.

For myself personally, I am committed to explicitly indicating which specific groups of Black people I am referring to when educating my peers, my colleagues, my classmates, and even my professors. I believe that no one can be too educated, which is why it is important for me to begin making these changes within my own community.

Black Organized Events in KW to Bring Awareness to Black Causes

Within the Waterloo Region, we can see an abundance of annual events being held. Christmas parades, Halloween scavenger hunts, math contests, and tech workshops, are all examples of events that bring people in our community together, but we rarely see events that prioritize educating our community. While events such as math contests or hackathons are educational, it is only limited to those who enjoy the said fields. This Trust Request will outline how an event hosted by Black activists will bring awareness to Black causes while helping to challenge anti-Black racism within the Waterloo Region and beyond.

I have chosen this topic because as stated before, we do not see enough representation of minority groups in our community. Since we do not witness any type of representation of minority groups, many citizens lack knowledge about their struggles and accomplishments. As someone who is not interested in participating in Halloween or Christmas parades, I am assured that myself and others would be attracted to events that can further educate us.

The purpose of this educational festivity includes educating those who have little to no knowledge about Black history, further educating those who are actively engaged in the Black Lives Matter movement, or providing a safe space for every individual to enjoy their day and have fun. Overall, this event focuses on more than one thing, and the options are endless. This event will be organized by a group of Black activists and will be held once a year, preferably during Black History Month. This will be a time for everyone and anyone in the community to come show their support for Black people around the world. At this event, there will be a chance for Black educators to speak to the audience, there will be stands where people from any Black community can bring in traditional food and there will be booths in which attendees can sign petitions and donate money to Black causes. For example, an ideal event would look like this: a spokesperson(s) from the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators will have a moment to speak to the attendees about Black history, homemade soul food will be provided for attendees to purchase and try out, all proceeds from the food will go towards a cause of their choice and lastly, each booth will have a specific cause (such as Black Youth Helpline, Black Girls/Boys Code, Black Health Alliance) in which attendees will be to donate money to and sign petitions for.

By having annual events like this, it will help challenge anti-Black racism in the Waterloo Region because it will allow for citizens to gain a deeper understanding of Black culture, any recurring issues that are happening right now and the accomplishments achieved by Black people. Beyond what we learn in school, this event will give an opportunity to learn from Black educators themselves, which is more powerful than anything that is taught in our education systems. Having a face to face conversation and learning from Black people will more likely have a greater effect on our citizens who will continue, or start, to advocate for Black rights.

While I am already engaged in advocating for human rights, I believe that having this event take place will encourage me to do more within my community. Whether that be advertising for the event, attending the event, or encouraging my friends and family to join, this will allow me and my peers to become more educated, by learning and experiencing the lifestyle of Black people. I believe that my community has the power to unite and make a change, one community at a time.

Challenging Anti-Black Racism in the Region of Waterloo

The Region of Waterloo should create programs directed towards supporting and empowering Black youth and children. These programs could focus on topics like leadership, focusing on building community leaders and civic participation, how to cope with trauma deriving from racist events and Black history (Tory). The programs would be, of course, run by members of the Black community so these programs become a safe space for Black youth (Tory).

Supporting Black youth is a vital way to stop anti-Black racism in the community as it gives Black people the tools they need to resist any racism thrown their way while building a positive Black identity— something that the world around them does not provide. Various psychologists have proven that identity is a very important tool of empowerment as a fight against oppression for minorities (Hasford). It has proven to boost self-esteem, overall mental health as well as guaranteeing success in education (Hasford). This could give Black students resources to fight the systemic racism present in the Canadian education system, especially since Black history is not taught in schools. Not only could they be better equipped in fighting anti-Black racism in schools, but they could resist the white supremacist messages in media, their home, friend groups as well as in the workplace, as they begin to enter the workforce. In a study of Black Canadian high school students, it was found that Black students were able to “resist stereotypes and domination within the education system by constructing a politicized identity that identifies with African-centered cultures, strives for academic excellence, and calls for systems change” (Hasford). Encouraging community participation and leadership is another vital skill in challenging anti-Black racism that could be taught in these programs. Civic participation could include volunteering, involvement in politics, arts and culture etc (Hasford). By encouraging community building behaviour, not only are we promoting skills needed in political movements (such as community organizing and networking) but it has been proven to help build the skill of self-sufficiency and networking—both of which help immensely in the workplace (Hasford) . Furthermore, these programs would be run by Black professionals who would provide good representation as most teachers and authoritative figures in their life are white.

I chose this topic because growing up and having to grapple with identity as well as racism present in every corner of the world is extremely difficult for Black youth, especially those who live in predominantly white communities. In a society that constantly puts them down and makes them doubt their self-worth and abilities, it is vital that programs like these exist. Black youth already have to face the effects of racism at an early age but if we intervene early and show that their community is there to support them, Black youth and children will be more empowered and better equipped to face hurdles pertaining to their race in society, therefore creating more successful as well as healthier adults.

In order to challenge anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo, I vow to educate myself on the issues faced by the Black community in my area and take appropriate actions to call it out and fix them. This includes creating and signing petitions regarding offering support to Black youth and children, as well as protesting problems faced by the Black communities. I will also demand more of my MPs and advocate for anti-Black racism in the Ontario curriculum.

Challenging Anti-Black Racism in the University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo should have mental health resources dedicated solely to help Black students with any challenges that they will likely face as a university student. As said by Eternity Martins in her book, “They Said This Would Be Fun”, university is a very difficult time for Black students. Black students face a higher dropout rate as they feel discriminated against by faculty as well as students, they don’t see people who look like them, the inability to find community on top of financial issues (Martis). Students are in environments that normalize microaggressions and stereotyping which can make them feel more pressure to achieve academic success so that they could prove the idea that they are intellectually inferior wrong. Racist experiences are also known to produce anxiety, trauma and “general unpleasantness” (Green) in Black students which on top of other life stresses are very overwhelming and burdensome.

This puts a strain on their mental health that is very particular to the Black community which is why mental health resources and counsellors on campus that are designed specifically to serve them would be of great help. Black counsellors are also vital to providing effective mental health support to Black students. White therapists often make the mistake of not recognizing experiences of racism as trauma likely due to the fact that “psychotherapy has predominantly been developed by white mental-health experts and continues to be taught today” (Artipatel). Black students face unique experiences that require a therapist that is knowledgeable about their culture and the issues that they face, including socio-economical obstacles, in order to help them work towards a better mental health. Counselling could offer them a chance to work through Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome and other trauma caused by racism, ways to combat stress, greater self-esteem and confidence etc (Personal & Psychological Counseling). A better mental well-being will not only help Black students stay in their programs and provide them with economic mobility in earning their degree, it will empower them and provide them with tools that will help them recognize and resist anti-Black racism in their surroundings.

I chose this topic because mental health and the empowerment of Black people is very important to the liberation of Black people. If Black Canadian university students are mentally healthy and able to face structural racism and white supremacy, they’ll be able to move more easily through the work force and combat anti-racism more effectively in their world.

In order to combat anti-Black racism in the University of Waterloo, I vow to speak for and advocate for issues facing Black students. This can include joining clubs and organizations within the University that fight against structural racism (such as RAISE) as well as educating myself on how anti-Black racism and white supremacy shows up in University institutions. I vow to also join protests, sign petitions and raise awareness online while also holding University officials and faculty responsible for implementing anti-Black racism policies that benefit and support Black students.

