Celebrating the power of the Black community

In celebration of Black History Month, the Diversity Institute (external link)  (DI), McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (external link) , Future Skills Centre (external link)  and Black Opportunity Fund (external link)  came together for  an in-person event on February 9, 2024, to mark the last year of the United Nations (UN) International Decade for People of African Descent (external link) . 

Tamara Thermitus, visiting scholar from the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and former chair of the Quebec Human Rights Commission, chaired the event. She spoke about the importance of recognizing the history of oppression, colonization and slavery, which are still manifesting themselves through systemic and structural racism. “We cannot look at a situation without the historical context,” she said. “Without understanding those consequences, every event becomes an event without grounding.” 

She then introduced Gaynel Diana Curry, independent expert member of the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, who gave the keynote presentation. Curry, who has worked at the UN for over 20 years and is working on a call for a second International Decade of People of African Descent, spoke about the importance of having allies in any social movement. “We cannot speak about the rights of women and have our men silent. We cannot speak about the rights of Black people while other communities are silent,” she said. She added that being in solidarity with Indigenous communities is part of the movement for justice. “When we fight for justice, we fight for them, too,” she said.

Curry noted the mechanisms in place to address racism and discrimination at the global level and encouraged everyone to read about the 2001 Durban Declaration and Program of Action (external link) , which has the most comprehensive state commitments to anti-Black racism and a robust framework that focuses on how to redress and give justice to those who suffered. 

Quoting Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s idea of the “danger of a single story (external link) ,” Curry said her mission now is to listen and collect stories of Black communities around the globe to understand their needs. “When we talk about climate justice, we have to talk about economic justice,” she said. “We can't have true economic justice without reparative justice.” 

Then, Stephanie Dei, head of private sector partnerships at the UN International Organization for Migration (external link) , and former DI director of partnerships, spoke about the power of the African diaspora. In 2023, the global diaspora contributed $669 billion in remittances, and transfers to Africa alone are expected to exceed $100 billion in 2024 (external link) . “We have to talk about that power, own that power and share it,” she said. “It is a testament to the power of community that if we come together, we can really transform.”

Later in the morning, Dr. Mohamed Elmi, executive director, DI; and Nancy Mitchell, interim director, research - special projects, DI; alongside Nadine Spencer, CEO of BrandEQ (external link)  and former CEO of the Black Business and Professional Association (external link)  (BBPA); presented research on barriers to and progress in economic inclusion, taking into account education, employment, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Elmi shared that the percentage of the Black population aged 25 to 64 years with a bachelor's degree or higher is now comparable with that of the general population, at 32.4% and 32.9% (external link) , respectively. Despite progress in educational levels, the Black population has the highest rate of over-qualification (external link)  for any Canadian-educated racialized group and earns 76% (external link)  of what non-racialized workers do in comparable roles. Black youth face barriers to employment, such as unequal access to resources, fewer role models and less advantageous socio-economic circumstances. He added that Black students also face educational barriers that include racism, disproportionate representation in suspensions and streaming, which lead to Black students being pushed toward vocational training instead of university. 

Spencer then spoke about the state of Black entrepreneurship. She said that due to systemic challenges, “Entrepreneurship is the only opportunity for Black people to make profound change and to [build] generational wealth.” 

Mitchell followed by presenting research on Black leadership and spoke about the “leaky pipeline.” In Canada, 67.1% of the Black population is employed, but moving up to management levels, the percentage of Black workers decreases to 5.3%. She said this shows the major barriers in the pathway for Black people to access management-level positions. She also spoke about the “glass cliff,” where companies put Black women in leadership in times of crisis or in positions that are underfunded and under-supported, only to push them out or give them no choice but to leave their leadership roles. 

Floydeen Charles-Fridal, executive director of Caribbean African Canadian Social Services,  (external link) spoke about the significance of mental health and its ties to the socio-economic status of Black communities. The organization is Black-led, Black-serving and Black-mandated, using an African-centred, evidence-based approach to develop interventions that make sense to the community. “We have not recognized the historical problem of [Black] Canadians and how it has impacted our ability to be successful as entrepreneurs or as business owners,” she said. “Until we understand the necessity of centring mental health we will not get past where we are at right now.”