Join us and celebrate Black History Month @ York
Stay tuned to this website and the @yorkuniversity social media channels as we share accomplishments, resources, profiles, and various events that will be taking place at York throughout the Black History month, including the Jean Augustine Chair event -- Word, Sound, Power. Follow along and join the conversation with the hashtag #BHMatYU or #BlackHistoryMonth.
York University is a leading Canadian post-secondary institution that values equity, diversity and inclusivity. With a history of academic research, student engagement, inclusive initiatives, and the goal of creating positive change, the University is proud to celebrate and highlight the many contributions of the Black community at York University.
Events:
Celebrating Black History Month at York
A joint statement on Black History Month by Rhonda Lenton, President & Vice-Chancellor, and Sheila Cote-Meek, Vice President, Equity, People & Culture, at York University.
Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism
Building on the York commitment to social justice, and the years of work done by individual faculty, instructors, staff and students, Addressing Anti-Black Racism: A Framework on Black Inclusion lays the foundation and blueprint for addressing systemic racism, specifically anti-Black racism, and making change.
Positive Change: Andrea Davis
Andrea A. Davis is a Professor in the Department of Humanities and the Academic Convenor of Congress 2023. Learn more about how she is creating positive change in higher education through her dedication to research, teaching, and advocacy work.
Positive Change: Mark-Anthony Kaye
Mark-Anthony Kaye speaks about his time at York University as a former York U Lion and representing Canada at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Positive Change: Khamica Bingham
Khamika Bingham is a York Univerisity alumna and a Track & Field Varsity athlete during her time at York. She now competes for Team Canada.
Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA)
The Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA), co-designed by YSpace, TD Community Engagement Centre, and Schulich Executive Education, empowers Black entrepreneurs in building successful companies through programs and community support..
Positive Change: Carl E. James
Carl E. James’ research interests include: examination of how race, ethnicity, gender, class and citizenship/immigrant status intersect and mediate accessible and equitable opportunities and outcomes in education and employment for racialized youth – Black youth in particular.
Harriet Tubman Institute
The Harriet Tubman Institute is operated as a collective of York faculty and students, as well as an international Advisory Board of specialists committed to document preservation, accessibility of primary materials, graduate teaching, training and research.
Learn more about their BHM 2023: Black Resistance events here.
DARE Project: Black Canadian Readings and Film Database
Black with the goal to redress ideologies and systems of anti-Black racism in Universities that have culminated in a first-of-its-kind database for Black Canadian readings and films.
Black Excellence at Word Sound Power 2023
Black artistic talent took centre stage during a showcase of performances on February 8 for Word, Sound, Power: An annual celebration of Black Artistic Expression.
York University Black Alumni Network
YUBAN (York University Black Alumni Network) seeks to celebrate the legacy, contributions, and accomplishments of York’s Black alumni and students, while also engaging the community-at-large through relevant programming.
Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars
The Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars begin to address this problem by providing collegial resources, supervision, mentorship, and funded time to successful applicants to seek their chosen careers.
YU Black Staff Association
Formed in 2022, the York University Black Staff Network (YUBSN) is a volunteer network governed by an elected executive committee that serves as a place of engagement, support and community for Black-identifying staff at the University.
Athletics & Recreation Events
In celebration of Black culture, in recognition of Black achievements, and in support of the significant contributions that Black Canadians have made to build Canada, A&R will roll-out and support activities throughout Black History Month.
Knowledge Now: Marie Prisca Alima Ondoa
Marie Ondoa's thesis is about French colonisation of the Americas and Africa, mostly seeing how the notion of human trafficking has evolved until today. The research will be based on ancient texts/dialogues about French colonisation and slavery.
University Pathways Program for Black Students
The Schulich School of Business at York University is participating in the launch of a new program as part of a Tri-Business School Collective to create university pathways for Black high school students.
Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion Workshops
The Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion has announced a new REDDI mini-series dedicated to Black History Month.
The York Black Research Seed Fund
The York Black Research Seed Fund, aiming to promote equitable and inclusive funding to set roots for research projects and support future growth, will provide $150,000 in funding and mentorship to support the research activities of Black academics.
AMPD Commemorates Black History Month
Discover School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) events, and words by Dean Sarah Bay-Cheng, to commemorate Black History Month.
Award-winning Research: Diasporic Dance Styles
A York University graduate program assistant and doctoral student was named among six recipients of the 2022 Women Who Rock Awards and one of six changemakers for racial equity as the recipient of the 2022 Award for Racial Justice in Creative Arts presented by Urban Alliance
Black Excellence at York University (BE YU)
Black Excellence at York University (BE YU) provides Black students with the supports they need to transition to university and maximize their student experience on the path to graduation.
Support Black-owned Businesses from YSpace
YSpace is York University's pan-university entrepreneurship hub. YSpace creates positive change by fostering a community of innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers. YSpace is proud to support Black entrepreneurs as they create, grow and launch their companies.
It's Souper
Lola is a Nigerian Canadian Immigrant who quit her IT Consulting Government job to launch her Food & Beverage Company "It's Souper" - an Afro-Fusion Soup & Sauce line because she felt there was a need to fill the void in the Canadian retail space for African inspired/ethnic recipes made “By Us for All". Her brand is the first African & Black-owned line of Soups sold in mainstream Canadian retail and was nominated by the Retail Council of Canada for a Best New Product of the Year Award in 2019.
The YSpace program wasn’t just an opportunity to learn how I can grow and scale my business - I feel like I am now part of an extended family that is continuously routing for my success. Even post-graduation the Yspace leadership has connected me with opportunities to secure financial and employment grants. The mentors and peers I connected with through this program as well have become a vital piece that bridges the network gap for an immigrant founder like myself.
Hop In Technologies
Co-Founder’s of Hop In Tech, Erich Ko and Boyd Reid found themselves constantly complaining about their commute experiences from comfort, duration, cost and carbon footprint. They figured there must be many others who have similar transit stories. From trying to solve poor commutes in their own lives they decided why not create a solution for the community. They discovered poor commutes have a direct correlation to economic barriers faced by people from underserved communities, increased carbon emissions, and slow development of urban growth centers & cities. From trial and error they decided accessible technology and B2B models were optimal to address these issues.
YSpace was crucial for the growth of Hop In Tech. There's a long list of tangible impacts provided by YSpace but the most important was a supporting culture to help accelerate the ideation of our service and product with many workshops, mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and all around supportive environment.
E.Aferi Creative Agency
Elizabeth Aferi is the Founder & Creative Director of E.Aferi Creative Agency. E.Aferi is a Toronto-Based branding and digital marketing agency. Using Design, 3D and Augmented Reality, we create brand awareness, sales and growth strategies for fashion, beauty and lifestyle eCommerce business. Our services include Strategy, Branding & Design, Digital Development and Content Production.
Learn more about E.Aferi Creative Agency
Minute Skill
Minute Skill helps users, "build professional skills in minutes with bite-sized content." You can now join the Beta for this exciting YSpace supported start-up.
Diaspora Learning Centre
"At our core, we are a social enterprise with a passion for providing affordable access to quality education for black children and youth in the diaspora. We believe in revolutionizing our communities across the diaspora through education and the revitalization of the rich dialects and languages found across Africa. Performance gaps by race and social class take root in the earliest years of children’s lives and fail to narrow in the years that follow. Our goal is to intervene during these crucial years. Through providing access to our services, we fill in the gaps that current schools’ systems perpetuate." - Diaspora Learning Centre
Learn more about Diaspora Learning Centre