Trust Request for University of Waterloo

I have chosen to request a book club for students of University of Waterloo. Not just any ordinary book club, but one that is focused on Black culture and history. A place where students will feel welcomed and have a chance to connect with other students who share the same interests. This book club will be open to anyone who would like to join. I have chosen this because I find that reading is an excellent form of learning and with this club you may read books that typically you would not reach for. University of Waterloo has many different kinds of clubs, and I think that one like this would be very beneficial, not just only to Black students but for everyone. We need to educate ourselves on anti-Black racism and I feel that this is a great way to start.

Covid has made it very challenging for students to connect and make friends, especially those in first year. With a book club you can still meet virtually and get to know other students, particularly students who share the same passions as you do. This Book Club will meet once every month. As students already have lot’s going on with readings for class this will allow for them to have time to really get into the book and take the time to read it. In these meetings they will discuss how they felt about the book and how it relates to help them on their journey of becoming an anti-racist. It will be a safe place for them to ask questions and not feel judged. You can learn so much from books and there are many great ones out there that will help you become an anti-racist and will help you in challenging others. There are many books that they can choose from and this will keep them engaged as there are so many amazing, insightful books. Some of these books that I believe will be very intuitive for this club is of course, How to be an Anti-Racist, by Ibram X. Kendi. Another very interesting book is The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power, by Desmond Cole.

Aside from Covid, this will be a good way for students to get together and socialize. Book Clubs are a good way to hold you accountable to finishing a book. It can be very hard to pick up a book, but when you know that you have others counting on you this will encourage you to complete it.

I truly believe that this is a great way to spread awareness and will help students become more aware of their actions and the way they handle situations. University is a place where students go to learn and grow and find themselves. Racism is still very much a thing that we see today, and on campus is no exception. With this club we can use what we learn to educate others and challenge them as well. What they learn here they will hold with them for many years to come. That’s why I believe this book club is a great way to include culture and history into their lives, as a way to challenge anti-Black racism.

As for a plan of action, the WUSA would be a great place to start as they are in charge of the groups at UW. As the WUSA is ran for the students by the students I think they would be totally for it as it’s a great way to challenge anti-Black racism on and off the campus. Funding for this program would be very minimum as you can always find many books on the school library or buy and sell used books after each use. Advertising would be essential to get the word out, this could be done through the UW homepage, as well as through emails at the beginning of the year. As there is already a book club at UW, this would be very doable but targeted more towards anti-Black racism. I personally will do everything I can to spread awareness on this topic and believe strongly in challenging those on and off campus.

Trust Request for Region of Waterloo

For the Region of Waterloo, I think a group for Black youth would be very beneficial for children as it is a place where they can go and hang out with other youth outside of school and sports. Growing up in a white community, Black children may lose what their background and history are made up of. We want them to embrace their culture and know that there are many people out there that share the same historical background. A youth group where Black children can hang out with others and share similar interests. A place where they can learn about their history and be proud of where they came from, and how far they have come today. In this youth group, the children will learn lots about their culture. A big part of this group will talk about safety. As we have learned and seen growing up, Black people have more to be cautious about. As sad as this is, it’s unfortunately true. This isn’t to scare them or make them feel afraid, but to educate them for their own protection.

I chose this as a Trust Request because as there are many different groups and clubs that are available in the Waterloo Region, this one will be specifically for Black youth. I believe this group would be very beneficial and empowering to the youth of this region. In this group they will watch movies, read books, have guest speakers, and play games all based on Black culture and history.

According to the Ontario Government, Black children are more likely to be enrolled in lower academic studies, as well as more likely to end up in foster care. This is unfair, and hopefully with more groups like this we can help lower these numbers and create a safe place where these youth feel comfortable and have a safe environment to learn and grow.

As this is a group for Black youth, it’s not to say that other races can’t attend in fact it’s encouraged that all others join as well. This group will be open to anyone but will be based on Black culture. This will be a great way to teach the younger generations about white privilege and help challenge anti-Black racism at a young age. This will be a great way to have fun while learning.

This group will be available for youth 18 and under. Anyone is welcome and hopefully with more funding and advertising, there can be separate groups for different age groups. I believe a great place to start with this group is looking into some non-profit organizations that would be willing to take on this project. Some places that I think would be a great fit is Big Brothers and Big Sisters, as well as CCAWR as they stand for a lot of what this youth group does.

With this group it will challenge many youths on anti-Black racism, from all over the region of Waterloo. These youth will learn so much at this group and hopefully will bring it into their everyday life, challenging their friends at school as well as their family. This will then lead to more growth in the community. This group could change a lot and make an impact on youth all over the Region, and not just Waterloo but all over Ontario and eventually Canada. I am very excited about this project and will continue to challenge myself as well as others from all around, not just from the Waterloo Region to help make a difference and spread awareness on this topic.

To Executive Leadership at the University of Waterloo

For many years, the University of Waterloo has not taken any action to eliminate antiBlack racism from their university. Many Black students have encountered acts of racism towards them and they have not reported it to the leaders of the university, because they do not feel comfortable. It is the university’s job to make the students feel welcomed, especially Black students. The University of Waterloo needs to put in place a system for Black students where they can go talk to someone professional and get any assistance they need emotionally.

This all starts with making Black students feel welcomed, the university needs to make sure that they make Black students feel comfortable. This can come in the form of hiring more Black professors or staff members. The biggest part of this process is to provide Black students the help they need and deserve. We know that there are guidance counselors that help students with their academic matters, but the University of Waterloo needs to go further. They need to hire Black therapists to work with them in helping Black students deal with their thoughts and feelings of they can provide the means to Black students who need professional help. Only Black people can truly understand each other’s pains and emotions, people who are not Black can only understand it to a certain extent. I believe that Black students will feel safer and more comfortable when they see that there are many Black professors and staff members at the university. It is important to try to understand what Black students go through daily, from the looks they get to the horrible acts of anti-Black racism. We need to note that it can take a huge toll on one’s mental health and there is not enough help being provided to them. This is the very least the University of Waterloo can do to help diminish anti-Black racism.

The leaders at the University of Waterloo needs to understand that they have not done anything to truly diminish anti-Black racism. Just last year in June, a white female professor at St. Jerome University (federated with the University of Waterloo) said the N-word multiple times even after a student told the professor that it made them uncomfortable. The professor was not fired… This goes to show the level of attention or consideration is being given to antiBlack racism. This raises the question of how can Black students feel comfortable when professors can get away with saying the N-word multiple times? The answer is, they cannot. If the University of Waterloo listens to our request of providing Black students with outlets and creating a welcoming environment, they can diminish anti-Black racism. The hiring of Black professors and staff members will be placing Black people in an authoritative position and any act of anti-Black racism will be dealt with more severity. This plan will not eliminate anti-black racism, but it will help reduce it. In addition, the university will be giving opportunities to Black and people that will be huge progress as well.

I have enrolled myself in the “How to Challenge Anti-Black Racism” class in hopes to learn new ways to fight against anti-Black racism and educate others about the same thing. I am committed to fighting against racism and especially anti-Black racism, as it is not dealt with enough. I have seen that many big companies, schools, brands, etc. have taken part in the BLM movement because it was the trend, and the University of Waterloo was among them. I want to regularize challenging anti-Black racism and with this truth request, I hope to gain the attention of the University of Waterloo. I want the president Feridun Hamdullahpur to take actions and do his part in diminishing anti-Black racism. Until the people in power will not act, there will not be any change.

