Sheridan College Sheridan College
SOURCE: Sheridan Institutional Repository SOURCE: Sheridan Institutional Repository
Publications and Scholarship Sheridan Research
2023
Hearts + Minds Project Launch: Co-Creating Civic Engagement Hearts + Minds Project Launch: Co-Creating Civic Engagement Opportunities with Indigenous and Black Young People
Opportunities with Indigenous and Black Young People
Fallon Melander
Sheridan College, [email protected] Abigail Salole
Sheridan College, [email protected]
Shan Abbasi Russell Adjekwei Esrah Akasha
See next page for additional authors
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SOURCE Citation
Melander, Fallon; Salole, Abigail; Abbasi, Shan; Adjekwei, Russell; Akasha, Esrah; Berantuo, Shamas; Hashi, Yasmin; Levy, Joanne; Lim Mark, Michella; Oluwasola, Cassandra; and Sharif, Sharmin, "Hearts + Minds Project Launch: Co-Creating Civic Engagement Opportunities with Indigenous and Black Young People"
(2023). Publications and Scholarship. 2.
https://source.sheridancollege.ca/centres_publications/2
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
This Research Summary is brought to you for free and open access by the Sheridan Research at SOURCE: Sheridan Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Publications and Scholarship by an authorized
Authors Authors
Fallon Melander, Abigail Salole, Shan Abbasi, Russell Adjekwei, Esrah Akasha, Shamas Berantuo, Yasmin Hashi, Joanne Levy, Michella Lim Mark, Cassandra Oluwasola, and Sharmin Sharif
This research summary is available at SOURCE: Sheridan Institutional Repository: https://source.sheridancollege.ca/
centres_publications/2
Co-Creating Civic Engagement Opportunities with Indigenous and Black
Young People
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Nous remercions le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) de son soutien.
May 15, 2023
Dear Distinguished Guest,
We are thrilled that you have registered for our project launch. We are touched by your interest and can’t wait to see old friends, meet new ones and engage with you about a topic near and dear to our hearts (and minds!). We wanted to connect with you ahead of the launch to give you a little more information about what you can expect from Tuesday, about us as a collective, who we are as people and the organizations we work for. We are looking forward to getting to know you too.
This project began in earnest in Fall 2022 with the co-directors spending time deepening our relationships with non-profit project partners. During these first few months, we developed a shared understanding of the principles that would underpin our work. In January 2023, the project experienced a surge of energy, excellence, and thought leadership when we welcomed six Indigenous and Black co-researchers into the fold. As a newly formed group, we co-constructed the conceptual foundation for this project by engaging in dialogue about our varied lived experiences, articles, books, podcasts, art and music. Along the way, important members of our group (one non-profit leader and two co-researchers) left the project when they moved away or when they moved on to other priorities. We are grateful for their many contributions and the way they helped to shape this project.
We are also grateful to the cadre of talented Indigenous, Black and Afro-Indigenous guest speakers, co-conspirators and interlocutors from whom we learned so much: Moyo Mutumba, Lorena Garvey, Jayda Marley and Rye and Shyra Barberstock. We also appreciate the opportunity to travel to Indspire at their Six Nations location, where we were blessed with good company, good conversation and excellent food. For this special day, thanks are due to Mike DeGagne, Colt Burrows, Brandon Meawasige, Julie Wildgoose and Shawna D’Antimo who were gracious and thoughtful hosts. Thank you all! Each and every one of you has impacted each and every one of us and the project deeply.
As a collective, we also want to thank each other for your time, brilliance, authenticity and care that they’ve shown one another.
As you read on, you’ll find three sections to this document:
1. Agenda and More Information about the event
2. Basis of Unity: An evergreen document that was first co-created in Fall 2022 to anchor our work.
3. Our bios: To share a little more about us.
See you Tuesday!
Hearts + Minds
“The kind of citizenship I dream of is one where we ac- knowledge our attachment to each other, desire to be attached to one another, in relations other than property
relations. Where serving the other is a way of serving the self. It sounds very romantic, but isn’t that the origin
of all the things we want to bring into the world?”
11 Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination by Robin D. G. Kelley (Beacon Press, 2022).
All illustrations were created by the very talented Michella Mark. You can learn more about them in the bio. section.
