Students rally against racism

Black U of T students and their supporters gathered at Hart House on November 18 to express their solidarity with black students at American campuses and to protest what they described as anti-black racism at U of T.

The rally and march was organized by Black at U of T. It was spurred by a number of recent incidents at universities and colleges in the United States as well as by concerns about racism at U of T. On its Facebook event page, Black at U of T wrote that they “stand in solidarity with black students across the united states that are in protest, currently experiencing anti-black racist violence and death threats by white supremacist groups on their campus for fighting back against the multiple forms of violence they experience daily for being black.”

The students also drafted a list of demands which included asking the university to:

• address the underrepresentation of Black administrators, faculty and teaching staff with the goal to increase the percentage of Black faculty and staff members to at least 8.5 per cent (proportional to the population of Black Torontonians) by 2017-18
• address the underrepresentation of Black students, especially in professional programs and graduate programs
• develop a two-year plan to establish, adequately fund and support a standalone African & Caribbean Studies Department

(See the Black at U of T Facebook event page for a full list of the demands and concerns.)

In response to the rally, Angela Hildyard, U of T's vice-president, human resources & equity, acknowledged the concerns of Black at U of T.

“The University of Toronto is firmly committed to anti-racism and the elimination of systemic discrimination,” Hildyard said. “Everyone on campus has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. We want to ensure that every member of the University community is accorded the requisite environment to live, learn and work free of bias or discrimination. We know we still have a long way to go to achieve this, and we look forward to working together with faculty, staff and students to address these concerns.”

For more information on U of T’s anti-racism and cultural diversity commitment, visit the U of T Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office webpage.