To the Mayor of Waterloo, Dave Jaworsky

The region of Waterloo is not innocent when it comes to the anti-black. Black residents in Waterloo have been dealing with racism for a long time now and it does not seem like the region is doing anything to diminish it. Mr. Jaworsky, you are the mayor of the city and you have the power to challenge anti-Black racism, but you have not done anything since you were appointed as mayor in 2014. It is time to take action and give back to Black people in your region. Anti-Black racist acts have been happening in Waterloo and nothing has been done about them.

Waterloo has not founded many famous people over the years, but two people have been blowing up recently. One of them is Jamal Murray, an NBA player playing for the Denver Nuggets, and the other Amy Cooper. Jamal Murray is a very talented Black athlete who has made it to the biggest stage of sports. Amy Cooper is a white female from the University of Waterloo, she recently got famous for calling the police on an innocent Black man. Amy Cooper is a representation of Waterloo’s roots.

When given a platform and a chance, the sky is the limit for Black youth. I encourage and request the region of Waterloo to give an equal opportunity of succeeding to the Black community. Jamal Murray is an example to Black children in Waterloo, however, not many people are given the platform to showcase their talents to the world. I suggest the region of Waterloo to organize an annual festival with Black singers, dancers, painters, athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs, etc. This festival/program will allow talented Black residents to express their talents and get a chance to be recognized by people. The region of Waterloo can hold an event every year promoting up and coming artists, promote Black-owned businesses, share athletes’ talents, and so much more. This event will serve as a platform for Black people to gain more recognition. When given an opportunity the Black youth can be very promising and can go on to achieve great things. Often Black children feel inferior to their white counterparts because they do not receive the same amount of attention as them but with the introduction of this festival/platform many aspiring artists, athletes, and entrepreneurs can receive the love they deserve. By giving Black residents in Waterloo a platform, people can finally start recognizing hidden talent and it will benefit both parties. When other people see that Black people are gaining success, they will start to respect them more and that will help dimmish anti-Black racism in the region of Waterloo. This will be a huge progress for the Black community and the region of Waterloo.

I believe in giving people the credit they deserve, and I have promoted many of my black friends’ music, businesses, and sports talents. People need to understand that the Black youth in Waterloo is not given the opportunities other races are, and that is a huge setback because there many extremely talented young children and adults in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and the world but they don’t receive the recognition they deserve, as they are not given the same opportunities as others.

Mr. Dave Jaworsky, I hope you consider my request and understand the impact this can have in the region of Waterloo. We have many talented Black people in the region of Waterloo that deserve to have a platform and together we can make it happen.

Trust Request for the University of Waterloo

Unfortunate as it is, university campuses in Ontario are known for racial discrimination and racially charged acts of violence and hate. UWaterloo is no exception. It’s sometimes hard to recognize and call out the direct acts of anti-black racism on campuses because students become afraid to speak up against such a normalized behaviour. I know that UW is working in many ways to combat racism on its campuses and I respect the work that’s being done. However, I believe there is more to be done and more untapped ideas that could further add to not only the breaking down of anti-Black racism on campus but lifting up the Black student population and doing everything possible to help further the success of the students affected.

My idea for UW is to have specific tutoring and study groups for Black students to connect together and learn from each other. I chose this idea based on a program at UC Berkeley in the U.S. A professor, Uni Treiman, was looking into the grades his students were getting, how much time they spent studying and the correlations to their race. He found that many of his Asian and white students were doing fine in his class, some even doing very well (Chiles, 2017). However, he realised a pattern that all of his Black students were getting lower grades when studying the same amount or more than the other students (Chiles, 2017). He looked into it more and realized that almost all of the white and asian students had formed study groups and solely studied together, when the Black students only worked in isolation and alone (Chiles, 2017). He then created a program where Black students could study and work together that drastically raised the class average.

I believe that if you are a minority race on a campus it can be uncomfortable to go about connecting with other people of your race. Like Eternity Martis mentions in her book They Said This Would Be Fun, it’s difficult because of the external pressures from others (Martis, 2020). It might cause students to feel like they shouldn’t connect with people of their race in order avoid being stereotyped into a specific group.

We need to recognize that Black university students have better success when they are able to work together, and that Black students on campus often feel afraid of being judged if they make connections with their fellow Black students. The University itself can do wonders for student success if they create a program for Black students and with Black students that takes away a lot of the discomfort and fear of building their own group like that. If the group is encouraged and run by the school there will be a lot less chance of judgement, and fear of that judgement.

Now in general, the ideal world has a campus where students don’t have to feel isolated at the expense of others, and where no student feels they are being judged based on their race. However, while we continue to break down these racist roots and behaviours in our school, this program could be a good step to help students in the meantime. My first step to personally challenging Anti-Black racism was taking the Arts 130 How To Challenge Anti-Black Racism course. So far it’s teaching me so much I never knew about the history of racism and how it’s come all the way into 2020 still flourishing and how we can change that. I think this course is not only informative but very applicable to real life and I plan to continue to learn as well as share my knowledge with others. My hope is in my four years at Waterloo to see some of these awesome ideas from me and my classmates be implemented successfully on our campus as we all learn to grow together.

Trust Request for the Region of Waterloo

Black History Month is a world recognized celebration and recognition of Black Lives in the month of February. The point of Black History Month each year is to create a time to specifically recognize not only the hardships for Black citizens in the past but the successes of many Black individuals today. I think Waterloo needs to do more to recognize this month and the celebration.

My idea for the Region of Waterloo is to have a weekend event for a few days in February each year to celebrate and recognize Black History Month. It could consist of many elements including guest speaker talks from different Black individuals in the community. This could include professors, doctors, or business personnel who can tell the story of overcoming their struggles as well as share wisdom on their success. There could also be guest speakers from outside the region who could come to educate and speak on ways we can challenge Anti-Black racism today. This part of the event would be based in history and gaining knowledge by uplifting Black voices.

Another element to the event would be for supporting Black owned businesses and creators. This would include having all kinds of businesses owned by Black individuals in the Waterloo Region with products on display and an opportunity to sell and market their business. This could include artists, bakers, salon owners and more. This would give a chance for those business owners to be appreciated and have customers lined up to see their product. Not only would this support the Black community in Waterloo but it would help boost the economy of the region in general. It would be a win-win for both the Region of Waterloo and the Black business owners.

This event could become a place when Black citizens who live in Waterloo, rich or poor, young or old, could feel appreciated and recognized. It would be an event of gaining knowledge, learning about the future and celebrating Black success of all kinds. While it is important to celebrate Black lives during all months of the year, it is also important to celebrate Black lives in specific and public ways during Black history month. I genuinely believe this event could be a great step towards breaking down the racism in the Waterloo region and could further more anti-racist behaviours in general. Personally I’m working on myself in breaking down racial stereotypes and racist behaviours in my actions. It’s not enough to say you aren’t racist but it’s about actively being anti-racist. In my own life I am working on recognizing my own racist ideals and stopping myself to think where those thoughts came from. Also talking to others about why their behaviour is wrong and how to change or shift that behaviour. These are my personal steps I’m taking to be better, and I think this event is a step the Region of Waterloo could take to do the same.

Trust Request for the University of Waterloo

Trust request for the University of Waterloo: The University of Waterloo should have a support group specifically for Black students made up of Black individuals. This support group will provide Black students with a safe space to express concerns or report incidences of anti-Black racism that they have faced in the university. The purpose of choosing this Trust action is to provide Black students of

Waterloo University a safe space to talk and express their concerns and needs to individuals who can relate to them and have their best interests in mind. A support group not only provides a safe space, but it also gives Black students a chance to feel heard and feel understood without any judgement from other non-Black staff members and students.

