Black History Month at Brescia University College recognizes historic and current racial inequality and aims to celebrate Black culture, history and individuals at the University and beyond – from today, yesterday and tomorrow.
During the month of February, learn more about Black history and culture through engaging storytelling, incredible food, dynamic video content and inspiring guest speakers – both on- and off-campus.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes is a business consultant, coach and international speaker.
She currently serves as the Sr. Advisor, EDI Initiatives and Adjunct Lecturer at Queen’s
University and her forthcoming book, “Can you hear me now?” published by Penguin Random
House Canada, will be available on February 02, 2021. She was the former Member of
Parliament for Whitby, Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and
Parliamentary Secretary for International Development.
Please RSVP to Lissette Ochoa, Special Advisor to the Principal in Diversity and Inclusion for the zoom link to this presentation
Enjoy events hosted by London's Black History Coordinating Committee that highlight the strength and resiliency of the Black community in Southwestern, Ontario.
"Durning Black History Month and beyond, I want my fellow Brescia students to research Black History and ask thoughtful questions. Just like any other race, Black people have a past the is full of excellence, creativity and pain.
Together, let's continue learning about Black people not only in Canada, but around the world. Remember that or differences are never our deficiencies."
"In educating myself, I am always amazed by Black art, music, literature, inventions and traditions all over the world.
I encourage each one of you to do the same and read about the rich history of Black people and why we are still fighting for equality hundreds of years later."
"For me the idea behind Black History Month is laudable; however, we risk making this important celebration meaningless, if the equity people seek continue to remain a construct of the mind, rather than a social action.
The call? Let’s make all OUR efforts to promote equity count – let’s BE BOLD AND BE THE LEAD!”
Jean Augustine is a Grenadian Canadian activist and politician. She was the first
Black Canadian woman elected to the Parliament of Canada, and was solely responsible
for championing legislation to recognize February as Black History Month in Canada,
with a unanimous vote of 305–0. This statement allowed Canadians to honour their Black
history during the same time that Americans had for generations. She was also the
first Black Canadian to occupy the Speaker's Chair in the Canadian House of Commons.
Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player and former world number
1 in women's single tennis. She is known for her determination, athleticism and shattering
every glass ceiling put in her way. She revolutionized women's tennis, winning more
Grand Slam singles titles than any other woman or man during the Open Era.
Angela Davis is an American human rights activist, scholar and author. She became
involved with the prison abolition movement – individuals and groups seeking to reduce
the prison system, and replace them with places of rehabilitation – after being accused
of complicity in a murder. She spent 16 months in jail, where she gained a new understanding
and a passion for bringing awareness to the terrible conditions that prisoners face
in the American prison system. She was eventually acquitted of all charges by an all-white
jury and publicised how the system itself was oppressive.
Maya Angelou was an American poet and civil rights activist. Her work encompassed
writing about her experiences as a Black woman in America, which has earned her dozens
of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou was San Francisco’s first female
African American cable car conductor, and one of the first African American female
members in the Directors Guild of America. Today, she is a role model for young Black
women, and women everywhere, who are pursuing a career in the arts.
Coretta Scott King was an American author and civil rights leader. She incorporated
music into her civil rights work and created her own legacy in the movement to end
injustice, where she openly criticized the movement’s exclusion of women. When her
husband, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, she continued
to support several issues – marching in a labor strike only days after his funeral.
Black History Beyond the Textbooks