ReFrame is firmly committed to anti-racism and anti-oppression, and stands in solidarity with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) communities demanding truth, justice, equality, and an end to police violence.
We recognize systemic racism pervades Canadian society, and part of our work as a social justice film festival is to work with our community, storytellers, filmmakers, activists and artists to educate, disrupt and provide counternarratives to systems of oppression including white supremacy, colonialism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, classism and misogyny.
We understand that it is incumbent upon us and those with privilege to take a stance in actively addressing these systemic issues within our own organization, the artistic community, in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, and throughout Canada. We will continue to listen and learn from Black and Indigenous leadership, and to educate ourselves on more effective means of allyship.
We encourage our patrons, followers and community to contribute to BIPOC networks of care, organizations and funds. We are compiling a list of places that are accepting donations and a list of resources for further education.
In solidarity,
ReFrame Film Festival
#BlackLivesMatter, #JusticeForRegis, #ChantelMoore, #GeorgeFloyd, #BreonnaTaylor, #TonyMcDade, #IndigenousLivesAreSacred, #RacismInCanada, #MMIWG2S, #SolidarityIsPower
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
One way to support anti-racist efforts is to donate funds to organizations that are already doing the work. Below you can find organizations local to Nogojiwanong / Peterborough and to the broader Toronto and Ontario communities. Please note: this list is by no means exhaustive.
We are currently working on an extensive reading list (see below). Please check back soon for more further resources.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Nogojiwanong / Peterborough
- Community Race Relations Committee
A non-profit community-based organization, committed to encouraging and promoting sound race relations in Peterborough. - BLM – Nogojiwanong/Peterborough
After a successful rally on June 2nd, 2020, the organizers of the march want to use that momentum to keep the BLM movement alive and active in the city of Nogojiwanong / Peterborough.
Toronto and Ontario
- Black Lives Matter – Toronto
Canada’s largest chapter of the global Black Lives Matter movement is a coalition of Black community members, students, artists, activists and organizers working for the elimination of anti-Black racism, state-sanctioned and institutional violence. Black Lives Matter has chapters across the world including three in Canada: Vancouver, Toronto, and Waterloo. Learn more about the movement. - Black Legal Action Centre
Founded in 2017, the Black Legal Action Centre is a non-profit corporation that offers legal aid services to low and no income black residents of Ontario. The services, which include legal representation, advice, and support, are completely free to those who qualify. - Black Women in Motion
This Toronto-based, youth-led organization “empowers and supports the advancement of black womxn and survivors of sexual violence” through training and advocacy work. - #NotAnotherBlackLife + FoodShare
The organizers of the #JusticeForRegis protest have teamed up with the food access organization to offer free food boxes to Black families self-isolating after attending the march. Sign up here, and donate to FoodShare here. - Women’s Health in Women’s Hands
This community health centre provides care for women in African and Caribbean (as well as Latin American and South Asian) communities. - Across Boundaries
To provide equitable, inclusive and holistic mental health and addiction services for racialized communities within an anti-racism, anti-Black racism and anti-oppression frameworks. - FreedomSchool Toronto
FreedomSchool was created to respond to a lack of humanizing, self-affirming, queer positive educational opportunities for Black children in the GTA. A youth and parent driven initiative that intervenes to fight against anti-Black racism in the school system and to create educational alternatives for Black children. They run a three-week program for children aged four to twelve, a Saturday school program, curriculum fairs, students’ conference, and training programs to engage youth in Black liberatory education. - Harriet Tubman Community Organization
As a non-profit agency, Harriet Tubman Community Organization is dedicated to building meaningful and developmental relationships with young people, experiencing racialization between the ages of 8-25 years old. - Black Youth Helpline
A National Helpline for Canadian Youth and families. - Nia Centre for the Arts
A Toronto-based charitable organization that supports, showcases and promotes an appreciation of arts from across the Afro-Diaspora. - A Different Booklist
A Canadian multicultural bookstore specializing in literature from the African and Caribbean Diaspora and the Global South.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Articles
- Black lives matter: moving forward in solidarity
By Charmaine Magumbe
Peterborough Examiner - Yes, Canada Has a Racism Crisis and It’s Killing Black and Indigenous Peoples
By Pam Palmater
Canadian Dimension - ‘Policing Black Lives’ author on confronting Canada’s historical amnesia, Black expendability, and the path forward
By Harrison Samphir in conversation with Robyn Maynard
Canadian Dimension
Books
- Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present
By Robyn Maynard
Delving behind Canada’s veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, Policing Black Lives traces the violent realities of anti-blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly four hundred years of state-sanctioned surveillance, criminalization and punishment of Black lives in Canada. - The End of Policing
By Alex S. Vitale
Recent years have seen an explosion of protest against police brutality and repression. Among activists, journalists and politicians, the conversation about how to respond and improve policing has focused on accountability, diversity, training, and community relations. Unfortunately, these reforms will not produce results, either alone or in combination. The core of the problem must be addressed: the nature of modern policing itself.
Films
- The Skin We’re In
Charles Officer
44 minutes
Podcasts
- This List of Books, Films and Podcasts About Racism Is A Start, Not A Panacea
Compiled by NPR’s Codeswitch - Floodlines
from The Atlantic
An audio documentary about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Floodlines is told from the perspective of four New Orleanians still living with the consequences of governmental neglect. As COVID-19 disproportionately infects and kills Americans of colour, the story feels especially relevant. “As a person of colour, you always have it in the back of your mind that the government really doesn’t care about you,” said self-described Katrina overcomer Alice Craft-Kerney. - 1619
from The New York Times
“In August of 1619, a ship carrying more than 20 enslaved Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia. America was not yet America, but this was the moment it began.” Hosted by recent Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones, the 1619 audio series chronicles how black people have been central to building American democracy, music, wealth and more. - Intersectionality Matters!
from The African American Policy Forum
Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading critical race theorist who coined the term “intersectionality,” this podcast brings the academic term to life. Each episode brings together lively political organizers, journalists and writers. This recent episode on COVID-19 in prisons and other areas of confinement is a must-listen. - Throughline
from NPR
Every week at Throughline, Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei “go back in time to understand the present.” To understand the history of systemic racism in America, we recommend “American Police,” “Mass Incarceration” and “Milliken v. Bradley.”