The Trust action will be composed of Black individuals trained to provide support specifically for Black individuals. The support group will primarily be made up of counsellors and possibly fellow students interested in listening to and working alongside other students to instill change within the university. Once a concern has been expressed by a student, a report will be made, and further support will be

offered to the student depending on the severity of the situation. I believe this Trust action will help Black students because Black students and Black individuals face Anti-Black racism, which is unique to them. Looking back at history and all that Black individuals have faced, support tailored explicitly to Black individuals on campus will prove to be beneficial. Most university students have to deal with stresses from their classes, but pressures from society can become overwhelming and instilling support on campus can help reduce stress. This proposal and Trust action will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism because, as mentioned previously, it provides a safe space for students. Once students feel that they have a safe space to provide them with support, it is much easier to express their concerns about the university and express their ideas. In describing these concerns and ideas, it will be much easier to become aware of these worries and disturbances and be more comfortable working towards change to fix them.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the university is to provide support through awareness and recognition. I love studying psychology and one day want to be a counsellor myself and coming up with a support group and providing that counselling and support to individuals on campus who need and appreciate it would be amazing. Everyone needs someone to relate to and express their feelings. The anti-Black racism course taught by Professor Christopher Taylor has deepened my understanding and provided great insight into the Black community.

I am not a part of the Black community myself, but I know that they deserve the same resources, if not more than any other individual, because of the unique experiences they have encountered and still continue to face daily. Creating a support group specifically for Black students would provide them comfort in knowing they have resources specifically tailored to them that will have their best interest in mind and keep them safe through the reports that are made to the university. In conclusion, the support group would be beneficial to Black students by providing them with a safe space and being helpful for the university as a whole. The trust action will provide the support and resources for present-day students and students in the future who look to come to join the University of Waterloo.

Trust Request Assignment: Region of Waterloo

Trust request for the Region of Waterloo: The Region of Waterloo Should hold an annual Black History Month celebration in order to educate the community on the history of Black individuals and Black influential individuals today. Elected officials should be involved in recognizing important Black figures in the KW region. The Trust request above is a proposal explicitly made towards the Region of

Waterloo. This proposal presents a challenge to Anti-Black Racism in the community of the Region of Waterloo. Through this proposal, an innovative and widespread method of educating the city will be achieved.

I have chosen this particular Trust request because Black history month is not celebrated in a way that has community members remembering the importance of equity and equality of Black individuals and their history. Before I had moved to Waterloo Region, I lived in Brampton. In Brampton, whenever Black history month arrived, everyone in the community showed their support through fundraisers,

events, and community education through schools and public affairs. Black history month was a month to remember in the greater Toronto area. However, when I moved to the Kitchener Waterloo region, it was very different.

Schools in the Kitchener Waterloo region do not celebrate and educate students on Black history month through elementary and high schools. My youngest sister has no clue who Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, or Malcolm X are. Now I feel it is my responsibility to educate her on Black history because Kitchener Waterloo has not shown Black individuals' great recognition. Introducing public

events in the Kitchener Waterloo region covers and educates members of the community on a broad spectrum of ages, which is beneficial for the Black community and everyone else.

The Trust action will work as public events during the month of February. The main goal of really celebrating Black history month as a community is to educate the community and recognize influential Black individuals from the past and the present to better our future. The first week would be dedicated to teaching the community and educating about past and present matters that affect Black

individuals. The second week should be devoted to educating individuals in the city on ways to challenge Anti-Black racism and methods to stop discrimination from happening within our community.

The third and final weeks should be devoted to recognizing influential Black individuals in the community past and present, figuring out resources, and coming up with plans to help the Black community. The presence of community officials portrays how vital a matter like Black history month is and shows the Black community that the Region is listening to what they have to say and express. The

Black community will feel they are being heard.

Throughout the month, these events will go towards challenging anti-Black racism through the Black community's education and knowledge towards non-Black community members. Educating a broad audience of different ages and people of different backgrounds and experiences will provide an understanding of the Black community and will introduce change and recognition. The Black community will also have some beneficial representation other than online websites that talk about Black history month but lack an explanation of its importance. Wider society will start to question their policies and procedures and themselves, which will lead us all towards change.

My Reflection/Analysis on the Trust action item for Waterloo University:

The University of Waterloo should consider hosting a town hall session to communicate the University’s culture and discuss the intolerance to systemic racism. My trust request was inspired by an event that occurred on June 6th 2020, where a St. Jerome’s professor used the N-word in class. I found this extremely inappropriate due to its discriminatory and oppressing nature because it references a person of the Black community as inferior. To create a supportive and respectful environment for all people including the Black community, we need to eliminate these hurtful and derogatory words from our vocabulary as they remind us of its severely oppressed history. At times, Black people use this derogatory word in fun, as a term of endearment; this is destructive as it gives the appearance of acceptable behaviour. The use of the N-word should not be used regardless of the context in which it is used; perhaps if people stopped using it, over time, the condescending reference will be completely eradicated from our vocabulary.

In fact, all forms of oppression conflict with the University’s ethical policy. The principles of this policy condemn discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment and poisoned environment, in line with the Ontario Human Rights Code. This latter concept of poisoned environment speaks to intimidation, hostility, of offensive behaviour, which is what the professor at St. Jerome’s demonstrated. Clearly, the policy in itself was insufficient to suppress the racist remarks made by the professor. The students took action after the incident at St. Jerome’s, which led to the creation of an action plan and a list of recommendations to raise awareness to the issue. The action plan is a step in the right direction to promote a respectful, tolerant and positive culture at Waterloo. Feridun Hamdullahpur, Waterloo University’s president and vice-chancellor announced further action in August 2020, by saying “The eight commitments are the first actions to come from recent consultations and will allow the University to develop a collaborative approach to developing a long-term sustainable strategy for tackling systemic racism.” One of the commitments is the development of a non-credit anti-racism course which would be available to all students. A course implies that there would be several lessons which may burden students who are dealing with their first year of University. Additionally, unless the course is mandatory, students may never be exposed to it. Alternatively, holding a town hall would be less onerous on the students and likely to increase attendance.

The concept of a town hall allows for an interactive conversation between students and faculty. It could present an opportunity to reset the baseline of acceptable language and behaviours by all students and faculty members. The town hall session(s) could be held at the onset of the school year, perhaps during orientation week or first week of classes. Furthermore, Waterloo has an obligation to ensure that its affiliate Universities’ policies align with their own and specifically, address systemic racism.

I would promote the town hall as I believe everyone can benefit from the education of racism. Alerting students and faculty of the University’s culture and position on systemic racism will create an opportunity for more open dialogue and foster a change in behaviour where everyone will be better equipped to advocate against racism when they see it.

Dear Executive Leadership of Waterloo University,

The University of Waterloo should consider hosting a town hall session to communicate the University’s culture and discuss the intolerance to systemic racism. This request was inspired by an event that occurred on June 6th 2020, where a St. Jerome’s professor used the N-word in class. In August 2020, Feridun Hamdullahpur announced eight commitments to address systemic racism; one of the commitments is the development of a non-credit anti-racism course which would be available to all students. However, a course implies that there would be several lessons which may burden students who are dealing with the stress of first year of University. Additionally, unless the course is mandatory, students may never actually be exposed to it. Conversely, holding a town hall would be less onerous on students and likely to result in increased attendance. The concept of a town hall allows for an interactive conversation between students and faculty. It could present an opportunity to set a baseline of acceptable language and behaviours by all students and faculty members. The town hall session(s) could be held at the beginning of the school year, perhaps during orientation week or the first week of classes. Alerting students and faculty of the University’s culture and position on systemic racism will create an opportunity for more open dialogue and foster a change in behaviour where everyone will be better equipped to advocate against racism when they see it.

