There are myriad ways in which people can honour Black History Month. Listening to the stories and narratives of Black Canadians is one good way. Hip-hop storytellers serve as a vital voice, one uniquely positioned in history with a subjective awareness of racism, while also speaking of the lived experiences of Black and brown people in Canada in the present.

Universities have no business concocting band-aid solutions for a sick and rotting system that continues to both maintain and reproduce white supremacy. To continue to do so is an affront to every black and Indigenous student, staff member, and community member and is nothing short of a mockery of any real efforts to decolonize and indigenize the Canadian academic landscape.

On May 25, George Floyd, a black resident of Minneapolis, died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin. Some of Floyd’s last words were “I can’t breathe.” This event marked yet another appalling viral bystander recording of an unarmed black man’s needless and unconscionable death. Calls for justice are widespread. Police reform is desperately needed.