Black Lives Matter-Toronto will receive the William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations at the City of Toronto’s Access Equity and Human Rights Awards this year.

Named after Canada’s first elected Black politician, the award recognizes “significant contributions towards a positive race relations climate in Toronto.”

A report to council this week announcing the award says Black Lives Matter “have created, articulated, and enacted a new vision of responding to inequities experienced by Black people of African and Caribbean origin in Toronto. They have called on Torontonians to take up their responsibility to speak out and to ensure equity in our city. By acting so bravely to communicate that message so strongly, Black Lives Matter-Toronto have increased social efficacy and social capital in our city thereby strengthening our democracy, improving our population’s health, and saving lives in our city.”

In a short period, BLM has provided a provocative and influential voice for many in the Black community. Through protests and disruption, BLM Toronto has successfully caught the attention of our political leaders, instigating meets with our premier and mayor, and attracting the eyes and ears of the press. This means that the problems faced by many in the Black community will not be ignored.

For some media commentators, it has been easy to criticize BLM’s tactics at Pride or wherever else. For marginalized groups who are not in power and have no voice, the bulk of airtime, attention and influence belong to the mainstream. BLM Toronto had to knock loudly because no one was answering the door. You would do the same.

It takes courage and tenacity to push the envelope, even if it makes us all a little uncomfortable. Speaking out is a risky proposition. Being a person of colour definitely makes you question how others see you. Am I being too sensitive? It may seem trivial, but it’s not. BLM Toronto, and many other social justice groups, are literally fighting to save lives.

Last year CBC’s Marketplace went undercover to explore racism across Canada. They equipped three people (white, Black and Indigenous) with hidden cameras, to see how each would be treated. They went shopping, applied for jobs and searched for housing. You can probably guess the results.

American racism is quite overt. Some work colleagues and friends have told me they think racism doesn’t exist in Canada – it was never a person of colour.

Growing up in Jane-Finch, I have seen the fear of being persecuted, being discriminated against, being treated like a second-class citizen, and always having to prove your credibility against the negative stereotypes. Imagine.

It’s important for everyone to understand the pain, anguish and frustration many in marginalized groups have been living with because of skin colour. Employment, racial and social equality are always top of mind for us.

It’s the loudest dissenting voices in the past, from women’s rights, to civil rights, to LGBT rights, that have moved the world forward. BLM Toronto is yet another voice.

Paul Nguyen is founder of Jane-Finch.com and former recipient of the William P. Hubbard Award.

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