Sincerely

___

St. Jeromes University, Psychology Undergraduate Student

My Analysis/Reflection on the Trust Action for the Region of Waterloo

The trust action proposed for the Region of Waterloo is to employ more people of colour in positions, to influence the policies and programs in order to transform Waterloo from a predominantly white space, to an equal space, with the objective of extending the same positive experiences to everyone. In a July 2020 town hall meeting regarding anti-Black racism, residents shared their experiences, including Marjorie Knight of Cambridge who shared a horrific and shocking interaction her daughters had with the police; she explained that “The police were searching for drugs. They pulled my two children out of their school, out of their classroom, searched their bags, searched their lockers, searched their person, because, of course, two little Black girls from Jamaica must absolutely be involved in the drug trade… I cannot begin to tell you the impact this had on my children." This kind of experience is too common in our society, which motivated me to assist in finding a solution, and support the community’s demand for change. Every person in the meeting spoke about the racist biases they have experienced while going about their daily lives. The trust action that I recommend will aim to reduce racist biases that people of the Black community face.

It appears that the Region of Waterloo is a white space, which is defined as an area predominantly run by White people and ignore racist behaviours. Having more diverse representation in council and collaborating with organizations lead by Black, Indigenous and other people of colour to draw on their knowledge and experiences, will make Waterloo an equal space rather than a White space. People of colour can offer different views to incite change to decrease racist biases in the community. This trust request would help shape Waterloo in public services such as policing, transit, public health. As the population grows, so does the diversity in the communities, and all regions must strive to improve social acceptance and eliminate racial injustices. With an increase presence of Black in positions of influence, changes to programs and society’s behaviours will become evident, which in turn will improve the trust between law enforcement and the public, as well as address other shortcomings in transit and the health sector.

By implementing people of colour in the region council who can shape services to be anti-racist, the Waterloo area will appear more inclusive, eliminating systemic racism that lurks in society. Conceivably, the region will transform over time and become a truly equitable district that the coloured people deserves. Furthermore, the transformation could incite positive behaviours creating an open and safe environment for all people, regardless of colour or religion. Ideally, other regions within Ontario could learn from the strategies implemented in Waterloo and perhaps adopt similar philosophy in their regions.

My personal commitment includes continuing to attend Anti-racist town hall meetings and promote this new concept to others. I will empathize with the Black community, aim to better understand their needs, and do what I can to strengthen the alliance as they have requested at the town hall. As a community, everyone has an obligation to help transform the town of Waterloo into anti-racist and equal space for all.

Dear the Waterloo council,

I’m writing to recommend a strategy to address the racial injustices in the Region of Waterloo. It appears that Waterloo has become a white space, in that it is run predominantly by White people. As a result, people of colour are subjected to biases as raised at the July 2020 town hall meeting. It’s unfortunate that members of the Black community do not enjoy the non-prejudice experiences that White people do. Waterloo should aim to become an equal space, extending the same positive experiences to all its residents.

The Region of Waterloo should strongly consider employing more people of colour in positions of influence, to form policies and programs that are required to eliminate the injustices that lurk in the community. Having more diverse representation in council as well as collaborating with organizations lead by Black, Indigenous and other people of colour to draw on their knowledge and experiences, will aid in reshaping Waterloo into an equal space rather than a White space. People of colour can offer different views to incite change, and to decrease racist biases in the community. This strategy could be used in public service areas such as policing, transit, public health.

By investing in the community in this way, the Region of Waterloo will conceivably become a truly equitable and safe environment for all people, regardless of colour or religion. With collaboration, we can help transform the town of Waterloo into anti-racist and equal space for all.

Sincerely

___

Student at the University of Waterloo

The University of Waterloo should have annual assemblies specifically talking about the issue of challenging anti-Black racism. It should have quest speakers (could include teachers, students, or outside communities) to talk about their experiences and how they worked to challenge it. They can be recorded and put online as well for anyone who cannot attend. I chose this action item because when I was in elementary, we had assemblies that targeted certain awareness topics like bullying, food drives, and the homeless. Although these were mandatory, they were always fun and taught me a lot about the specific topics and motivated me to do something about it and try and help. Assemblies can do a lot more then explain a topic, it can make someone really understand the topic/issue and spread awareness by bringing in people who can paint a better picture about the real issues going on in the world. While growing up and attending different assemblies in school, I helped organize a lot of them and seeing the commitment that everyone made was great, as well as seeing the impact that it had on certain people. In these assemblies, with the help of staff and students could be hosted in bigger building on campus and lecture halls. They would first talk about what racism is and why it is a problem not only on campuses but in the world After that, we would move into examples of racism and how we can challenge it. Then we would bring in speakers to talk about their experiences with racism, how they were able to overcome it, and how they challenged it. Lastly, we would talk about why it is important that we challenge anti-Black racism in our every day lives and to not be afraid to let our voices be heard. For anyone with questions, they can feel free to ask away at the end of the assemblies and even share stories of their own about their experiences with racism and how or how they challenged it. This will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo by teaching students and teachers more about challenging anti-Black racism and the importance of it. Yes, we hear that people know about challenging anti-Black racism however, not a lot of them actually take action and do something with that information, which will be the main focus of these assemblies. The more people know and understand about the topic, the more they will feel the need to either take some sort of action, or just simply treating Black people with the same respect as they would to another person. I think that at the University of Waterloo, somethings I can do to challenge anti-Black racism are to challenge other White people to think about racism, call out/reject white privilege I encounter, as well as starting a social media account for how to challenge anti-Black racism and post things that are going on in the world about racism. I can also put up flyers to get people to know about the social media account to get followers. I would love to join other existing groups that deal with challenging anti-Black racism and contribute to the things they may have started to do or give my own ideas that may help out. I would definitely speak at any events that go on about challenging anti-Black racism and would even start some of my own, with the help of other.

The Region of Waterloo should raise awareness about the rights and responsibilities towards racism by hosting cultural events that have fun activities as well as teaching others about how to challenge anti-Black racism and the importance of it. I chose this action because it is a great way to bring people together in a somewhat fun manner, as well as a serious one to discuss anti-Black racism. Having events for the community and in the community is always a good way to entice people to come out and learn about things that are important and meaningful. By hosting events like this, we can reach out to an entire range of people and let them experience for themselves, how Black people experience life. I also love to meet new people and get people together to share common thoughts and experiences. This could be done in the following way:

1. I would start by putting together a team of people who would be interested in helping organize the event and once I have found the right amount of people,

2. We would go to the board and confirm that the idea is okay and is good to pursue.

3. We would start planning the event and what it would include. I envisioned the event starting off with some Black cultural music along with posters and descriptions of Black influencers and their views on racism. The event would have stations that are interactive and teach the guests about the rights Black people have but are unfortunately not followed, the responsibilities that White people have in order to end racism, and putting White people in the shoes of a Black person and what they experience on a daily basis. The station on the responsibilities White people have could include scenarios where the guests chose what they should do (hence, their responsibility to know the right thing to do in order to, a. not be racist; b. not influence racist behaviour, and c. know when someone else is being racist and to advise them of their unacceptable behaviour. The main goal of having stations is to engage people and to visually teach them rather than just verbally. Further, the event would have cultural symbols of the Black community that guests can look and learn about. Next, we would continue to the speaking portion where people of the Black community would express their concerns about what they have gone through and how they felt in those situations. They also can hopefully share some positive stories they have involving matters where others stood up and spoke about anti-Black racism to help them in times of need. The night would end with special thanks to everyone who was able to attend the event and to let everyone know that they never should be afraid to speak up. Also, I would love to have giveaways, like little keychains as a memory of the day. I believe this would contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo by showing people the importance of Black people (that they are no less important than anyone else) and the amazing culture they have to share. In fact, they have much more to share with the rest of the world and that should be seen as an advantage to the world to get to know this amazing culture better. People should start to see and realize that Black people are just like the rest of us but have gone through horrible things just because of their skin colour. This is when we can finally live in a world where humanity is one. People should appreciate each other fully, accept each other fully and be proud of it. For me, personally, to challenge anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo would be to reach out to the Black community and learn more about them and what I can offer to them in order to help get messages out there about the importance of understanding how to truly challenge anti-Black racism.