Contents
Agenda and More Information about the event ... 5
Basis of Unity ... 6
More about us: Bios ... 8
Agenda and More Information about the event
Agenda
1. Welcome and Land Acknowledgments 2. Spoken Word Performance
3. About Hearts + Minds Community Based Research Project
4. Presentation of Conceptual Model: Community connections for Black and Indigenous young people 5. Breakout Room Engagement
6. Report Backs
Some Access Information and helpful information before the event
You’ll be able to access the Zoom link from the Eventbrite page. We will open up the waiting room at 11:55 a.m.
We encourage you to use the chat box in Zoom to ask questions or to take part in discussions.
You are invited to put your camera on or off (whichever makes you feel comfier). Breakout room engagement will center around the question: What’s important to consider in understanding community connections2 for Black and/or Indigenous young people? We will use easyretro (an on-line collaboration tool) to organize and document our conversation. If you wish (and are able), you can type directly into the chat or the easy retro when the time comes. You can also continue contributing to the discussion after our event by visiting the easyretro link. We will also explain all of this verbally at the launch.
Visuals: There will be closed-captioning and limited visuals for the event. There will be a time when we share and describe a visual representation of some themes from our work together. The description will be fulsome so that those who cannot see can conceptually understand the visual.
By mid-June, we will send everyone who registered for the launch an edited transcript, our literature review and a document which collates the engagement in the breakout rooms. If you have any questions about the launch event, or if there is something we can do to make it more accessible for you, please send an e-mail to [email protected].
Basis of Unity
This project is rooted in solidarity with Indigenous and Black young people. We honour and appreciate Black and Indigenous stories, ways of knowing, being and doing, and their magnificent intersections and divergences. These ways will help us to centre and deeply understand Black and Indigenous young people’s social context and co-create new possibilities with them.
We support Indigenous sovereignty and resurgence. We support the movement for Black lives. We believe that solidarity, humility and relational accountability can be transformative.
On place
Even though this work centers on Peel as its geographical entry point, we recognize that Peel is on unceded land on Turtle Island. This is the traditional land of the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee, the Wendat, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. It is now home to many First Nation, Metis and Inuit. It is also the Treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and still is the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Treaty and the Two Row Wampum Treaty, which emphasize the importance of joint stewardship, peace, and respectful relationships. It is important to acknowledge colonial violence in this land. By recognizing treaty rights and the importance of dismantling settler colonialism, we can think about the ways in which colonialism has shaped ideas about belonging and community connections.
While many Black people came to Canada as migrants in this generation or generations past, we acknowledge those who came here involuntarily as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. And so we honour and pay tribute to the ancestors of African descent.
Our work will recognize the utmost importance of the land while moving beyond land acknowledgements toward authentic engagement within our local community. We will honour that we are stewards of this land and of each other. This is how we do the work.
Why Peel
The Regional Municipality of Peel is one of the most diverse regions in Canada with a population of more than 1.5 million people. Despite this diversity on Treaty lands, anti-Black racism has been declared a crisis in Peel and the recognition of Indigenous young people is almost non-existent.
The opportunity lives in the partnerships and community organizations who have committed to this work: Volunteer MBC, Moyo HCS and ResQ Youth International are the core community partners located in Peel. All three organizations have a proven track record in participatory community collaboration and community leadership in Peel Region. Sheridan College is uniquely placed as it has two campuses located in both Brampton and Mississauga.
How we do the work
With each other. We commit to deep listening and respectful and authentic dialogue. Our relationships with our co-researchers are at the heart of this work.
With Black and Indigenous young people. We aim to redistribute power by being accountable to youth research participants and circle members while drawing attention to meaning making and relationality. We will focus on the agency and strength that exists in Black and Indigenous communities, not just the deficits. Throughout our work together we will prioritize Black and Indigenous knowledge and truth telling.
An important element of our engagement with Black and Indigenous young people is to not conflate the diverse experiences of identity and culture among participants. Our research participants will have a wide range of intersectional identities (e.g., Cree, Anishnaabe, Yoruba, Afro- Latinx, two-spirited, woman, gender-queer, working class, etc.). We aim to foster relationships rooted in solidarity while acknowledging that differences can coexist. We are not striving for sameness.
There is an imperative for migrants, including those who are part of the research team, to actively engage in the work of decolonization and show up ready for relationships through ongoing deep listening and their own emotional heavy lifting so we can hear what Black and Indigenous Peoples say.
