Latest news with #antiRacism
CBC
06-07-2025
- General
- CBC
How a Brantford, Ont., group uncovered history of 'trailblazing' Black woman who attended university in 1885
When they began searching for Black history in Brantford, Ont., a group of community organizers say they had no idea they'd come across someone as notable as Blanche E. Williams. After attending high school in Brantford in the 1880s, Williams became the first Black woman to attend the University of Toronto with the same privileges, including attending the same lectures, as white students, said Amanda Mersereau, director of Unite Against Hate, an anti-racism community group. "In the late 1800s, this was unheard of," said Mersereau in an interview. "This is a trailblazing individual." Now that accomplishment is being recognized by the City of Brantford and Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB), which will name a new community centre, park and school after Williams. Mersereau said the decision is a "step in the right direction." "We're continuing her legacy and shining a light where it wasn't being shone," Mersereau said. Unite Against Hate member Angel Panag nominated Williams in a public naming processes. When the city and GEDSB learned what United Against Hate had uncovered, they decided to act. "With education as the path to transformation, Blanche Williams interrupted racial barriers and showed us what's possible," said Liana Thomposn, a GEDSB superintendent in an April news release. "Naming our school after her is a celebration not only of her groundbreaking achievements, but her story inspires all of us to be courageous, strong and to persevere to achieve our dreams." 'I feel proud of her' Mersereau co-founded Unite Against Hate in 2020, promoting Brantford's Black-owned businesses and then highlighting Black history in the city and developing anti-racism education. Local historian Sarah Clarke joined the effort to find and make Black history more accessible. When digging through newspaper archives, she came across an 1885 Globe and Mail story about Williams. "Miss Blanche Williams, of Brantford, will have every right which her acquirements and Canadian citizenship fully entitle her to claim," said the article. "The only other [Black ladies] of our provincial university were two sisters ... but were not allowed by regulations then in force to attend lectures," said the newspaper, including that the sisters were from Chatham, Ont., and had the last name Jones. It's unclear why Williams was allowed to attend lectures when the sisters weren't a few years before. Clarke looked through census records, directories, historic maps, baptismal logs and archives from the University of Toronto to find out more about Williams. She also found an article about Williams's accomplishment in the the Huntsville Gazette in Alabama. Before attending the University of Toronto, Williams graduated from what's now called the Brantford College Institute and Vocational School in Brantford. She attended First Baptist Church with her parents Charles and Josephine and was baptized there in 1870. Her father worked as a barber at what was then a Brantford landmark, the Kerby House Hotel. In 1886, he and his wife moved to Toronto and he worked at the Palmer House hotel that was located at the corner of York and King streets. That year, at university, Williams passed math, history, geography, classics and English. "She did quite well, especially considering all the prejudice she must have faced during that time," said Mersereau. "I feel proud of her. I feel like we know her." The group doesn't know what happened to the Williams family after 1886 and hasn't found any photographs of them, or descendents, but they hope as word spreads about her, other historians will join the effort.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Govanhill festival set up to combat racism to return for ninth year
A Govanhill festival that was originally set up to tackle racism is returning for its ninth year. The Govanhill International Festival and Carnival (GIFC) will run from August 1 until 10, celebrating creativity, solidarity, and community. The festival, which started in 2015 as a neighbourhood's response to local racial attacks, continues to hold a strong anti-racism stance. (Image: Karen Gordon) The opening weekend will feature a parade with samba, lion dancers, and street drumming, starting at Queen's Park and ending in Govanhill Park. For programme information and to book tickets, go to Read more: Diocese launch appeal after 'vicious acts of vandalism' at cemetery Simone Stewart, arts and heritage manager, said: 'Last year, as anti-immigration protests erupted across parts of England, here in Govanhill - Scotland's most diverse square mile, where more than eighty languages are spoken - thousands of people came together to march, sing and celebrate solidarity through our parade. "At a time when hatred was spilling onto the streets elsewhere, our working class, multicultural community showed what it means to build belonging." "That's why this year we've launched our Creative Neighbourhood Grants, giving local individuals, artists, networks and organisations the resources and the responsibility to create work that matters to their communities. "It's about creating public culture that is shared, representative and lasting - opening space for new voices, building relationships, skills and connections that go far beyond the festival itself.' The Creative Neighbourhood Grants commissioned projects like Govanhill's Got Talent, The Future is Written Queer, and Archiving Anti-Racism in Govanhill. The Govanhill Book Festival will return with talks from Nicola Sturgeon, Alycia Pirmohamed, Chris McQueer, and Martin O'Connor. Palestinian solidarity is a key theme, with a mini-festival of Palestinian art and various events highlighting its role in the struggle for liberation. The festival will also celebrate Irish roots, with various projects focused on working-class histories of migration, music, and language. The festival gathers people and ideas, hosting discussions and workshops on Glasgow's anti-racist history, Jewish anti-Zionism and resistance, and modern housing activism. The final day will host a multi-venue street music festival with live sets curated by SNACK Magazine, Duende, and Love Music Hate Racism.