Trust #1 University of Waterloo:

Anti-Black racism is an issue that is clearly engraved in our society, as it is embedded in government systems, work institutions, and education systems. I believe that the first step in challenging this systemic problem is to start at the educational level, which is where the trust request for the University of Waterloo (UW) begins. Implementing courses on anti-Black racism is always a good idea, because the more educated people are on the issue, the more they can spread awareness and teach others. However, educating people on racism and its history should not be something that is only geared towards students, but should be aimed for Faculty members at the university as well. This trust request involves Faculty members taking a mandatory antiracism course before they begin teaching. The course would teach members about the history on Black oppression and talk about racism at its core. It would also expand on contemporary racist issues in Canada in regards to racism in our work forces, our government systems and educational systems. Members of Faculty would be given ways to challenge these instances, as well as ways to talk to students who are faced with the same problems. With this course, the leaders and role models at our university would be more educated and could continue to spread that education and awareness through the students that they’re teaching. Students, especially Black students who are targeted in society, need to be able to feel comfortable coming to someone such as a professor to talk about racist instances in the classroom or school system. For this to happen, professors should have the background education and open-mindedness to help challenge these problems in the UW community. I believe that educating Faculty members is the first step in challenging racism at Waterloo, as they are the leaders of our community, and in most circumstances people of higher authority have an increased chance of creating change.

Implementing this trust request at the University of Waterloo could help to challenge anti-Black racism in several ways. The first being that it would help minimize ignorance in people with authority in the UW community. This, in turn, would also help with the flow of awareness regarding the issues of racism in society, as educated, open-minded teachers produce educated, open-minded students. Secondly, if students know that professors have taken the time to learn about the oppression of Black people, it would open up an opportunity for Black students to feel more comfortable coming to Faculty members about racist experiences in the school community. This would create more awareness as more Black students might want to come forward and speak on their personal experiences, allowing the school to act on these issues that occur at the school. It would also help to minimize racist or ignorant circumstances among Faculty themselves, as some people might simply be too uneducated to realize that they’ve been discriminative or prejudicial towards students or other faculty members throughout their careers. If faculty members at UW are educated on the systemic racism immersed in our society I believe it would help our school community in a number of ways, preventing situations of anti-Black racism from occurring in the future.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at University of Waterloo has just recently started, and taking this class is my first step. I want to be able to help prevent racism in our school community by educating others and to help be the voice for all the Black students at UW who have felt oppressed in their lives, and I’ve began that by educating myself first.

Trust #2 Region of Waterloo:

As previously mentioned, I believe that education is the best place to start in order to challenge anti-Black racism. From my personal experience, a large part of racist issues that are dealt with today are due to the fact that there are ignorant, naive people, who grow up with ignorant, naive parents, all of whom help to perpetuate racism in society. At the foundation of this ignorance is simply a large amount of uneducated people, which is why the trust request for the region of Waterloo targets the Waterloo Regional District School Board (WRDSB). The Region of Waterloo needs to implement mandatory courses on the history of racism as well as contemporary issues regarding racism into the educational system, for primary and secondary school students. Teaching about the historical oppression of Black people and shaping the minds of children at a young age to challenge racism would help to prevent ignorance in society. If these courses are taught when children are younger, they would be more familiar and comfortable talking about racism, which would help to create less tension when the topic of racism is brought up. A lot of times, the sheer discomfort of talking about racism steers people away from talking about it, as they feel uneducated, or as if it’s not their place to speak on racist issues. Getting rid of discomfort when talking about systemically perpetuated human rights issues is a huge step in the right direction, because talking about an issue provokes action.

In order for this to happen, it needs to start in the educational system, with children being taught about racism. Throughout primary and secondary schools, words like “racism”, “Apartheid”, “segregation” and “slavery”, have been tossed into classes occasionally, with a brief description, and then the topic is closed. I feel that a detailed, thorough class should be dedicated to talking about anti-Black racism, and should be as relevant as history, or geography, or music. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.” The truth in this statement is rigorous, as children are exactly that. Kids are sent to school to learn about matters such as what 3x3 is, or the how to measure the speed of light, or how to craft an essay so you’ll sound intelligible. And while I can argue that these can be useful skills, I can also point out how ridiculous it is that children don’t learn about the basic human rights violations that occur in our world everyday. They don’t learn how to challenge racism when it’s in front of their faces, or how to take action and help oppressed Black people in our society. This is why I believe that if WRDSB implements a course such as this, it will greatly contribute to challenging anti-Black racism. If kids are being taught about racism everyday in school, then it will help to limit the amount of uneducated, ignorant people growing up in our society. It will open up doors for people to feel that they can talk about racism and how to challenge it. If children are our future, we need to ensure that our future relies on open-minded, educated, anti-Black racist people, and we need to ensure that this starts from childhood.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the region of Waterloo revolves around me advocating for Black rights in my daily life and on social media. I do a lot on social media whether it’s posting information to help educate others, or posting petitions and places to donate that would help the Black community in Kitchener. If I come across an uneducated ignorant person, I think it’s best to handle those situations by teaching people and showing them how they’re wrong, and majority of the time they appreciate that fact, and go on to grow and become more aware.

Trust Request #1 – University of Waterloo

I’d like to challenge the University of Waterloo to host forums for Black folk and people of Black descent to forge a path to make the University of Waterloo more diverse and welcoming to Black people. These forums will include participation from Black employees, Black students, former Black employees/retirees and Black alumni. I chose this action item because I believe everyone deserves a voice and by creating a safe space for others to share their experiences and ideas on how to create a more inclusive environment. By doing this, you see the power in numbers and the greater chance the thoughts, feelings, recommendations and experiences can be shared.

The purpose of this trust is to create a community where Black folk can share their experiences, concerns and recommendations. These concerns and recommendations would then be compiled and submitted to the change makers of the University to create a more diverse, inclusive and supportive post-secondary education experience.

I believe by including employees, current students, former students/employees and alumni we have the ability to learn from history and recognize how far the University of Waterloo has come, while also acknowledging how far we still have to go. I believe by creating a space such as this, it helps to challenge anti-Black racism by acknowledging the structural inequality Black folk face within our education system. By identifying and using the insights of those experiencing oppression within the walls of the University of Waterloo we are able to ignite solutions that are more equitable and just. By creating a forum, it provides an opportunity to compile the voices of so many to put a strategy in place for education and a way to share personal experiences that can help give those outside of the community the ability to see the world through the experiences and challenges the systemic structures that reinforce inequality throughout our post-secondary institutions.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo starts with taking my ignorance on the issues of the unfair and unjust treatment of the Black community and turning them into knowledge and power. I stand here today a pledge that I will continue to listen empathetically to my fellow students and their experiences, continue to learn and grow through the material taught in Dr. Taylor’s class and continue to be curious as I establish myself as an ally for the Black community. I vow to stand up for any unjust treatment I may witness and am committed to sharing my knowledge with others. I will no longer stand back, knowledge is power and the more power I can share, the better chance we have at seeing changes and equitable treatment for every student at the University of Waterloo.

