Finding Home in Toronto: Conversations with Black Refugees

This panel will bring together Black refugees from diverse backgrounds both LGBTQ2S+ and heterosexual to share their experiences of resettling in Toronto and the unique challenges they face in their pursuit of belonging. Focusing on critical issues such as employment housing sexuality and policy injustice this session will shed light on the compounded barriers that Black refugees encounter when seeking safety stability and opportunity in a new country.

Participants will engage in deep discussions around the systemic inequities that hinder access to essential resources including discrimination in the job market challenges in securing safe and affordable housing and the often-overlooked struggles of LGBTQ2S+ Black refugees navigating both racial and sexual identity-based discrimination.

By amplifying the voices of Black refugees we will explore ways to create more inclusive and equitable systems in Toronto ensuring that both LGBTQ2S+ and heterosexual communities are supported in their journey to find home. This conversation will also highlight the importance of solidarity and community-building in addressing these ongoing issues while advocating for policy reforms that center the lived realities of Black refugees in Canada.

Panellists include Dr. Nemoy Lewis from Toronto Metropolitan University Shanice Francis from Building Up Debra Forrester from Region of Peel Reverend Ian Mcknight from People with AIDS Foundation and D’John Campbell from Rainbow Railroad Canada. Moderated by Latoya Nugent MSc. PGDip. BA from Rainbow Railroad Canada.

The Journey to Black Liberation Symposium

This symposium will engage with themes discourses and strategies centred around the Black struggle for justice and liberation. This year’s theme “Finding Home in Our Bodies” will facilitate a transnational dialogue about what liberation means within the Black community by connecting with Black communities across North and South America and the African Diaspora. We aim to foster learning and collaboration that advance the Black liberation movement.

Organized by the Black Daddies Club (BDC) and the Toronto Kiki Ball Alliance (TKBA). Collaborating with Ultra-red and C-RRED (Center for Race Religion and Economic Democracy) and in partnership with Harbourfront Centre.

KUUMBA30 is presented by TD Bank Group through the Bank’s Corporate Citizenship platform the TD Ready Commitment.

Tickets: FREE

Host or Publisher Harbourfront Centre