The Guardian
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Palestine Action is part of Britain's proud history of protest. Proscribing it is an assault on democracy
The facts are not disputed. On 20 June, two activists spray-painted two RAF Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, where flights regularly leave for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. No person inside the compound was harmed. At worst, these actions may amount to offences around criminal damage and trespass. The former justice secretary Lord Falconer has stated that the action at Brize Norton would not justify outlawing the group. But that is exactly what is happening. The home secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action and to lay an order so swiftly in parliament on Monday will be viewed as a dangerous acceleration to authoritarianism. This means the full weight of the British anti-terrorism state apparatus, including its coercive elements, will be deployed against Palestine Action's leaders and potentially thousands of young British supporters, with devastating consequences for their futures. The actions used by Palestine Action are not new. They follow a tradition of protest that has been instrumental to civil rights movements throughout history. Indeed, these actions have shaped modern Britain and enriched democratic participation globally. As a veteran anti-racist civil rights campaigner, for nearly five decades, I continue to support scores of families seeking justice. These have included the families of Blair Peach, Stephen Lawrence, Zahid Mubarek and Victoria Climbié, who were not only traumatised by the way their loved ones were killed but faced a litany of institutional failures. During every campaign, we faced politicians who ignored or played down our lived experiences blighted by violent and state racism. They also chose to ignore the more subdued and normalised forms of protest that we organised. We were compelled to find creative ways to get the urgency of their message across. We shouldn't forget the real purpose of the action at Brize Norton – it was to draw attention to British military collaboration with the Israeli government, including its spy flights over Gaza. This is during a war that has led to an unprecedented level of mass killings of Palestinian civilians, near-complete destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, including hospitals, and a deliberate policy of starvation, all leading to official accusations of genocide and action on crimes against humanity. British complicity in Israel's war is a matter of public interest that is too often either ignored or under-reported. Palestine Action is a network of activists that organises peaceful direct-action tactics to expose and target property and premises connected to Israel's actions in Palestine. Since its inception, more than five years ago, it has primarily disrupted the operations of Elbit Systems. Elbit is Israel's largest arms company. The group claims that its campaign has successfully secured the closure of several Elbit factories. What Palestine Action understands – and this is borne out by my own experience – is that to bring about change in Britain there is an almost inexhaustible need to press the issue and raise attention. In the Stephen Lawrence case, the family campaigners had to devise extraordinary steps that included an unprecedented private criminal prosecution coupled with protests before the state acknowledged and the public realised the significance of failures in this case. Even then it did not guarantee justice for the family. The actions deployed were peaceful but all of us – the parents, their barrister and I – suffered the indignity of being spied upon by undercover officers who were tasked to sabotage the campaign I coordinated. The deployment of undercover officers in protest groups is now the subject of the undercover policing inquiry. The home secretary will be aware that protest actions have been organised for decades targeting military bases and aircraft. For instance, from 1981 to 2000, activists disrupted RAF Greenham Common – locking on to the gates, breaking into the grounds and climbing on top of missile silos. In 2003, five protesters known as the the Fairford Five were arrested and charged for disrupting military operations at RAF Fairford. One of the defendants, Josh Richards, was represented by Keir Starmer. Starmer argued that while the actions broke the law, they were justified as the protesters were trying to stop the planes from committing war crimes. Richards was acquitted because the jury failed to reach a verdict. The smear campaign against Palestine Action has already begun. It is accused of being