Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks in Toronto’s Pride parade in June, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Cameron Greensmith, Kennesaw State University Pride parades were established to commemorate the strife experienced by gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and trans people at the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City’s West Village. Parades worked their way into Canada to help celebrate queer life across two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, … Continue reading Challenging the whiteness of queer organizations

BY TRACEY MICHAE’L LEWIS-GIGGETTS I have decided that 2020 was a great year for me. It was filled with so many tremendous professional and personal wins. Wait… scratch that. Actually, 2020 was a horrible year. It was filled with tragic losses and enormous amounts of rage and grief. I have to choose one or the other, right? Surely our capacity for joy and pleasure is contingent … Continue reading Black Joy in Pursuit of Racial Justice

Protestors during the Liesbeek Action Campaign against Amazon River Club Development on November 12, 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa. PHOTO BY BRENTON GEACH/GALLO IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES RAY MWAREYA & ASHLEY SIMANGO In March, South Africa’s High Court blocked U.S. tech giant Amazon from erecting its Africa headquarters on the land of the local Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin First Nation.  “This matter ultimately concerns the rights of … Continue reading How Indigenous Land Rights Halted Amazon’s South Africa HQ

Stephen Lecce, minister of education for Ontario, was challenged for his anti-Black behaviour in college. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette Warren Clarke, University of Manitoba When Ontario Education Minister Steven Lecce was blasted for having participated in an anti-Black slave auction as a university student, he became the second politician in recent history to be called out for a past act connected to anti-Black racism. Once … Continue reading Call out anti-Black racism every day, not as a campaign tactic

People march in Ottawa during a rally to demand an independent investigation into Canada’s crimes against Indigenous Peoples, including those at Indian Residential Schools on July 31, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Kisha Supernant, University of Alberta Editor’s note: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing “Every child matters” has become a rallying cry, adorning banners, orange shirts, decals and memorials to … Continue reading ‘Every child matters’: One year after the unmarked graves of 215 Indigenous children were found in Kamloops