Black History Month- Understanding Black Lives and Creating Racial Solidarity

Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face.”
Carol Moseley-Braun
Dear All,
With this year’s theme “The Future is Now”, the Black History month is being celebrated to honour the achievements of the black people and their valuable contributions to diverse fields of life. It is also an occasion to talk about the struggles and challenges they encountered and the fights they won towards ending racial discriminations and social injustice over centuries.
In honour of the Black history month, MASWO is organizing a conversation titled “Understanding black lives and creating racial solidarity" this Sunday, February 28 at 2.00pm.
Mr. David Grant, an outstanding social worker and a passionate advocate for social justice will talk on the topic in light of his lived experiences and work with black and other racialized communities in diverse settings. In addition, we have three MASWO members and three youth representatives from our MASWO family to share their thoughts on how racial disparities influence our current social life and what needs to happen for us to become a more inclusive and equitable society.
As is well known, the historical oppression and discrimination experienced by the black diaspora in North America is matchless and unfathomable. Every day we hear stories about how systemically the black, indigenous, and other racialized communities are targeted and brutally treated by law enforcement bodies and the criminal justice system. Every day, we hear stories about black and racialized families’ encounters with the child welfare system, overrepresentation of black children in care, black children are unjustly treated and denied opportunities in the educational system, inequitable health and economic outcomes in communities of black and visible minorities, their underrepresentation in managerial and decision-making bodies etc.
Because of the intentional fight by the black people for systemic changes, diversity, equity and inclusion have become the leading themes in contemporary discourse in policy making. As a result, we have seen some changes like an increased hiring of black and racialized workers in various organizations/ businesses recently but we have a long way to go to address the racial inequities and disparities deeply rooted in our system. Therefore, Black history month is also an occasion to ignite critical and meaningful conversations on furthering the change and exploring pathways for unified actions among the racialized communities.
The Black History month reminds us of the incontestable fact that a great deal of social advantages we enjoy today in this country are the results of the historical fights of our black brother and sisters over decades for a fair and just society. As social workers, it is critically important for us to understand their contributions, current challenges and to be an ally in the fight for more systemic changes in our society. What we do today will not only alter our lives positively now but create avenues for our next generation to continue the work for an equitable and inclusive future for all.