Trust Request #2 – Region of Waterloo

I’d like to challenge the Region of Waterloo to identify systemic barriers to accessing Region of Waterloo’s programs and services for Black folk. I chose this action item because as we look to wrapping up the year 2020, I do not believe that any individual should feel like there are barriers that restrict them from participating, feeling safe, welcome and equal in our society today. This action item forces our political leaders in the Region of Waterloo to ask for input, give a voice to those who are experiencing barriers to programs and services in the community and really dive deep into the disparities still being faced today. It requires that our policy makers, political leaders and organizations take a proactive approach and incorporate a human rights mindset into all decisions made.

Once the barriers have been identified, political leaders and organizations can take a closer look and make plans on how to remove the systemic barriers that exist. These plans should include setting specific, measurable goals for removing identified barriers, creating clear timelines for achieving these goals, allocate adequate resources, ensure accountability and responsibility for meeting these goals and include a system to regularly track, review and evaluate progress towards these goals.

I believe if the Region of Waterloo took the steps to break down the barriers that exist within community programming and services, it will contribute to challenging antiBlack racism by acknowledging those barriers publicly, which therefor is taking accountability and committing to change.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism within my own community starts with no longer turning a blind eye to the disparities and unfair treatment to those of a certain race. I commit to acknowledging when I see opportunities for change and bringing forth my observations to those in my community that have the power to change the programs and services that are not inclusive of all individuals. If we as individuals continue to ignore or stay silent on these issues, changes can never be made. I vow to use my voice and bring awareness and not stop when the going gets tough. Change does not happen overnight. I promise to find the fight within me to speak on behalf of those who feel like they do not have a voice and continue educating myself and those around me to ensure equality for all.

The University of Waterloo needs to have more clubs and programs for Black youth leadership.

The reason I choose this Trust to challenge anti-Black racism at our university is because I think it’s important for Black students to be able to come together and help each other become stronger leaders. Leadership programs create several benefits like increasing productivity, promoting better decision making, build better teams, and training future leaders. The possession of programs like this, that are available to Black youth at our university will help them prepare for the future.

Leadership/mentorship programs benefit both the mentor and mentees. Students with a passion to lead or aspire to start their own business would benefit to its maximum ability through a program like this. It will help them learn and grow. A mentor can be an individual who is an experienced business owner or manager who has a passion for helping youth. This club would be a place for Black students to embrace their Black cultural identity. This program would be open to all Black students at the University of Waterloo and it should be encouraged and supported by WUSA to get undergraduate students involved. They can encourage people to join by talking about it in classes, on social media, and raising awareness through events. Mentors could be upper-year students, staff, and could also be other individuals in the Waterloo area who have experience in leadership positions. Furthermore, special guests can also be brought in to speak to the students in this club/program. These special guests could bring in a wide range of skills for students to learn.

This will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo by giving Black students more opportunities to branch out. It gives these students a strong foundation to gain important skills for the future, especially students who are aspiring leaders. Programs like this are important because they benefit everyone involved, mentors and mentees. We need to give these students more opportunities and a program like this a great start.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism at the University of Waterloo is by supporting and demanding change. I would support and be there for my friends and peers. I would demand change by questioning those of authority since they have the power to make a change. Lastly, I would keep myself educated as an outsider to this issue. I think that knowledge holds a lot of power and the first thing you need to do to fight for change is be educated.

The region of Waterloo needs to hold more events for the Black community to educate others in the region with the presence of elected representatives to help find ways to make the city better.

The reason I choose this Trust to challenge anti-Black racism in the region of Waterloo is because I think it’s important for elected representatives to be present at events held by the Black community. Elected representatives have the power to make a change and that is something the region requires.

This event would be put together by the Black community in the region of Waterloo and be open to everyone in the city. This event would be a place where people can get to know others in their city while being educated on issues presented by the Black community. Refreshments could be provided to attract more individuals while a speaker is on stage presenting the history and issues that Black individuals are facing. By having this event open to elected representatives and media outlets it helps bring more attention to the issues being presented and discussed. Events like this should take place often, every couple of months.

This will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the wider society because events hosted with the presence of media outlets and elected representatives will help the fight for change. Media outlets have the power to broadcast to a wide range of viewers and being able to reach a wide set of people brings together more allies. They help spread the news and knowledge which is very important. The event may be hosted in front of the city but with the use of media, it could be spread throughout Canada and possibly even globally. Elected representatives play a big role here because they are the ones that have the power to make a change. Elected representatives are elected by the people in a country, city, or other geographical units to represent them in a legislature or government. Some of their key tasks include investigating matters of concern to the public, introducing proposals for government action and representing public interests, attending community functions and meetings of local groups to provide service to the community, gain public opinion, and presenting petitions on behalf of concerned groups. All of the listed duties will aid in challenging anti-Black racism.

My personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo will be shown by attending and helping make these events happen. This will allow me to gain more knowledge that I would be able to share with others. Being educated and the ability to educate people on these issues is key to challenging anti-Black racism. We need to spread the knowledge, for change to happen. I would also help with raising awareness for these events by informing others with the use of social media. Lastly, I would make sure it becomes a regular thing by keeping representatives accountable. I want to become an active member of the Waterloo community who helps fight for change where it’s needed.

Trust Requests: # 1 University of Waterloo

Within our schools and society as a whole, Black members of the LGBTQ experience some of the most hardships any individual can go through. Not only do they deal with racist comments but also homophobic comments leading to their lives being taken and/or a much more difficult life growing up. A lot of the killings were in the United States but that doesn’t mean these individuals feel safe here as it’s members of their community being taken. In Canada, mainly Toronto and Ottawa there are several concerns around harassment and being a person of colour puts their threats at a more concerning level. Creating services to help Black members of the LGBTQ feel safer in our community/school through counseling and educating students around the difficulties of both race and sexuality could be very beneficial.

Raising awareness on a topic that covers not only racism, but sexuality is insanely important as I’ve heard people in the past preach BLM but turn around and be homophobic. Hearing these comments can come off to Black LGBTQ as they don’t matter creating a feeling of loneliness. Bringing counseling into our university could welcome them into a safe place to talk about their difficulties and troubles they face daily. Having a counseling program set up for Black members of the LGBTQ could welcome them to feeling a lot safer to discuss their troubles they may not be open to talk about with an average counselor. Another way our school can form change is by educating students on Black Lives and the history they dealt with while in cooperating the difficulties Black LGBTQ faced in history or currently whether it’s locally or worldwide. I feel as though not enough students including myself know a lot about the troubles they face. Upon light research, it shows that Black trans women face countless threats and murders whether that’s racially motivated or homophobia. I think it’s an insanely important discussion to talk about and educate the students at Waterloo on. They could educate students through a BLM course, Black history month, or providing educational resources emailed out to students.

Raising awareness around Black members of LGBTQ contributes greatly when it comes to challenging racism as Black members experience an extraordinary amount of hate and harassment. When students become educated on the matter it will begin to prevent cases of harassment in Ontario but also worldwide when international students read and hear about it. Educating students is one of the best ways to bring change to our society. Counseling would contribute to challenging racism as Black individuals will begin to find a safe place to discuss feelings and learn strategies on what to do when they’re approached with racist comments and harassment.

