NO MORE EXCUSES — BLACK LIVES MATTER
Smile stands with black people in opposition to anti-black racism
We recognize the diversity and individuality of black people, the big and small injustices that impact their lives, the seen and unseen aggressions endured, and the pain that occurs when we fail to weigh the humanity of others more highly than their physicality, fail to seek understanding, fail to question our assumptions and beliefs, fail to practice self-awareness and moreover when we fail to speak up.
These are dangerous omissions in a time when black people are dying disproportionately from targeted violence and the effects of systemic marginalization. The end of anti-black racism is long overdue.
We have hope for a more equitable world and believe that this is achievable. It is the responsibility of each of us to educate ourselves on anti-black racism and to figure out how we will move from silent complicity to supporters of our fellow humans in crisis.
Read more about our Philosophy.
Please make use of the resources below which aim to sensitize us to how anti-black racism shows up in the world and is experienced.
About Racism
- Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination - an informative framework for identifying racism
- CBC Radio. "Canada's Slavery Secret" - A historian explains the whitewashing of black enslavement
- City of Toronto. "Addressing Anti-black Racism as a Public Health Crisis" - National exploration of the ongoing problem of anti-black racism
- Equal Justice Initiative - Reports on the history of racial injustice
Black perspectives and cultural inquiries we found interesting
- The Inclusion Solution - focuses on issues of diversity and inclusion and offers some solutions for a more inclusive world
- In Conversation: Desmond Cole and Tea Mutonji - two writers on media representation, anti-Black violence, and true liberation
- Afrotech - prolific platform for all things black in business and tech
- HyperAllergic, "The Largely Unknown History of Blackface in Canada" - exploring violently racialised imagery in Canada