June 4th marks the one year anniversary of the death of Chantel Moore, who was killed at the hands of an Edmundston, NB police officer. Elizabeth Goodridge reflects on Chantel’s death and what it tells us about the world we live in.
Statement by Wapna’kikewi’skwaq – Women of First Light. “As Clan Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties, and Mothers we are devastated and heartbroken by the news of the 215 beautiful children who were found in BC. Two hundred and fifteen future Clan Mothers, fire keepers, story tellers, leaders, and protectors that were taken brutally from our Nations.”
Statement by Educators for Social Justice: An author should not be made to re-write or sanitize her work in order to sugar-coat Canada’s history of the genocide of Indigenous people. The DEECD should recognize this and renew contact with Rebecca Thomas and her publisher to continue forward with a bulk purchase of her book in its original form.
Editorial cartoonist Matt Dempsey on the horror of residential schools.
Raymond Sheppard: In Nova Scotia the situation is even more dire. Over the years lip service has been given and that continues to be the case. Still, there are fewer than 20 Persons of African descent working in broadcast media and there are no public affairs shows for us, by us and about us.
Savannah Thomas: “As strangers ask endless questions I can’t help but look at Layla and think how unfair it is for her. She loves me and I love her and to be honest, neither of us can understand why that can’t be enough for some people.”
On Oct. 13 last year RCMP officers stood by as 200 people interfered with Mi’kmaw fisherfolk. That mob was 200 individuals that did not appear out of thin fog. They ate their supper, put on their coats and boots and no one stopped them at the door. Fathers didn’t stop their foolish sons. Mothers turned the other way and sisters nodded to get approval. Church leaders knew. Teachers knew. Neighbors turned on neighbors whose histories are still as tangled as the fishing twine of the sinking lobster traps.
Raymond Sheppard: When we spread falsehoods about people in our own community we not only hurt individuals but the community as a whole.
A residency project by a Dalhousie University graduate is exploring ways to improve the pharmacy experience for Black Nova Scotians. Journalist Stephen Wentzell spoke with Afomia Gebre, who is conducting the research, about the how and why.
In addition to living under pandemic restrictions, women of African descent have experienced anti-Black racism and gender-based violence for too long. In an ongoing series Creating Communities of Care profiles the work of the Nova Scotia Association of Black Social Workers.