Help address issues faced by the Black community in Canada.
Abdirahman Abdi. Andrew Loku. Bony Jean-Pierre. Pierre Coriolan. D'Andre Campbell. Regis Korchinski-Paquet. These are the names of Black Canadians killed by police within our borders. The terrors of systemic racial discrimination and hate-fuelled violence are not limited to the United States.
In 2018, Black people in Canada were more likely than any other racial group to be the victims of a hate crime. More than that, they experience disadvantages in many areas of life, from accessing basic necessities like food, to having opportunities to work in high paying industries.
Charitable giving will not solve systemic racism, but it can change the lives of those affected by it.
The Black Resilience Fund supports charities fighting for justice reform, filling in public service gaps, and providing opportunities in Canada's Black communities.
The Black Resilience Fund consists of high-impact charities focusing on 3 important areas:
Every charity in the fund has been carefully vetted by our research team to maximize your impact. Learn more about our research method.
A Black person in Toronto is nearly 20x more likely than a white person to be involved in a fatal shooting by the police.
Black people in Canada are overrepresented in the justice system: Black Canadians account for 3% of total Canadian population, but represent over 9% of federal inmates — the majority of whom are under 30 years old.
Black inmates are the fastest growing group in federal corrections, increasing 75% in the past 10 years. They are also more likely to be involved in use-of-force incidents, despite the fact that Black inmates are not more violent than any other racial group.
Together, this means Black Canadians are more likely to be targeted by police, more likely to be in prison, and more likely to serve a longer sentence. John Howard Society of Canada and Peacebuilders Canada are working to divert individuals from court, offer assistance during their interactions with the justice system, and advocating for fundamental change in the way that minorities are policed.
John Howard Society of Canada works with individuals who come into conflict with the law to understand and respond to issues related to crime and the criminal justice process. Many John Howard chapters provide court diversion, alternative detention, and bail facilitation programs which helps minimize time spent in the justice system. John Howard Societies also run programs to assist with transitional housing, employment, and counselling to help people successfully transition out of the prison system.
johnhoward.caPeacebuilders Canada works to keep young people out of the criminal justice system, and advocates for change in both our justice and educational systems. Programs include court diversion and support, restoring positive school environments, conflict resolution training, and education about the legal system. Last year, Peacebuilders helped withdraw 61 charges against youths and helped 101 youths through the court diversion program.
peacebuilders.caSystemic racism starting from the education system to the workplace means that the Black population in Canada experiences lower income levels, higher unemployment rates, and lower wealth accumulation than the white population.
Systemic discrimination in the Canadian workforce requires legislative intervention — in the meantime, the Black Resilience Fund seeks to create better economic opportunities at the individual level.
High income fields like STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) often have lower proportion of Black workers. In 2016, Black people made up only 1.6% of total STEM labour force.
Visions of Science works in racialized and low-income communities to help children build skills, interest, and confidence in STEM fields.
Visions of Science helps children from low income and marginalized communities access to participate in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs. Every year, they improve knowledge and perception of STEM for 1,000 youth through workshops, STEM camps, hands-on learning, and mentorship.
vosnl.orgEarning lower incomes and facing more police interactions inevitably creates worse health outcomes for Black people in Canada.
On June 8, anti-Black racism was declared a public health crisis by the Toronto board of health. Black Canadians are more likely to experience negative mental health impacts, both directly from racism, and indirectly through social and economic discrimination. And too often, mental health services offered are not culturally appropriate or easily accessible.
Across Boundaries and TAIBU Community Health Centre provides primary care that is culturally appropriate and protective of the physical and mental well-being of Black people in Canada.
Black people in Canada also experience the highest rate of food insecurity.
Food insecurity tracks other socioeconomic disadvantages, which means that along with negative mental health, racial profiling in the criminal justice system, lower and more precarious income, Black people in Canada are simultaneously more likely to be food insecure. Not being able to afford healthy food will exacerbate the negative impact of every other disadvantage.
FoodShare provides free and low cost food to people who are struggling to afford this basic necessity.
Across Boundaries provides mental health support and services, specifically working within anti-racism, anti-black racism and anti-oppression frameworks. Last year, they helped 326 people through the mental health program, and 29 people were provided with short-term crisis beds.
acrossboundaries.caFoodShare is a food bank with a focus on food injustice and food insecurity faced by Black, Indigenous, people of colour, and people with disabilities. Last year, they reached 264,089 people with food, and delivered over 1.6 million pounds of produce.
foodshare.netTAIBU Community Health Centre provides primary health care services and health promotion programs to the Black community. They provide services that are culturally appropriate and effective at protecting and promoting the health of the black community. TAIBU also works with community agencies, such as providing 9,000 meals through the Malvern Food Bank.
taibuchc.caIn order to dismantle systemic racism in our society, we must first educate ourselves about its history and evolution — a topic too often left out of Canadian school curriculums. Get started below:
Sign this petition to demand racial data on police involved deaths data in Canada. Without this data, racial violence in policing remains hidden from the public eye.
Sign this petition to demand that Canadian curriculums include anti-oppression and our history of racism, so that future generations are better prepared to understand social issues.
See U of T's Reading List for Canadian perspectives on anti-Black racism and violence.
Thank you to Willful for their generous support of the Black Resilience Fund.
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