Member Yasmein
MemberForum Replies Created
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One thing that I will continually do to maintain focus on implementing and improve outcomes for Black youth is ADVOCACY. Marginalized youth not only lacks resources but too often they have no one to speak on their behalf resulting in further marginalization and dehumanizing experiences.
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One simple thing we could do to center Black youth wellbeing in our work and organization is to provide them with access to mentorship, resources, and guidance that can help them reach their goals.
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I believe it has a lot to do with the stories that were told about blackness, which were then used to form the institutions and systems in which we all work and live. These stories of blackness can be traced back to slavery and colonization, which were often used to create racialized narratives that divide, marginalize, and oppress Black people. This further leads to a lack of opportunity for Black people to have equitable access to resources, financial stability, education, and employment opportunities in a society that rewards the idea of whiteness as the dominant narrative. That is why anti-black racism is so prevalent in our world today, and why we must make the conscious effort to recognize and challenge the oppressive systems that have built upon those stories of blackness.
@RyanField Love your illustration and analysis!
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The first thing that came to my mind was baking, especially for someone who’s not a great baker like me (I see Andrew had also pitched the idea). Evaluation is like learning how to bake. You never know where it can go wrong but you learn and better along the way!
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Anti-black racism is still unfortunately very present within our world and educational system. Although we are now discussing it more than ever, it is important for us to learn, educate and create systems of equality within our everyday spheres and institutions. The youth need to feel heard and safe in terms of the issues they encounter. (I am a graphic artist and attached an illustration)
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Hi Ryan! I agree with you in the sense that although discussions are important, action is what’s necessary to dismantle anti-Black racism. Your illustration is beautiful!
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I’m looking forward to using this in the school setting for our morning music in February where we exclusively centre Black identifying artists during Black History and Heritage Month.
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This is incredible – thank you!!
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ABR will continue to be an issue in Ontario until it is addressed and not ignored. No where in school is the history of Black people in Canada taught, when I reflect back on my school days I do not remember learning anything about Black people or how they came to Canada. Also socialization by whiteness, runs so deep that ABR and micro aggressions go unnoticed.
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What I have been doing and will continue to do in my organization is engaging in conversations that focuses and highlights on Black Excellence.
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To reach the widest variety of internal and external viewership, you
must follow your target audience to their preferred social media to hit
their demographic. For instance many younger youth are utilizing tiktok
at the moment so you would want to utilize tiktok as well so when other
youth share your evaluation findings it is being shared directly to the
age demographic you are looking for. -
In addition, some of the modules (such as the historical roots of ABR) are such an important topic. I work in education and I have not seen topics like that addressed in the curriculum. I believe that those topics should be compulsory in the curriculum.
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I couldn’t agree more. Denial of ABR is such a problem given that there is so much evidence. I feel like the responsibility has been placed on Black folks to educate and address this.
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Great list – thanks for sharing!
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Thank you so much for sharing this playlist. It’s fantastic. I can’t wait to pass it along to others.
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I work out of Nova Scotia, so I cannot speak much to the Ontario education system, but I have heard from teachers that there is an unpublished/spoken of “banned book list” for teaching in schools, and many of these are books that discuss topics of race. (I know one example is To Kill A Mockingbird, and possibly the Book of Negroes, as they cited one of the reasons being use of any N-word used to describe Black folks). I wonder what BIPOC folks in this thread think about this sort of censorship to the point of not even addressing topics of race in schools? Is this similar practice in Ontario?
If so, I wonder how little, if any education is happening in schools about race. I certainly never learned about anything from Module One when I was in school, and I think that it is so important that we are not only talking about current topics of race, but learning about our history as well.
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Agreed–and then whenever there are ABR initiatives, they get sub-summed by ‘EDI’ and the needs of other groups are prioritized.
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I agree with both sentiments that the continued denial of anti-black racism in Canada, combined with individual ignorance and complacency, allow this type of racism to keep its stronghold on our minds. Yes, the education system doesn’t support learning these histories–but based on the module, why would it? I think that there is an element of complacency among dominant races because they live in the privilege and freedom of ignorance. It does not even occur to them to look for these histories. When they learn the history, they say “I choose to believe…” So now there is no objective truth that we all share? TL;DR: white supremacy and colonization
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Totally agree with this! There is not enough happening within the education system overall and there is so much work that can still be done to ensure voices are heard.
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I really like the idea of ‘staying present’. In the sense that this is ongoing and continuous work, and does not stop with one workshop or certificate. The notion of staying present is also quite powerful as Black youth are surrounded by microagressions 24/7, they don’t get to ‘turn off’ their blackness, and as a white practitioner, I have the responsibility to be present/aware 24/7 as well.
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Thank you for sharing this.
There are so many great resources with this training. This is one of the things I am thankful for with this training, is the learning that can continue even with the time ending.
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Completely agree! I do think there needs to be a change in curriculum and how information is delivered. I would like to see a shift in this and for students to feel like they are represented in what is being taught. It takes a community to create this change. I have seen some really positive shifts but we are not there yet. There is A LOT that needs to be re-evaluated.
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I love this response Alyssa. I think that this is such an important question to ask and your response resonates for me.
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Thank you so so much for sharing all of this! I really appreciate it. I feel like I have so much still to learn and this is a continued area of growth for me.
I also really enjoyed the additional readings/fact sheets that were included throughout this course. There are so many good ones. I just wish we had more time to go through more of the content.
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Absolutely agree with this.
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I completely agree with this too. I also work in a school setting and I think there is always a need for more education. I too think it is incredibly important continue to work towards empowering youth voices. I know that our board has done some focus groups to better understand how the board can support and empower voices further. There is a continued need to make this a focus and remember that everyone’s experience is different.
Someone below commented on the need to listen, listen and listen more and truly HEAR what is being stated. It resonates with me.
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Yes I appreciated the comment in the lecture to “Listen, Listen and Listen again, and Keep Listening” as we need to really hear what the youth are trying to tell us and we can’t assume that we know how or what they are feeling.
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I agree with you, youth leadership opportunities have a profound impact on positive mental health and well-being. Prioritizing leadership opportunities for Black youth is one positive change that we have made at our school.
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I agree with you. I have heard time and again that ‘at least we aren’t like the U.S.’. It is this ignorance of our own history that allows people to more easily sweep anti-Black racism under the rug.
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We have been doing the same thing in our library and in our classrooms to ensure that all students can see themselves reflected and celebrated in the resources we use to support their learning. One recent initiative has been to ensure that black authors are represented in all genres within our resources, fiction/non-fiction.
