Our hearts have been heavy and full of rage at North York Community House (NYCH). The systemic anti-Black racism and anti-Indigenous racism that exists in Canada and elsewhere that our communities, staff, volunteers and board members continue to experience must be addressed in new, more effective and systematic ways.
We have been reflecting, talking, and working on how we can do better as an organization. We still have much to learn and unlearn.
We state unequivocally that all Black Lives Matter and all Indigenous Lives Matter.
The long history of anti-black and anti-Indigenous racism and violence and its impact on current realities means it exists everywhere – in all our institutions, in our organization and in ourselves. Good intentions are not enough to combat oppression and the legacies of colonialism and slavery. We are committed to advocating against it in our work, in the systems we operate within, in all levels of our organization, and in ourselves.
We will do this by:
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Joining with others to advocate against systemic anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism and violence, centering Black and Indigenous voices and leaders within the NYCH community and beyond, supporting more Black and Indigenous-run businesses and organizations, and finding ways to share our organizational power.
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Advancing anti-oppression work within NYCH by working with experts to revise our human resources, financial management and administration policies and practices through an anti-oppression and equity lens that also embeds a combatting anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism framework.
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Reviewing and changing how we prioritize organizational and program resources and strategies and committing to finding more resources to address anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism.
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Working with experts in anti-Black racism training and our partners to develop and conduct anti-Black racism training and coaching for our leadership team, staff, volunteers, and community members (bringing in an intersectional lens that addresses anti-Indigenous, anti-Muslim, homophobia, transphobia, anti-immigrant oppressions and the discrimination facing people living with mental health challenges and addictions).
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Those of us in leadership and governance positions (management team and Board of Directors) at NYCH commit to examine how we use this power and privilege and make positive changes.
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Creating spaces and communication channels to ask for feedback and have difficult conversations on our progress to confront anti-Black racism.
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Committing to be transparent and sharing regular updates on these and other commitments.
This statement comes from the senior leadership team at NYCH, which is made up of two white women and two women of colour who are not Black. We acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do; that we hold differing levels of privilege and power and that we must do better to use these to make positive changes. We acknowledge that there are no Black or Indigenous senior leaders at NYCH and that many Black staff at NYCH are amongst our most precariously employed. We need to do better within our organization and within communities.
We know this is not easy work and NYCH will continue to do this work in the long run with our staff, volunteers, and community members.