When George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis, was killed at the hands of the police this summer, his death sparked protests against anti-Black racism across the US and around the world. By then, Toronto, like other world metropolises, had been in lockdown for two and a half months to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Many people were already mentally struggling with the pandemic,” says Robin Waley, assistant manager of co-curricular diversity & equity in the University of Toronto Sport & Recreation division. “For Black folks, Floyd’s death meant facing the consequences of violence against their community, taking action against it and coping with an unprecedented level of social isolation due to COVID-19.”
Waley reached out to Toronto’s SAD Collective, a community mental health advocacy organization, for help in leading a panel discussion on fighting racism and preserving mental health in the middle of a pandemic. The collective, co-founded by U of T alumna Meghan Yuri Young, already helped lead a discussion on mental health in communities of colour at Sport & Rec's annual Diversity & Equity Conference last year, so this was going to be an expansion of that conversation.
The panel brought together an array of experts, including Natacha Pennycook, a registered psycho-therapist and vice-chair of the Toronto Association of Black Psychologists, Asante Houghton, a mental health activist and CAMH 150 Difference Maker, Suzanne Stewart, director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health at U of T, Punita Lumb, program coordinator at U of T’s Multi-Faith Centre and award winning researcher, and Emilie Nguyen, prevention and promotion worker at Hongfook Mental Health Association.
With approximately 300 members of the U of T community tuning in online, the panelists discussed a range of topics, including the need to keep the conversation going, even after Floyd’s death falls off the news cycle, and the importance of understanding that Black and Indigenous communities, and other communities of colour, are as diverse as their experiences.
The legacy of colonialism and racism, terminologies used to discuss race and mental health, empathy and allyship were also discussed at great length, as were ways of healing and steps for moving forward. Now, the video recording of the panel discussion is available for viewing for anyone who missed seeing it this summer or would like a refresher.
“This conversation was a great opportunity for anyone to listen and learn how systemic racism is ingrained in every aspect of Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) lives,” says Jada Roach, a second year kinesiology student and member of the Varsity Blues track and field team. Roach says discussions of a similar nature are what led to the founding of the BIPOC Varsity Association (BVA). She is both a member and communication lead of the group.
“Sharing personal experiences with one another can help others sympathize and learn how to make these conversations last, instead of being temporary,” says Alyssa Akello, a third year Arts & Science student at U of T and an equity initiatives leader in the Sport & Rec’s Diversity & Equity team. “These conversations make the fight against discrimination feel less lonesome.”
An added benefit of having these kinds of workshops, according to Akello, is focusing on the links between mental health and racism.
“Quite often these conversations are separate, but I think that’s what makes it so hard to heal from past trauma, because we do not recognize the impact of racism on our mental health. Additionally, these conversations are essential for each of us to understand how we can be better allies, not only to members of our own community, but also members of other communities,” she says.
The video will now serve to provide perspective and resources for the U of T community, according to Waley.
“Our goal was to begin a conversation providing an experience-based perspective on racism to better understand the current situation, and then discuss ways to continue the fight for social change in a healthy and sustainable way,” he says. “This conversation was not just to benefit BIPOC folks, but our hope was that others tuning in could also gain a better direction in their allyship.”
From November 16 to 19, U of T’s Sport & Rec division will host its third annual Diversity & Equity Conference, which will continue the conversation about race and colonization, but also include discussions about anti-fat bias and accessibility in healthcare, sport and recreation.
The virtual sessions, featuring Indigenous human rights activist Ellen Gabriel, Afro-futurist Stephanie Chrismon, two-time Olympian and interim head coach of the Varsity Blues women’s basketball team Tamara Tatham and disability justice activist Alex Locust, aka Glamputee, are offered in partnership with a number of student groups and divisions on campus, including the BIPOC Varsity Association, Hart House, KPE Graduate Students, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and SJE Solidarity with Wet'suwet'en.