Why we do the work
In the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic and at a moment when many are re-evaluating and recalibrating how they can meaningfully respond to movement thinking and calls for truth, reconciliation and racial justice, we aim to co-create relevant, timely and innovative thought leadership.
Black and Indigenous people face violence and obstacles placed by settler colonialism. In the face of this violence, Black and Indigenous people are resilient and strong and their history is one of survival, creativity and power.
Normative ideas about citizenship can exclude and/or pathologize Black and Indigenous young people who often face barriers to participation that more privileged young people do not. There is so little research about how Black and Indigenous young people forge connections and belonging because they are very rarely asked. We aim to change this.
More about us: Bios
Sheridan College Research Team Esrah Akasha (She/Her)
Esrah Akasha (she/her) is a sociologist of Sudanese descent, born on Treaty 6 land in London, Ontario and raised in the United States.
The name Sudan, which translates to “Land of the Blacks” in Arabic, reflects her connection to a rich cultural heritage that informs her understanding of social issues and systemic oppression.
Esrah’s passion for sociology was sparked by an entry-level SOC100 course where she
found validation for her lived experiences. Originally intending to take the course as an elective, her positive experience led her to switch majors and pursue a sociology degree.
Drawing on her personal experiences and sociological training, Esrah is committed to fostering decolonial relationships and building community connections. Through her work as a co-researcher on this project, Esrah seeks to empower young people and communities to lead the way towards a brighter, more just future, rooted in the principles of collective healing, cultural reclamation, and social justice.
Shamas Berantuo ( She/ Her), Instagram: @Rhapoetriaa , E: [email protected] also known as Rhapoetriaa is a Jamaican- Ghanaian poet who shares her creativity through spoken word. She concocts a powerful blend of rhyme, word play and rap. Being a Black woman in this world makes it necessary to advance a vision of a better world and also to act in solidarity. The connections and entanglements between Black and Indigenous have been kept from us for too long. Shamas is truly grateful for the opportunity to thrive in this project and to deepen her understanding of how settler colonialism robs us all. She was born in Tkaronto and is learning every day what it means to live in this time and place.
She believes that knowledge is power through the thought of action and hopes that the project’s vision of that will be conveyed for others to receive. She is currently studying Child and Youth Care at Sheridan College aspiring to be a psychologist who hopes to implement revolutionary actions that will support, elevate, and nourish Black and Indigenous futures.
Yasmin Hashi (she/her), E: [email protected] Yasmin Hashi grew up in Toronto, nestled within the lands covered
by Treaty 13, and hails from a proud Somali heritage. Her roots and experiences have shaped her understanding of healing, culture, and
the strength of community ties.
Faith, resilience, and collective action are the pillars of Yasmin’s Somali community, instilling in her a profound commitment to
fostering understanding, unity, and social change. Drawing from her cultural background, Yasmin recognizes the transformative power of
healing and the importance of reclaiming narratives that have been marginalized or silenced.
As a co-researcher on this project, Yasmin endeavors to rebuild community connections by establishing solidarity and decolonial relationships. By acknowledging and addressing the historical and ongoing impact of colonization, she envisions the creation of a safe and inclusive space where Black and Indigenous youth can lead the way towards a brighter future.
Michella Lim Mark (They/He/She)
Michella is an Asian-Metis person born and raised on treaty one territory. Studying animation at Sheridan College, they love the medium for its storytelling and the possibilities of how the medium could be used to voice and give space to other QBIPOC in the future. Michella hopes that they can be a shift in change for genuine connections and storytelling in animation and illustration.
Recognizing their life experiences growing up multiracial, they see the importance of marginalized communities being heard and appreciated. Acknowledgment of historic colonization as well as connections between Black and Indigenous folks, their allyship, advocacy, and empowerment. Through this project, they hope to achieve further education from different perspectives and share these views to incorporate into a better understanding of others and to educate further on the inclusion of Black and Indigenous youth.
Fallon Melander (She/Her)
Fallon Melander (she/her) is a co-director on this project. Fallon is a daughter, auntie, wife, friend, and mother. She is of settler and Anishinaabe descent and a member of Wikwemikoong First Nation. She currently lives in Burlington, which is covered by Treaty 3 ¾/Brant Tract Treaty lands. She has spent the last 10 years working as a lawyer and advocate on Indigenous rights and relationships. Much of this work has focused on working with large institutions to build mutually beneficial relationships based on the needs, cultures and traditions of Indigenous communities.
