The Office of Social Innovation’s Support for Activism on Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous Racism

June 29, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly and drastically impacted our lives and communities, it simultaneously exposed the vast and deep inequities that exist in our fundamental systems, including education, healthcare, employment, government, and our economy. These systems, as we know them, have perpetuated and upheld the status quo. They have been established and continue to operate on colonialist and racist ideologies and practices. 

While faced with this global public health crisis, we are also witnessing and engaged in a worldwide activist response to resist and challenge these systems and the political inertia that maintains them. Spurred by the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, there are ongoing protests and demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality. Internationally, this has led to the taking down and removal of statues of imperialist figures. In the United States, this has led to the Minneapolis City Council approving a resolution to create a transformative new model of policing in the city. 

In Canada, the deep roots of anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, and white supremacy within our institutions, especially policing, continues to be demonstrated. Within one month, this has been manifested through the murders of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto, Chantel Moore in Edmundston, and Ejaz Ahmed Choudry in Mississauga. 

Bringing it to our home of Ryerson University, an example of these deep roots extended through the Toronto Police Services Board approval of designated university employees to have Special Constable status. Aligned with the global activist response, and as a result of the organizing of student activists, the university decided not to proceed with the Special Constables program. As an educational institution with a colonial legacy, it is imperative that the work of anti-racism is taken up by all community members. It is especially important that the transformative, community-engaged work of student activists is supported.

The Office of Social Innovation (OSI) is uniquely positioned to support student activists in creating new pathways to act on social justice. Our approach to this work is providing support for student learning, exploration, and action on social justice through a systemic analysis. 

This involves supporting students to think deeply and engage in fundamental systems transformation, to see themselves as part of and building towards revolutionary movements that lead to progressive social change. This radical approach fueled social movements for suffrage, civil rights, and universal healthcare, and continues to campaign for harm reduction, food sovereignty, and disability justice. 

We support the demands (external link)  and student activism from the Black Liberation Collective-Ryerson and CSSDP-Ryerson (external link) . Through our own work in confronting and challenging anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, we are also providing support through: 

• The Social Innovation and Activism Fund for Activism on Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous Racism (SIAF-AABAIR). In the past, SIAF has been available for students who are organizing on any systemic social, environmental and economic issue. Now, we are prioritizing $20,000 of this fund for student activism and research on anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.

• The Activists-in-Residence Collective. To support a broader community of student organizers and to inform, develop, and allocate SIAF-AABAIR, we are looking to centre a network of student activists. This includes compensating all participants for their lived experience and contributions to this collective. 

We invite students who are interested in learning more about SIAF-AABAIR and the Activists-in-Residence Collective to contact Jessica Machado at jmachado@torontomu.ca. 

We invite faculty and staff across the university who are interested in contributing to this fund, or who are interested in being involved with this work to contact Melanie Panitch at mpanitch@torontomu.ca.

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The Office of Social Innovation Team