Resources for Black History Month

By: Gradient Spaces Content Team

February is Black History Month, a time of the year meant to celebrate the legacy of Black Canadians in Canadian culture. While we should use it as an opportunity to focus on Black achievement, we have to also face the harsh reality that systemic racism still very much persists in Canada. It manifests in micro & macro levels both within and outside the workplace.

Black Folks, and especially 2SLGBTQIA+ Black people, are underrepresented in tech. It’s our responsibility to honour this truth by deepening our understanding of anti-Black racism, identifying it within our own systems, and making the commitment to sustained action every month of the year. 

We, at Gradient Spaces believe in the need for intersectionality and acknowledgement of the different ways our queer identity interacts with our other identities.

So, how can we start to create equity within tech, thinking beyond performative actions like the Black-square Instagram saga?

Here’s our list of resources designed to promote the hiring & promotion of Black people in tech roles & establish relationships that lead to sustainable diversity. They aim to celebrate and centre Black creativity and innovations that are carving a better world for all of us today.

What not to do during Black History Month or Ever.

  • Ask a Black person to speak at an event without first securing and transparently stating the budget. Compensate Black folks for their time, experience & energy.

  • Host events or post performative statements that are not designed to carry action forward into the rest of the year.

  • Lump together Black people with People of Colour (POC) i.e. BIPOC. There is no one-size-fits-all language when speaking about race & experience. There are issues that disproportionately affect Black people which do not affect other People of Colour 

  • Focus only on historical events and not present, ongoing contributions to Black History, Black Presents, and Black Futures.

  • Purchase, learn from, and share anti-racism education from white authors/creators (we’re looking at you, White Fragility).

  • Focus solely on trauma and hardships from Black History without reserving the same space and energy for Black art, Black innovation, and Black joy.

  • De-emphasize the importance of resourcing Black people.

  • Use a lowercase “b” when spelling the word Black. Capitalizing the “B” reflects a shared sense of identity and community. In the same way we already capitalize Asian, Hispanic, African American and Native American.  

  • Assume that you can speak for and understand how discrimation affects Black people just because you belong to a minority (2SLGBTQIA+, other POC, etc.).

  • Push forward a narrative of “I don’t see colour” or “the only race is the human race”.

  • Monetize Black History Month by releasing “special edition” commercial goods that are not made by and for Black folks.

  • Use performative representation while perpetuating colourism, texturism, fatphobia, ableism, respectability politics and/or classism.

  • Appropriate and commodify off of African American Vernacular English (AAVE); words like “sis”, “fam”, “sus”.

  • Change a branded logo to incorporate appropriated Dashiki print

  • Fail to reflect internally on the ways individuals, communities, and organisations around you are perpetuating anti-Blackness. Be sure to create a plan for how you will speak out when someone around you is being anti-Black.

  • Make it compulsory for Black employees to attend anti-Black racism training, join a company’s employee resource group, or share their personal and lived experiences.

  • Forget to learn about and advocate for reparations (yes, in Canada too)

Hiring Resources

Unlike the US, Canada does not make demographic surveys mandatory in the hiring process therefore there is limited data on how many Black people are being hired currently in tech. There are increasing debates on whether having demographic surveys during the hiring process increase representation or provides a form of discrimination. Companies may not have definitive data on how many black employees they have but visually especially at higher levels we can see the lack of representation. Representation is a start, but not the solution. Here’s our list of professional organizations for hirers to use when attracting Black talent:

Hire Black Now

Hire Black Now was created by Black womxn for Black womxn and it serves a network of more than 5,500 people. They offer “exclusive events, resources and an invite-only member portal designed for the career advancement of Black womxn and their supporters.” (taken from website) https://www.hireblacknow.com/

Black Professionals in Tech Network

Black Professionals in Tech Network is a networking community of more than 20,000 Black professionals. They are helping “bridge the gap between Black talent and career opportunities across North America.” (taken from website) https://www.bptn.com/

Black Creators, Innovators, Consultants, and Businesses to support.

  • Bloom is a full-service workplace design consultancy offering learning and growth experiences, talent advisory, HR advisory and recruitment services.

  • Black Owned is a directory of Black-owned businesses in Toronto:

  • Black Foodie is a community focused on telling diverse Black stories through showcasing and celebrating the people, places, and plates that represent the diaspora.

  • Future Capital is creating a new, more diverse cohort of investors at the angel, LP and syndicate level.

  • Black Amethyst LLC is a black woman-owned company that helps organizations create and sustain equitable, inclusive and diverse environments.

  • Rania El Mugammar is a Sudanese Artist, Liberation Educator, Abolitionist, Anti-oppression Consultant , multidisciplinary performer, speaker and published writer.

  • Our Women’s Voices builds spaces dedicated to amplifying the voices of women to make social change through community organizing, arts & education

  • Bakau Consulting, founded by Cicely Belle Blain, grew from an agency of one independent consultant to a team of 10+ strategists, consultants, artists, researchers, storytellers and educators with diverse lived experiences, skills and expertise.

  • Turner Consulting Group offers a comprehensive approach to helping clients understand their changing employee population and client base, and how to leverage that diversity for organizational success.

  • Camille Dundas is a diversity, equity and inclusion consultant based in Canada, specializing in anti-racism education.

  • Nada Johnson Centre for Development & Consulting: Nada designs workplace Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI&B), Board Governance, and Strategic Planning Solutions for non-profit organizations and corporations in Canada and globally. https://www.nadajohnson.com/

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