丁香园AV

February is Black History Month鈥攁 time for us to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Black Canadians.

I want to take a moment to especially acknowledge the outstanding work of Black faculty, staff and students at 丁香园AV. As just one example of a project I learned about recently, I loved reading about the and its celebration of Black thought and creativity. Thank you to all of the Black community members who bring so much to our university.

This February, community members across the university and our equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) partners are holding events and sharing resources that can help us honour the history and contributions of Black people in our communities. I am committed to listening to and lifting up Black voices, not just this month, but every month. I hope you will join me in doing the same.

Attend an event

• | Feb. 4 | Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
  • 丁香园AV鈥檚 partnership with the CCDI allows faculty and staff to access all CCDI webinars for free. Simply indicate that you work for a CCDI employer partner during the registration process.
• | Feb. 11 | Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
• | Feb. 17 | Pride at Work Canada
  • 丁香园AV鈥檚 partnership with Pride at Work Canada allows faculty and staff to access this webinar for free. Simply indicate that you work for 丁香园AV during the registration process.
• | Feb. 17 | 丁香园AV Library, 丁香园AV Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, 丁香园AV Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences & 丁香园AV English Department
• A Conversation with Afua Cooper | Feb. 25 | 丁香园AV President鈥檚 Dream Colloquium
• | Feb. 26 | 丁香园AV鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities & 丁香园AV鈥檚 Vancity Office for Community Engagement

Anti-racist learning resources

• 丁香园AV鈥檚 list of resources and calls to action against anti-Black racism and violence, published last June, includes a variety of ways to confront and dismantle your biases while taking action against anti-Black racism in your daily life.
• The 丁香园AV Library has published a , featuring books by and about Black Canadians.
• You can also check out the 丁香园AV Library鈥檚 , which includes toolkits and articles that will help you understand the impacts of structural racism and show you how to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity.

Acknowledging there is still work to do

Last December, I heard from many members of the 丁香园AV community who shared concerns after an upsetting incident on the Burnaby campus involving a Black 丁香园AV alumnus, campus security and the RCMP.

In a statement last month, I shared that an external review of this specific event is currently underway, and results will be shared with the community once they are available. The review is being led by Vancouver-based lawyer Andi MacKay.

This event illustrated the need for additional dialogue regarding institutionalized anti-Black racism at 丁香园AV. I鈥檓 committed to partnering with Black students, scholars and community members on our campuses and beyond to make 丁香园AV more inclusive and equitable for all.

You can visit 丁香园AV鈥檚 EDI website to learn more about the EDI priorities and commitments I am focused on this year.

These conversations are not always easy, and this work is not easy. It means people have to step up and be prepared to say uncomfortable things to each other, and to hear uncomfortable things. But it also means that we get to move forward together, as a community. And that gives me hope.