Messages

Message from the Provost

It has been one year since the release of the report of the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism.

In the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, there was a renewed global push for private and public institutions to address anti-Black racism. Concordia answered the call and established the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism. 

Over the course of two years, more than 50 Black students, faculty and staff engaged in reflection, exchange and research, and work that often involved reliving their own experiences with anti-Black racism. From these efforts, the Task Force chaired by Angélique Willkie produced 88 recommendations outlining concrete actions to dismantle systemic and targeted racism at Concordia. 

At the launch of the Final Report of the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism, a public event held in October 2022, Concordia President Graham Carr and I committed to the actions outlined in the report. This commitment was received with a spectrum of responses, including excitement and skepticism, the latter informed by a history of delays and broken promises from institutions to Black communities. The reactions were legitimate. And we remain steadfast in our promise. 

Since May of this year, James Roach and Cynthia Alphonse, members integral to the Task Force, have worked to implement the recommendations. I applaud their consultative approach, tenacity, and focus on transversal collaborations. As both staff and alumni, they are personally and professionally committed to this transformative work and Concordia’s principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. They have my full support.

In reviewing the projects in the progress report, I am proud of the work of the implementation team, advisory committee, and our many senior leaders, faculty, staff and students who have taken ownership of Task Force recommendations as a shared university priority that will benefit present and future Concordians. 

Anne Whitelaw
Provost and Vice-President, Academic

Message from Lisa White, Executive Director of the Equity Office 

For six months, the Task Force implementation team has been a strong and resourceful contributor to the Equity Office and its mission to embed equity in all functions at Concordia. The team approaches the work of implementation with commitment, energy and flexibility. Their determination and the necessary conversations they lead across the university have already contributed to a more welcoming environment for Black students, faculty and staff. Through partnerships with colleagues across the university, the team is moving plans into actions which in turn become practices. And it is in the practice of anti-racist and equitable approaches that transformation can be realized and concretized.

The implementation team also works in tandem with other members of the Equity Office and in close collaboration with the Black Perspectives Office (BPO). The BPO amplifies and shares Black viewpoints across the university and provides Black Concordians with valuable resources and services to support their Concordia journey and success. The NouLa Centre for Black Students also plays a pivotal role in supporting Black students, providing them a space of welcome, belonging, and joy at Concordia. 

I am impressed with the ground covered by the implementation team in such a short period of time. The number of ongoing collaborations and progress summarized in the report are inspiring and point to Concordia’s collective support of positive change. 

We still have a lot of work ahead for the 88 Task Force recommendations to be woven into the fabric of the university. But with an engaged community, an implementation team and an advisory committee deeply committed to fostering a more equitable university, we will certainly get there.

I look forward to next year’s progress report as Concordia moves closer to redefining the academy as an institution with equity at the core of its mission and values.

Lisa White
Executive Director, Equity Office 

Message from the Director of Implementation of the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism

Since assuming our positions in May 2023, Cynthia Alphonse and I have held regular meetings with university partners to present and deliver recommendations from the final report of the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism. Our time has been productive and rewarding as we’ve fostered new collaborations, delivered initiatives, and continue to help inspire and nurture movement on recommendations across Concordia. We also face the economic reality shared by many departments and units that some eagerly anticipated projects may require longer timelines for development and execution. 

The foundational principle behind our work is shared accountability for implementing recommendations across the university. This creates the conditions for Concordia to reflect and co-create department-specific solutions that reflect local commitment to anti-Black racism efforts. This collaborative model also disrupts patterns where only racialized people are tasked with the responsibility for designing and implementing solutions to the racism they experience. 

I’m very proud of our team's partnerships that allow us to advance projects to counter anti-Black racism in the academy. It’s inspiring when faculty, students and staff approach us asking how they can do their part to reflect the diverse experiences and voices of Black Concordians in their respective areas of the university. 

The university has a long tradition Black Concordians heading efforts to dismantle anti-Black racism. Our goal is to continue in their footsteps with the full support of Concordia University and its senior leaders. While systemic discrimination is enduring, our work is rooted in the belief that we must strive to make concrete, incremental steps to dismantle anti-Black racism wherever it resides.

I thank Caroline Baril, Shalani Bel, Elana Bloom, Maurice Riley Case, Graham Carr, Nadia Hardy, Sandra Margolian, Teeanna Munro, Jacqueline Peters, Désirée Rochat, Tallie Segel, Linda Teoli, Manon Tremblay, Lisa White, Anne Whitelaw, Angélique Willkie, Cherine Zanarini, Campus Wellness and Support Services, Concordia Library, Equity Office, Facilities Management, Office of Research, Records Management and Archives, University Advancement, University Communications Services, Task Force leadership and subcommittee members (2020-22), and members of the current advisory committee, among many others, for their past and continued support of implementing Task Force recommendations. 

James Roach
Director of Implementation, President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism