Social Justice Action Day; Canada hosts the largest convention of social justice advocates, diversity consultants and community leaders

BY PAUL JUNOR

Tuesday, May 25^th, 2021 was designated “ Social Justice Action Day” and was organized by the International School of Greatness. The founder, Alex Ihama, serves as Executive Director of the Canadian Congress on Diversity. It was billed as “The largest convention of social justice advocates, diversity consultants and community, corporate, religious, academic and political leaders.” This lecture is “An open forum of a diverse group of participants, with a cross-section of over a thousand participants made up of students, workers, community advocates, entrepreneurs and even policy and decision-makers in the governments and corporations.”

There were specific questions that were posed during the virtual forum such as:

• How can and should the murder of George impact the status quo in the power blocs of all nations?
• What are the judicial, academic, economic, corporate, religious, social and societal changes to protect minorities and avoid a George-Floyd situation in Canada and around the world?
• How did we as a people get there, and how can we move forward as a people?
• What are the strategic, spiritual, systematic and social solutions to eliminate systemic racism and other social justice issues so that as black and Indigenous people, “we can breathe”?
• Regardless of colour, creed, status, orientation, gender or socioeconomic background, how can we come together as a people to stand for social justice?
• What are the racialized and prejudicial thoughts you may be struggling with unconsciously based on the fear of being among peers, neighbours, who do not look, talk or think like you?
• What is the path to social justice, ethnic reconciliation and global equity?

Foy Olivia hosted the forum. It started off with a discussion with Alex Ihama and Nekima Levy Armstrong, Executive Director of the Wayfinder Foundation in Minneapolis. As a prominent civil rights lawyer, she has gained a national platform and started a global conversation with respect to racial justice. Her insights were insightful, informative and inspirational.

Civic leaders such as Brampton’s Mayor Patrick Brown and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie discussed how their cities are dealing with the challenges of tackling anti-black racism through on-going discussions and collaborations with the black community.

Steve Stephenson, Deputy Mayor of Shelburne spoke about the importance of prayers and the value of adopting a change management mind-set. He states, “Prayers get you in the right mind-set when you do the work.” In addition, Dr Jean Augustine, former MP highlighted the importance of this moment in time. She states that it is important to “Return to the past as we examine today, and strategy for the future.”

Courtney Betty, Lead Counsel for the Black Class Action Lawsuit talks about the importance of getting justice for those who have suffered unfairly while working for the federal government. Other speakers included: Dr. Francis Mpindu, Leslie McGill, Marguerite Orange, Paul Jones, Orlando Bowen, Pauline Christian, Garnett Genius, and Alethia Stephenson.

Performances included Liberty Silver, two-times Juno Award winner and Dwayne Morgan, two-time Canadian National Poetry Slam Champion. Dr Wendy Cukier, Founder/Director of Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute gave a powerful overview of the state of racial justice in Canada.

Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, Professor of Laurier University reiterated the quote from W.E.Dubois, ”Education must not simply teach work-it must teach life.” He states that it is important to move beyond safe space to a brave space. This involves taking risk beyond defined boundaries and isolated teams.

Mark Saunders, retired Toronto Chief of Police states, “The only way we can get this right is by relying on the strength and power of true collaboration. This means that all levels of government and community advocates must come to the table and drive proper sustainable solutions.”