“Break the Silence Series”

Hosted by Angela Ma Brown of Hands-On Diversity

Anti-racism Education + Active Witnessing

Workshops will engage participants in courageous conversations, experiential learning and empathy-building activities to better understand the theoretical underpinnings of prejudice, discrimination and oppression, with an emphasis on racism.  The various forms of racism, history of racism in Canada and the prevalence of white supremacy culture characteristics in institutions will be acknowledged and applied to the context of your personal and professional lives.

The session(s) will also address the impact of the systemic racism that is extremely pervasive in the legal cannabis industry.  Race and economics are inextricably linked and there are currently more barriers than opportunities for Black and Brown entrepreneurs in this market:  arduous licensing process; significant roadblocks for those with fewer financial resources; and a historically negative relationship with cannabis, in concept and/or in practice, due to the fallacy of the ‘war on drugs.’

Lastly, the session(s) will enable participants to develop their ‘response-ability’ or readiness to respond to racist/discriminatory incidents by practicing a wide range of verbal and behavioural responses and learning to shift from passive bystanders to active witnesses.  Together, we can break the silence and make an ethical commitment to collectively fight prejudice, discrimination and oppression of any form in society and in our lives.