Challenging the Narratives and Confronting Anti-Black and Other Forms of Racism
Coinciding with the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, the second day of the Ignite Change Global Convention centred on dismantling narratives perpetuating anti-Black racism and other forms of discrimination. We were proud to work in collaboration with the Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots to plan and host this important day which helped us to transition from Day One of the Convention’s exploration of the historical injustices against Indigenous Peoples in Canada to the long-standing discrimination faced by Black and other communities. While the majority of the day’s presentations were held online, an in-person and interactive Youth Anti-Racism Space was held at Edmonton’s Shiloh Baptist Church.
Across the day’s discussions, speakers reflected on the pervasive impact of systemic racism and called for comprehensive reform, addressing pivotal areas such as education, mental health, and community safety, echoing a collective desire for tangible transformation.
The sharing of best practices for political action drew inspiration from the Japanese Canadian community’s efforts in seeking WWII internment redress through organized activism, and the lessons outlined have produced an unofficial toolkit for other marginalized groups aiming to galvanize their voices and effect social change.
In other sessions, educators were equipped with the necessary tools to guide discussions on racism amongst their students, with workshops emphasizing the importance of understanding intersectionality and allyship and culminating these learnings in youth empowering, community-driven projects.
Concluding the day was a poignant exploration of police violence and accountability with a pre-screening of a segment of the documentary Safer For All, followed by a panel of human rights defenders and affected families engaged in a vital discourse about barriers to justice, offering insights into the ongoing fight for accountability and reform within policing practices.
Together, these presentations and workshops rooted participants in the ideals of resilience, empowerment, and the rejection of racist and discriminatory practices on both personal and collective levels.
We encourage you to spend some time exploring some or all of the fascinating and important presentations from Day 2 of the Ignite Change Global Convention, found below. Each presentation and the folks behind them contribute to building a stronger, more equitable, and barrier-free Canada.
Ignite Change Day 2 presentation playlist
Click on the + to the right to expand each presentation and access the YouTube recording.