My commitment to this topic would be being an ally to Black Lives and Black members of LGBTQ to always listen, support, and help them in any way they need. Helping educate peers around me and learning about the cause in my own time will allow me to be a better ally for them. Another way would be guiding those who need help to resources that could be beneficial for their mental health like counselors. The most important part is not attacking them with questions and letting them come to you if they need help as sometimes it may not be your place to discuss. Contributing to helping the school find a beneficial counseling program that allows them to feel safe is very important to me as long with spreading awareness.

Black members of the LGBTQ face constant harassment daily and in the United States, there have been extreme cases resulting in murders. I think it’s very beneficial to raise awareness and provide ways to help to the best of your ability as well as asking members of the community for ideas as they would know best.

Trust Request: #2 Region of Waterloo

After the death of George Floyd and Brennan Taylor it has become severely important that we reform the police worldwide. Canada even had problems with horrible police with the death of Regis. Just listing three names in the past year should be enough for cops to reform the corrupt justice and police system. I’m against the idea of defunding the police as I believe they shouldn’t be defunded but rather reformed to create a safer community. The Region of Waterloo should reform their system and begin to do background checks every ten years to filter out bad cops who may be abusive and be a part of racially motivated situations. Filtering out the bad cops prevents racial profiling, false accusations, and police brutality. Another way they can reform their system is having social workers on board as they can handle people of colour or any individual who deals with mental illness oppose to shooting them and labelling them as “crazy”.

Reforming the cops is one of the most important things to be done for a city especially in a time involving injustices. Innocent lives are being taken, harassed, and wrongfully accused just because of their skin tone which is not okay in any circumstance. A minor crime doesn’t account for a death. Taking the budget, the police are given yearly and reforming it in ways to not only better the justice system, but better Black lives needs to be done. They could create extra training courses on how to handle situations a lot better, every ten years take background checks on the police force to make sure they haven’t had anything come up in the past few years, and begin to normalize calling cops out when they’re in the wrong even if it’s a chief on duty. Having this enforced will grant a better opportunity for Black lives and police to form a better bond, no person should be afraid to walk past the people who’re supposed to protect you.

This will contribute greatly to challenging anti-Black racism in the region. Systematic racism has become so integrated into the justice system that it has finally accumulated and lead to deaths and worldwide protests in 2020. Reforming the justice system can help abolish systematic racism and Black individuals won’t be afraid to walk the streets at night in the fear a cop may stop or wrongfully shoot them because they were racially profiled, and the cop thought it was someone else. The pain of seeing loved ones pass away because of cops has a better chance of not reoccurring with reforming in place. The budget the police force is given yearly is constantly used above what they’re given yet our police system still has had little to know change. Waterloo and Canada may not be as bad as the United States but that’s more of a reason why we should change so we don’t become just as bad as the States.

I will personally contribute to this challenge through protesting, signing petitions, and emailing the justice system if I need to. It is not okay to come out of these horrific events and not bring any change into our justice system when now more than ever we need it. I will personally contribute any possible way I can to demand our police and justice system to be reformed. How many Black lives and protests do we need to go through before justice is served?

University of Waterloo (Trust #1)

The University of Waterloo needs to implement a variety of Black racism and other racism courses as a mandatory requirement for graduation. Such a course will allow students to learn about the impact racism has had and continues to have within our communities and our day to day lives. By offering a variety of courses focusing on anti-Black racism and racism we are not singling out racialized students but allowing all students, no matter who they are, to engage on this topic in an academic environment. Such a setting would allow for a formal examination of racism from factual and historical context in Canada but allow the creation of a forum for students to be better prepared as they enter the workforce and live with others in their communities with the impact’s racism has on our society.

I have chosen this trust action/item as students need to be fully conscious of racism and the impacts it has in our everyday lives. We need to be aware of the history of racism and how it has impacted people in our communities. We also need to learn from history if we have addressed racism and its root causes so we can examine our efforts today to address racism effectively. Many people, including students, are not aware of how racism has harmed racialized people they work with, go to school with or live with in the same communities.

I would foresee this course examining racism from a historical perspective from the lens that shows how racism in its different forms has been in Canada since its inception and how it continues today. For example, in the course curriculum, I would want to examine how racist policies towards Indigenous people allowed Canada to take land and create a culture of oppression that continues today. I would also want to study how racism exists in our social institutions, including how racism against the Black community has occurred in the justice system, particularly the relationship with police.

Having UW students complete a mandatory course is a short and long-term investment in helping address racism. It allows current students to learn more about racism especially as diversity is becoming more important with both the public and private sector. It can also be applied to student’s day to day lives and help them to identify if they are being discriminated against or if someone they know is being discriminated against and give them the skills to help and support them. The course would also be a longer-term investment by preparing this generation to understand the issues and help shape an anti-racism world we want to live in.

This trust action/item will contribute to challenging anti- Black racism at the University of Waterloo by acknowledging that anti- Black racism and racism still happens today in our society. Students need to be aware that in certain situations they can be discriminated against and racism can happen. Even for students who are Black they need to know that everyone stands with them. In having a mandatory course for all, we were able to challenge anti-Black racism by educating students earlier on. This will allow us to build a community of people within this course. Students will be able to know that they are not alone and learn ways in which racism can have an impact.

My own personal commitment to challenging anti-Black racism would be by bringing awareness to friends and fellow students to take courses on how to challenge anti-Black racism. I would encourage them to learn about anti- Black racism and its history. When faced with a situation in which we know that something that is said is wrong in that moment we need to support that person and challenge what is being said. Speaking up and standing up for others is a way in which I can challenge anti-Black racism.

Waterloo Region, Ontario and Canada (Trust #2)

The Region of Waterloo must implement workshops and programs through social programs funded by the government in challenging anti-Black racism within the community. Having programs that allow people to be educated about racism and the history and ways in which we can challenge anti-Black racism will benefit people. Ensuring that people are made aware of this will help all those stand up and challenge the system. Learning ways to approach and how to handle a situation that is racist is important to learn.

I have chosen this trust/action because people need to be educated as to what racism is and what we can do in challenging racism. Many people today do not know the proper terminology or definition of what racism is. Also, people don’t know how to challenge racism or how to even approach the issue. This trust action is a way in which to bring awareness to the issue. Since this issue is still happening today and by having people learn about this and acknowledge that it exists, what ways in which they can create an impact will help benefit the greater community. All communities need to stick together and work together in challenging anti-Black racism.

This trust action/item will benefit the Waterloo region and community in many ways. Through the use of technology, we are able to create online programs and courses which individuals can easily do from home and still learn. It could include information about racism and racist situations that have occurred in the Waterloo Region. This not only allows people to gain knowledge about racism but also helps them learn about situations in their own community which they may not know about. As a result, people in the Waterloo region will have more knowledge and skills in confronting racism. People will be able to take a stand in their community. It will also allow people to recognize whether something is racist and what should be done. Having the community of Waterloo, more involved in the issue of racism will benefit the community and the people in the long run.

This trust action/item will contribute to challenging anti-Black racism in the Region of Waterloo by allowing people to be educated on the topic. Having these programs throughout the region will allow people to become more aware of an issue and realize that this issue is still happening. This will also bring communities together who are living amongst others. It will provide education in how to challenge anti- Black racism to a broader community.

My own personal commitment in challenging anti-Black racism is by advocating for anti-Black racism courses in my own local district. By asking people in my community who have authority to make changes by implementing programs on how to challenge anti-Black racism will bring awareness to this issue. This will lead to the more people becoming aware of this issue. Having my community involved in learning about ways to challenge anti-Black racism will result in building a stronger and more welcoming community.

Trust Request Archive Part 2

Trust Request Archive Part 3