Egale Stands in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter Egale Canada stands firmly, and in solidarity, with the people and communities mourning and protesting the deaths of Black people and systemic anti-Blackness in U.S. and Canada. We are outraged by the senseless loss of Black lives at the hands of police, both historical and recent. We understand that these events are especially devastating during the pandemic as we witness how COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting Black, Indigenous, and other racialized communities and migrant workers. These impacts further exacerbate the existing social inequalities in our society. These deaths demand that we face the sobering truth of the legacy of Canada’s settler-colonialism and its on-going reliance upon racial capital. As an organization committed to advocating for those who are further marginalized within LGBTQI2S communities in Canada, we take our public responsibility seriously, beyond the expression of our outrage. We understand that there are concrete actions that can be taken on our part in order to assist the collective imagining and realizing of a just society. This statement is written, therefore, to express our renewed commitment to the undoing of systemic anti-Blackness and racialized violence that profoundly affects the members of our LGBTQI2S communities whom we work to serve. We stand by you, and we will not stop the fight until justice for all is achieved. Throughout our history as an organization, Egale has always fought to advance the rights of LGBTQI2S people, but in striving to advance the rights of many, we have often left many more behind. It is no secret that LGBTQI2S movements and organizations have actively and passively acted in racism and lifted up the cisgender and white gay and lesbian voices as we drowned out Black voices and the experiences of the QTBIPOC community. Egale is no different. But every day, every year, and every moment we make an effort to do better, to recognize our privilege, to recognize the work that racialized Black and Indigenous LGBTQI people have contributed to lift us up. We acknowledge and take responsibility for our past and our present. As we move into the future, we will continue to approach our work with an intersectional lens and prioritize the most marginalized members of our community as we strive to create a world where every person can reach their full potential free from hatred and bias. | |
Helen Kennedy, Executive Director | |
