George Brown College stands with, and in support of all Black students and employees. The college acknowledges the systemic racism Black, Indigenous and other racialized people face. The journey ahead involves listening to hard conversations, reflecting on our own biases and complicity, and creating real change within our community.
Anti-Racism AND EQUITY Advisory Committee
Identifies systemic racism in our college community and provides feedback on related policies and programs.
How to get involved
We know you have experiences and thoughts to share, ideas to contribute and a desire to learn about how we can all take part in anti-racism efforts. Click the tabs below to find out how you can get involved.
- Speaker Series
- Black Employee Network
- Online Training
- Anti-Black Racism Training
- Raising of the Pride Flag
Community Conversations, Connections and Healing Speaker Series
The college will host two annual Community Conversations and Healing Speaker Series to bring employees together to reflect on anti-Black racism initiatives and the work we are doing to address racism. These sessions are open to all employees and will prioritize Black and racialized voices to share their experiences.
Anti-Black Racism
In-person training. Training can be booked through Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services at diversity@georgebrown.ca.
This event will include a live panel discussion and Q&A with expert panelists on the systemic and institutional impacts of anti-black racism. The event will be live-streamed on the college’s Facebook page. Students and employees will be able to register and ask questions in advance.
The college will support the Black Employee Network to come together to socialize and share their experiences in a safe space and offer a place for members of this community to support and mentor other colleagues in their roles. This group will be comprised of volunteer members of the Black employee community, and offer monthly opportunities to engage in community conversations and social activities.
Details on future activities will be announced soon.
Online Training
Online training is now available through Cornerstone (MyLearning) on the following topics:
Challenging Anti-Black Racism: Education and Prevention
Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services leads in-person training called Challenging Anti-Black Racism: Education and Prevention. This training aims to explore the roots of racism in Canada. It also supports the participant to understand the impact of racism on an individual, institutional and societal level. The training provides resources to increase participants’ knowledge and understanding, as well as tools to challenge racism.
Training can be booked through Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services at diversity@georgebrown.ca.
George Brown College marks Pride Month with the raising of the Pride flag. Changes were made to the Pride flag in 2018 to represent Black and Indigenous people. Chris McGrath, George Brown College’s Vice President, Student Success explains:
"The black and brown bands were added to the Pride flag in 2018 (40 years after the flag was first conceived) to represent people of colour, specifically Black people and Indigenous people, whose voices and experiences are not always included or reflected in celebrations of Pride. This discussion became more prevalent in 2020 due protests against anti-Black racism that began in the United States and spread around the world, and because June marks Indigenous History Month in Canada. The inclusion of the black and brown bands then represent the intersectionality (coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989) of the experiences of queer people – that social injustices are not suffered independently along lines of sexual orientation, race or Indigenous background, but instead that they occur as a single experience for people with multiple identities and who experience overlapping systems of oppression."
Learn more about anti-racism efforts at George Brown
Contact the Office of Anti-Racism, Equity and Human Rights Services at diversity@georgebrown.ca with any questions or comments.