On February 13, 2025, the recently formed Simcoe County Black Coalition hosted a virtual town hall discussion on Supporting Black Communities in Simcoe County through meaningful action instead of performative actions, and how to continue this work beyond Black History Month. The Simcoe County Black Coalition (SCBC) is made up of representatives from Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving (B3) organizations across Simcoe County. Being Black in Simcoe comes with unique experiences shaped by both challenges and resilience. Our community is diverse in backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences, yet we share common goals and concerns around access to opportunities and resources. This coalition exists to collectively address these challenges and create new solutions, all while ensuring we do not add extra labor to our already resource-limited teams and organizations. Many allies want to know what they can do to support Black communities and what their roles are in combatting anti-Black racism. To allies wondering how to support this work, president and founder of Parents Against Racism Simcoe County Natasha Shakespeare poses these questions: ❓What actions are you taking to be disruptive?? ❓How are you using your privilege as a super power?? Some practical suggestions on supporting these organizations in meaningful ways: ✅ Participate in fundraisers: even if you can't/don't want to attend, you can purchase tickets and donate them back to the organization. ✅ Join Allies committees and look for other opportunities to donate your time and/or skills: There is a never-ending to-do list of work to be done. ✅ Offer your skills: Are you a graphic designer? Web developer? Video editor? Accountant? Can you offer to take on a professional project pro-bono to help support this work? ✅ Look for opportunities for corporate and community partnerships: Do you lead or work for an organization? Have you asked about the ways in which a formal partnership could support this work? Can your larger organization share an audience or other resources of some kind?
You can start a conversation with the Simcoe County Black Coalition by emailing scblackcoalition@upliftblack.org - when you send a message to this email address, a copy will land in the inbox of a representative from each of the participating organizations.
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