Don't Get Tired, Get Radical: Next Steps to Take Action for Black Canada

It’s been a month.

On June 3rd, I shared Welcome to Black Canada: How to Take Action, a resource for folks in Canada who are just waking up to the realities Black Canadians face.

We covered what you should know about Black people in Canada today, immediate actions you can take to support Black people in Canada, organizations you can support, and people to follow. 

Since then, we’ve been doing the work. 

You, I hope, have been doing the work. 

Here’s a sample of what has been accomplished in Canada in one month:

• Read the list of demands from Black Lives Matter that have been achieved;

• Toronto city council passed a motion on police reform (but stopped short of budget cuts, unfortunately);

• B.C. Legislature has committed to reviewing the Police Act;

• Canada’s largest school board voted to end armed police presence in schools; we saw similar in Hamilton; 

• Canada’s largest mental health hospital called for the removal of police from front lines for people in crisis.

There’s more to do.

Just in the last month (ONE month!) in Canada we have witnessed the murder of Chantel Moore at the hands of police; we have witnessed the murder of Regis Korchinski-Paquet at the hands of police; we have witnessed the murder of Ejaz Ahmed Choudry at the hands of police; we have witnessed Mona Wang brutalized and head stomped by a police officer during a wellness check; we have witnessed the murder of Rodney Levi by an RCMP officer; we have witnessed the brutal beating at police hands of Chief Allan Adam.

Tomorrow is Canada Day.

This is an opportunity to look hard and deep at the systems that make Canada, and how they perpetuate police violence, Indigenous and Black incarceration, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, widespread racism, and Canadians’ social and cultural complicity in all of this.

We’ve heard a lot about how allies are tired.

This is not the time to be tired or inward-looking. This is a time for action. And if you are not taking action right now, you are complicit. There is work to be done.

Canadians, here are some next steps for how you can support BIPOC folks in our communities.

LEARN

• What defunding the police could look like in Canada’s largest city

• Policy Options for Defunding the Police & Creating Alternative Services of Safety and Support

• A Call to Courage–An Open Letter to Canadian Urbanists, by Jay Pitter

• What we know about the last 100 people shot and killed by police in Canada

• Five charts that show what systemic racism looks like in Canada

• Systemic racism grows roots in Canada since the release of Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry

• Canada should declassify, deconstruct, and defund the RCMP

• Over 600 doctors have signed a letter demanding that the City of Toronto defund the police as a concrete way to address the public health crisis of systemic anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism in policing

ACT

• How to ensure Black lives really matter in your organization

• Take action at work by reflecting on your recruitment practices

• Take action at work by taking steps to retain your diverse team members

• Public Servants: Join the Anti-Racism Ambassadors Network 

• If you’re an adoptive parent of a BIPOC kid, learn how to shape your child’s community as one that is anti-racist and inclusive

• Defund the Police:

  • Ottawa: Defund the Police #CancelCanadaDay Bike Ride, info here; petition here; letter writing campaign here; follow @J4Abdirahman, @cpepgroup and @horizonottawa; contact Ottawa’s new anti-racism liaison, Councilor Rawlson King 

  • Toronto: follow @blm_to and @Justice4Soli

  • Hamilton: petition here; follow @HWDSBKids

  • Montreal: follow #blmmontreal

  • Halifax: follow Abolish the Police Halifax/K’jipuktuk

  • Saskatoon: letter writing campaign here

  • Winnipeg: petitions here and here; follow @WpgPoliceHarm

  • Edmonton: letter writing campaign here; follow @blmyeg

  • Calgary: petition here and here; use this call to action email for elected officials

  • Vancouver: letter writing campaign here

GIVE

• Check out the list of organizations highlighted in our Welcome to Black Canada resource. These organizations have been doing some heavy lifting the last few weeks and they still need our support. 

FOLLOW

(Make sure you visit the Welcome to Black Canada article for more excellent people to follow)

• Jay Pitter

• Maya Basudde

• Jace Meyer

• Sandy Hudson

• Gabrielle Fayant

• The Criminalization and Punishment Education Project

The actions above are critical and urgent. Taking action involves you putting pressure on elected officials and the systems that run our communities. 

Remember: you are also a critical part of systems that need change. Your work, school, community associations - they all require rigorous and intentional anti-racism efforts. If you need support thinking about how you can make these systematic changes, contact the QuakeLab team for a free 30 minute consultation.