On Nov. 4 2023, the same day as the largest pro-Palestine rally that Montreal has seen to date, Black feminist Robyn Maynard gave a speech delineating the intricate correlations between genocide and colonialism. In this same speech, Maynard turned to the parallels between the oppressions of Black and Palestinian people,[Read More…]
Tag: Black lives matter
‘Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers, and Little Brothers’ powerfully tackles anti-Black racism
Content Warning: Discussion of anti-Black racism, police brutality, and murder While Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers arrived in Montreal at the end of Black History Month, this solo theatrical work serves as a striking affirmation that Black lives matter year round. Created and performed by Makambe K. Simamba,[Read More…]
Protestors rally for poet and boxer Nicous D’Andre Spring after unlawful killing at Bordeaux prison
Content warning: Description of police violence Nicous D’Andre Spring, a 21-year-old rapper, poet, and boxer, was illegally detained in Montreal’s Bordeaux prison when a physical intervention by guards led to his death on Dec. 24, 2022. Guards placed a spit hood on his head and pepper-sprayed him twice, but other[Read More…]
Campus conversations: Resistance
Resisting silence Sepideh Afshar, Opinion Editor Resistance, to me, is to be vocal about the injustices you see and experience. For about a year, I was part of a sorority at McGill. In this predominantly white space, I found myself silenced concerning the overt racism I was experiencing. I felt[Read More…]
A race for comfort
A question that continues to trouble Black Lives Matter activists and organizers almost two years after the largest uprisings in recent history is how to disseminate powerful, transformative messages to those uninvolved, unaware, or uninterested in racial justice. To answer this question, critics pen a deluge of columns: Defund the[Read More…]
Pandemic prison conditions emphasize need for reform
Throughout the pandemic, prisons have faced a reckoning, and Montreal’s Bordeaux prison is no exception. The prison has seen some of civilians’ worst fears play out, from multiple COVID-19 outbreaks, to inadequate resources, and more recently, to more than 1,000 inmates locked in their cells for over 24 hours while[Read More…]
10 things: The most inspirational sports moments of 2020
WNBA supports Warnock The 2020 U.S. elections have remained heated in Georgia, with Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler facing off against Democrat Raphael Warnock in a runoff in January 2021. Among the groups who helped Warnock advance are WNBA players, including several from the Atlanta Dream, of which Loeffler is part-owner.[Read More…]
Campus Spotlight: #TakeJamesDown
Anti-Black racism at McGill is institutionalized, and the work of Black student activists is vital in demanding systemic changes on campus. A summer of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the continued police brutality and murders of Black people have brought increased visibility to Black activism around the globe, including[Read More…]
Concordia activists highlight challenges of human rights activism in 2020
On Sept. 13, the Concordia Student Union hosted an online seminar featuring Montreal activists discussing a wide range of subjects, such as systemic oppression against Indigenous Peoples, police brutality against Black people, and the Canadian government’s negligence towards marginalized people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was called “Police, Climate[Read More…]
Reconciliation must go beyond a toppled statue
The police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 sparked global protests against police brutality and anti-Black racism, giving renewed momentum to the Black Lives Matter movement. In light of these events, McGill, an institution whose history is rooted in violence and enslavement, expressed its intention to put forward[Read More…]