“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black Woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman”. ~ Malcolm X
“America” includes Canada.
Birgit Smith Burton, Elizabeth LeClair, Mide Akerewusi, B.Sc., M.Sc. (Econ), CSR-P, CDEP., Mazarine Treyz, Christal M. Cherry, Nicole Jamrozinski, Nicole Salmon, Camila Pereira, PhD, Esther Saehyun Lee, MA, Stephen Hinds, MA, CPHR, CHRL, ACC, COC, Julie Berthoud-Jury, Cathy Barrick (she/her/hers), Scott Russell, Múthoní Karíukí HBSc, MPNL, CFRE, Rickesh Lakhani
No Surprise: The Anti-Black Backlash Is Here!
On April 10, 2023, an email (read it here!) was sent anonymously by a “concerned fundraiser” to an Associate Director at the Irving K. Barbar Learning Center at The University of British Columbia (UBC) EDI Scholars-in-Residence program. I am one of their first Scholars. The message was intended to smear and discredit me and ultimately frustrate the progress of our particular struggle against anti-Black racism within Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Greater Toronto Chapter.
First, thank you to UBC for supporting me and my work to cultivate environments where everyone belongs. Your unwillingness to entertain this attack on my identity and character speaks to the commitment of the EDI Scholars-in-Residence Program to resist anti-Black racism wherever you find it.
Second, this “concerned fundraiser” doesn’t know anything about me or my background. And their message displays a deep lack of understanding about Indigenous people and Metis people, revealing an incredible level of ignorance. I will not explain or defend the multiplicity of Blackness. They don’t know me! And they don’t define who I am. I am TAYLOR made. For folx who are genuinely interested in the intersection of Indigeneity and Blackness, I welcome conversations.
Then there is the question of someone not having the courage to identify themselves. Perhaps the “concerned fundraiser” doesn’t want the world to know the source of the disingenuousness on their part.
No matter what, I think it is critical to illuminate this attack, for too often this happens to activists when we speak up. Especially in the struggle against anti-Black racism, Black people’s livelihood and safety are attacked when we raise our voices in resistance.
Here is the general tendency of perpetrators whenever someone comes out to shake the status quo. They fear the change activists are seeking to bring about. When the struggle is around anti-Black racism, especially when a Black woman is at the centre of it, it takes on a special meaning.
Attempting to stop or roll back the progress of an activist struggle against anti-Black racism is the intention of this “concerned fundraiser’s” message. I will NOT be discouraged nor will we stop our onward march towards racial justice in the charitable sector, specifically AFP-GTC. In fact, this attack spurs me to struggle harder.
A luta continua! Onwards.