Much of her volunteer work has also focused on young people and building strengths-based connections and programming. I am so thankful to work on a project that focuses on the resiliency of Black and Indigenous peoples.
Abigail Tsionne Salole (She/They)
Abigail is a co-director on this project. Abigail is a multiracial third-culture kid. Abi was born in Aotearoa (New Zealand), raised on Turtle Island (Canada) but their parents are from Ethiopia and England. She lives, makes art and writes in Toronto, which is covered by Treaty 13. In addition to her Salole Kin who have gratefully found a home on Turtle Island, she has relations strewn around the world. Abi is also
Abigail’s teaching, research and activist pursuits have focused on the importance and possibilities of centering the voices and experiences of young people. Recognizing the importance of connections, intimacies and solidarities between Black and Indigenous peoples is important to her because she cares about Black and Indigenous freedom, liberation and joy.
Community Partners Research Team
Shan Abbasi, Director of Community Engagement, Volunteer MBC (he/him/xe)
Shan is human (mostly), an #unapologeticallyMuslim first-generation
Canadian of Indo-Pak descent, a wayward youth turned wayward adult. He oversees community programs to remove barriers to volunteer involvement
and strives to engage people in the bold act of empathetic action. He co-chairs the Peel Poverty Reduction Implementation Taskforce and is involved with many other collaborative tables including the 2SLGBTQ+ Collaborative, Peel Newcomer Strategy Group, Ontario Volunteer Centre Network. His strengths are in community development, inclusion and anti-oppression, community-based research and reporting, effective communication, and technology. In addition to being a non-profit sector leader, Shan has been a lifelong volunteer, developing activities that bring people together to form meaningful and lasting connections that transform society for the better.
Russell Adjekwei, Digital Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Volunteer MBC (he/him) Russell is a black British-born Ghanaian, who is the at Volunteer MBC. With a strong background in marketing, Russell is deeply committed to understanding the unique journey of Black and Indigenous youth, as well as the barriers they face. Having grown up as a minority in London, Russell brings a valuable perspective to his work, and aims to use his experiences to build bridges of understanding with Canadian Black and Indigenous youth. Russell is passionate about his work and is dedicated to using digital marketing and communication strategies to help promote volunteerism and positive change in his community.
Joanne Levy, Res Q Youth International, Executive Assistant, ResQ Youth International Inc. (she/her) Joanne is a down-to-earth social impact leader, philanthropist, faith-driven communicator, walking miracle, purpose-provoker, and self-proclaimed gratitude enthusiast. Being a Black Canadian-born female of Jamaican-Indian heritage has undoubtedly presented its fair share of challenges and opportunities. Yet, Joanne dares to own up to her responsibility to make possibilities a reality.
Joanne is a Toronto Metropolitan University graduate with a Bachelor’s in Social Work and Psychology.
She is a Notary Public and often humours others with her long-standing open-ended relationship with her Master’s Studies and other traditional learning streams.
Known for her ability to inspire new ways of thinking and creatively spot opportunities for growth and change, this humanitarian and transformational leader to her generation and beyond aims to inspire everyday leaders to recognize, respond and become the person this world needs them to be.
Cassandra Oluwasola, African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Program Coordinator (she/her)
Cassandra Oluwasola holds an honors Bachelor of Science in Global Health with a specialization in Global Health Policy, Management, and Systems from York University. Cassandra is very passionate about educating ACB Communities about sexual health and HIV prevention. She also has experience in providing anti-oppressive and anti-racist health promotion tools for racialized communities both locally and internationally. Cassandra is dedicated to being an advocate for the marginalized, and working towards health equity for all communities. Cassandra is a huge Harry Potter Fan and in her spare time loves to read books, as well as watch documentaries and reality tv.
Sharmin Sharif, Director of Programs and Services, Moyo Health and Community Services (she/her) Identifies herself as a Bangladeshi Canadian. She is a Public Health Professional with a keen interest in equity, community development, and system reforms. She has been working in global health for more than 12 years which includes both public and private sectors across three continents – Asia, Africa and North America. Sharmin believes access to quality health care is a basic human right; and every stakeholders – from individuals to organizational level - in both local and global health landscape, are in a unique position, capacity and responsibility, to contribute meaningfully towards ensuring health for all. She enjoys learning and working with individuals and organizations committed to equity, system reform and health and well-being.