funded by Iran or the mouthpiece of Hamas. These accusations are meant to malign a group that is made of ordinary citizens – teachers, nurses, students and workers. I have met many of them. The drastic move to outlaw Palestine Action would set a dangerous precedent where all civil disobedience actions could be classified as terrorism. Its real crime is being fearless and audacious in exposing the British government's complicity with the Israeli government at a time when it is being pursued by the international court of justice for genocide, and its leaders have had arrest warrants issued against them for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Above all, the move by the home secretary reflects the diminishing of a mature democracy. As a society, we cherish solidarity actions that make a real difference to defenceless people. Will parliament stand up to the home secretary and reject her proposal? History tells them to do so. Suresh Grover is founder of the Southall Monitoring Group and has led campaigns to help the families of Stephen Lawrence, Zahid Mubarek and Victoria Climbié
Bloomberg
24-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Golden Gate Bridge Operator Weighs DEI Retreat on Federal Funding Worry
The head of the transit district that runs San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge wants to scrap an anti-racism resolution and a policy promoting social equity in its contracting process, citing concerns that the measures could jeopardize $400 million in US funding under President Donald Trump. The bridge is too well known to 'lay low' and hope it could secure the money without its previously approved diversity, equity and inclusion language attracting notice, said Denis Mulligan, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. He said he also considered suing but decided that was too risky and would delay the much-needed funding.
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Schools must ‘decolonise' special needs curriculum, says Ofsted inspector
An Ofsted inspector has called for the curriculum in special schools to be 'decolonised' to make sure pupils do not receive a 'colour blind' education. Priya Bhagrath said special needs students should be given an education that 'reflects who they are and the world they live in'. She said special educational needs and disabilities (Send) schools have been 'excluded from the conversation' of 'decolonising the curriculum' following the murder of George Floyd in the US in 2020. Ms Bhagrath, who is the head teacher of a Send school, said the incident 'forced mainstream schools to reckon with their complicity in systemic racism'. Many special needs students belong to the so-called 'global majority', which refers to all ethnic groups except white British and other white groups. Writing in Teach Primary magazine about Send schools, Ms Bhagrath said: 'The sector that serves our most vulnerable pupils, many of them also 'global majority', was excluded from the conversation altogether. 'There are four pillars that I believe are critical for truly anti-racist Send education: Multicultural education that goes beyond festivals and food, and instead recognises lived experience, cultural narratives, and history. 'Increased representation, particularly in leadership, where those making the decisions should reflect the communities they serve. 'Decolonising the curriculum so Send pupils are not fed a diluted, colour-blind education, but one that reflects who they are and the world they live in. 'Anti-racist practice embedded in every part of school life, from the language we use with parents to the expectations we hold for our staff - and the training we provide for them. 'This is a call for collective action. The pupils at the intersection of race and Send are not just underachieving – they are being failed by a system that was never designed with them in mind. The data on exclusions, outcomes, and engagement paints the picture clearly. 'We do not need more evidence, we need resolve. If you are a head teacher, a policymaker, a teacher, a parent, or someone working in education with a desire to lead with equity, then this plea is for you. It is not comfortable, but it is necessary. 'We cannot keep rolling out saris for sensory play and calling it multicultural inclusion. We cannot keep hiring diverse staff without opening up real pathways to leadership. We cannot keep writing off families for being 'hard to reach' when we have not even tried. 'If you believe inclusion matters, then intersectionality must be at the heart of your work.' According to her LinkedIn profile, as well as being an Ofsted inspector, Ms Bhagrath is the head of Bishopswood School near Reading, Berkshire.
