After being cancelled twice due to the pandemic, the 3rd National Black Canadians Summit is happening July 29-31 in Halifax – and I’m attending for a number of reasons.
The first Summit was in Toronto in December 2017 and was an inspiring gathering of hundreds of Black folks from across Canada. There were great workshops on pressing topics to Black communities and bold solutions were debated. The conference was co-organized by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation and the newly launched Federation of Black Canadians. The second Summit was in Ottawa in February 2019 and was again co-organized by Michaëlle Jean Foundation of the FBC. This Summit is just organized by the MJF.
Firstly, I’m attending because I can. As Canada’s only full-time paid Black political activist (that I’m aware of) I have the time, money and self-imposed obligation to do so. I’m going to connect with local Blacktivists like elder Lynn Jones, a life-long civil and human rights activist, educator, community and labour organizer and spoken word poet, educator, journalist, and community activist, sister El Jones. I’m also going to find out if anyone else is doing this full time.
I’m going to attend the sessions. On Friday, I’ll attend the Federation of Black Canadians launch of their Black Pulse Toolkit “a digital resource (that is continually updated) to help people combat racism, learn about anti-Black racism, find support, and feel empowered to speak out, and possibly start their own local projects to effect change in their own communities.” Saturday morning I’ll attend From Reimagining to Reinventing Justice that “will explore how Black leaders are reinventing “justice” beyond the colonial “box” that has caused historic harms towards justice that brings about equity, equality and liberation.” I look forward to asking questions of Halifax police chief Dan Kinsella who’s on the panel. In the afternoon, I move to the Black Lives Matter and Beyond Roundtable – Transformative Activism and Building Beauty session with El Jones and Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Sandy Hudson.
Outside the formal sessions, I look forward to connecting with old and new folks in the halls, the streets, the restaurants, the bars…
I’m going because I’m from Halifax and look forward to walking around the city (because Halifax is small enough that you can walk pretty much everywhere) and being in spaces that hold wonderful memories from my first 15 years of life. The Public Gardens. Citadel Hill. The Halifax Common (a massive green and sports space in the middle of the city). Dalhousie and St. Mary’s Universities. Point Pleasant Park. And the Atlantic Ocean…
I going to ask what happened to the The International Decade Canadian Strategic Action Plan: 2017-2024 that was supposedly the guiding document for the first two Summits.
And I’m going to find out why the Federation of Black Canadians is no longer a co-organizer and to learn why certain high profile national groups like the Black North Initiative aren’t listed on the Summit program at all.
Finally, I’m going to eat plenty of donairs from Tony’s Donair on the corner of Robie and Cunard streets, right across from the Halifax Common. Now that’s food for thought…