| Black History Month provides us all with an opportunity to step back and consider the profound impact Black Canadians have had on our country. This month encourages us to recognize the great work of black leaders within the social sector and how their impact has shaped our communities. Check out this recent CBC article celebrating Black History month, which provides links to short articles, documentaries, and podcasts that recognize and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians. Find the links here. Black History Month also provides us with an opportunity to critically think about how systemic oppression and white supremacy have impacted our lives and contributed to the broader inequities within our system. To combat racism and systems of racial privilege it is important we understand black history within and outside of Canada and how it continues to shape society across the world today. It is also important that at the same time, we recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments of black folks across the county. Upcoming Learning Opportunities for Black History Month Webinar: Being Black in Philanthropy – Wed. Feb. 23 Join this expert panel of Black leaders in the philanthropy sector for a courageous conversation about fundraising in the Black community and the statistics in the Unfunded report released by the Foundation of Black Communities Dec. 2020. Learn more about the webinar here. Future of Good Summit: Black Leadership in Social Impact Summit – Feb. 24-25 Future of Good and the Foundation for Black Communities is hosting hundreds of changemakers from across the country to celebrate the achievements of Black leaders in social impact and build an anti-racist social impact sector. Black changemakers are pushing the sector forward in countless ways, from making philanthropy more justice-oriented to asking questions about what ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ really means, to redesigning community services for a post-COVID era. Register here. Impact Conversations Podcast – Supporting the Black Social Services Sector We encourage you to listen to our previous podcast with Agapi Gessess, Executive Director of the Careers Education Empowerment’s (CEE) Centre for Young Black Professionals, Supporting the Black Social Services Sector. In this episode, Agapi shares the work of the CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals. Hear how they are supporting 3B organizations – that’s Black-focused, Black-led (including Board representation), and Black-serving organizations, including many that are not registered charities. In addition to supporting the sector, CEE provides direct programming, targeting particular industries and creating demand-led workforce development solutions, with high retention rates. This podcast will shed some light on how you or your organization could be supporting (or ignoring) the Black Community. Listen here. |