Centennial College forges commitments to address anti-Black racism in Canada
TORONTO, Oct. 26, 2022 /CNW/ - With its promise to address the disproportionate discrimination experienced by Black communities living in Canada, Centennial College has launched its Anti-Black Racism Task Force Report and Institutional Commitments. It's the product of more than two years of research and consultation with the college's students, faculty and staff to create a set of recommendations that address persistent anti-Black racism.
"Anti-Black racism remains deeply embedded throughout all aspects of society and continues to have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing, prosperity and personal safety of Black communities," says Dr. Craig Stephenson, president and CEO, Centennial College. "Members of these communities, as others, are integral to who we are as an institution, a society and a nation. With these institutional commitments now firmly in place, Centennial will be well-positioned to address systemic issues and create safe, equitable spaces for all."
The Black National Survey revealed that 70 per cent of Black Canadians regularly experienced racism in their day-to-day lives, which echoes the findings from the task force's extensive engagement with Black students, faculty and staff, whose lived experiences were essential to contextualizing the data and history. The task force, formed in the wake of George Floyd's violent death in May 2020 and the summer of racial unrest, also consulted with the broader college community before developing their final report and recommendations towards collective action and accountability.
"These recommendations symbolize hope," says Mede Ovbiagele, a success advisor at Centennial and task force member. "The hope is for these recommendations to materialize into actions, and for these actions to result in transformative changes for us now and for those who are here after us."
Centennial's commitments speak to challenging practices of marginalization, creating systems which address inequality through education, communication and action, and realize a psychologically safe working and learning environment. Among the seven commitments are pledges to review and revise program curriculum and academic practices to disrupt anti-Black racism; build anti-racist literacy and intercultural competency within College senior leadership; educate all employees and students on how to address systemic and individual inequities; and pursue data collection to measure the impact of anti-Black racism and Black inclusion processes.
Additionally, Centennial College has signed the Scarborough Charter committing to tackling anti-Black racism – one of only six Canadian colleges to do so to date – and spearheaded Canada's first Racially Responsive Leadership conference co-presented with the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus.
Established as Ontario's first public college in 1966, Centennial College primarily serves the Greater Toronto Area with five distinct campuses. It is known for its exemplary teaching, innovative programming and extensive partnership building. Centennial offers more than 400 diploma, certificate, graduate certificate, apprenticeship and degree programs in business, media, arts, community and consumer services, engineering technology, health care, hospitality/tourism and transportation. These programs, delivered in class and online, promote experiential learning with laboratory instruction, co-op education and industry placements. Centennial enrols 25,000 full-time students and 18,000 part-time learners annually.
SOURCE Centennial College
Mark Toljagic, Senior Communications Officer, Centennial College, 416-605-6012; [email protected]
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