The Collective’s March 23rd Open Letter to the then Interim Dean, Adalsteinn Brown, was in response to anti-Black tweets directed at Dr. Rinaldo Walcott (Ontario Institute for Educational Studies, University of Toronto) and further sought to highlight broader issues of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism at the School.
The Collective’s engagement with the re-establishment of the Diversity and Equity Committee, launched in November 2016, led The Collective to learn of a Task Force from the late 1990s that aimed to address the lack of ethno-racial diversity at what was then the Department of Public Health Sciences. The eight demands of the Collective’s Open Letter had striking parallels to those outlined in an unpublished 1999 Report from the Task Force.
It became evident that The Collective was a warranted intervention on 20 years of inaction on addressing anti-Black racism and discrimination at the School.
Race-based Data is not Racial Justice
The Black Public Health Collective (BPHC) is in rage and solidarity with Black communities locally and globally. In this moment, our communities are locked in an ongoing struggle for survival, livelihood and basic human rights. We are pushing back against a system designed to erase Black Life, pathologize Blackness and reinforce ideologies of “inferiority”.
Read the full statement here.
Statement of Principles for Organizing
Recent events in Canada and the United States have fractured any illusions mainstream society had of fairness, equity and justice. Experiences of anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism are the lived realities of so many on Turtle Island. Now more than ever radical Black organizing, and Indigenous solidarity are needed.
Read our Statement of Principles for Organizing here.
A Site of Neglect, Blackness in Public Health Education/Un sujet négligé, l’identité Noire au sein de l’éducation en matière de santé publique
This review of curricula from Canadian public health academic institutions found gaps in public health education as it relates to the health of Black people in Canada. Anti-Black racism continues to create conditions that leave Black communities susceptible to a myriad of health challenges. Canadian public health practitioners need to be educated and equipped to address the unique needs of Black communities and prevent health inequities.
Current curricula are unlikely to be sufficient for fostering a critical public health praxis that responds to white supremacy and its impact on the health of Black people. The lack of graduate-level courses on the health of Black people is an opportunity to reimagine public health curricula and work towards education that focuses on the health and well-being of Black communities. This environmental scan was conducted and report compiled by (listed in order of contributions) Jo-Ann Osei-Twum, Nahid Widaatalla, Gideon Quaison, Rhonda Boateng and Ilhan Abdullahi.
Read the full English report here and French report here.