A teacher blocks Black boys from a math club, a student earns a perfect score on an international exam, and the achievement is quietly buried. That story is where our conversation with Kathy McDonald begins, and it quickly widens into a blunt look at how anti-Black racism in education can hide behind “normal” decisions that shape a child’s future. Kathy is a Peel District School Board trustee, the inaugural chair of the Black Trustee Caucus, and a relentless advocate for equity in Ontario pub...

Policy is the quiet force that decides who gets protected, who gets funded, and who gets left out. In November 2023, we’re joined by Velma Morgan, an educator and former Ontario government director of policy who has worked across five ministries and now serves as chair of Operation Black Vote Canada, to talk frankly about how real systemic change happens in Canada. We get into the nuts and bolts of political engagement for Black Canadians and other marginalized communities, including how to s...

We sit down with Mr. Alex Ihama in November 2023 to get practical about anti-racism work, workplace equity, and how to move from public statements to measurable culture change. We also go personal on youth mental health, educator impact, tokenism, and the belief-driven mindset Alex calls “greatness.” We also dig into what real DEI and anti-racism consulting looks like behind the scenes: setting clear expectations, doing a needs analysis, gathering qualitative and quantitative data, and creati...

A councillor’s job sounds big, but most residents feel it in small moments: the email that never gets answered, the neighbourhood problem that sits for months, the sense that decisions happen somewhere else and you only hear about them after. We sit down with Neil Simon, a community leader, pastor, and small business owner running for Toronto City Council in Ward 9 Davenport, to talk about what local leadership looks like when it is built on responsiveness, visibility, and trust. Neil explai...

Systems don’t change because we want them to. They change when we’re willing to admit they were built to produce the results we’re living with, then do the hard work of redesign. That’s the core of our conversation with Dr. Kathy Hogarth, Associate Vice President of Global Strategy at Wilfrid Laurier University, and a scholar-practitioner whose journey spans Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Canada. We talk candidly about the immigrant experience of credential recognition in Canada and wha...

Black History Month in Canada feels permanent now, but it was never guaranteed. We talk with Rosemary Sadlier, researcher, author, and longtime leader with the Ontario Black History Society, about the unglamorous, determined work it took to move Black History Month from community celebration to national recognition. She walks us through the reality of advocacy before social media: missed deadlines, long-distance calls, mailed letters, and the patience to keep pushing even when no one re...

A kid is up at 7:30 a.m. for a program that starts at eight not because it’s trendy, but because it means a real meal, real coaching, and adults who actually listen. That’s the kind of front-line truth Kevin Francis brings to SpeakUP! International, and it’s why his work hits so hard. Kevin is a lifelong community supporter and activist, and he’s co-founded Diversified Youth Initiative to build supports around what families say they need, not what a system assumes they need. We talk about th...

Join us on SpeakUP! International for a deeply moving episode with Kwanza Msingwana! Kwanza opens with “Old Woman, Sing Me a Song,” a breathtaking spoken-word tribute to his mother who held on to her wisdom, resilience and grace. From there, we follow the poetry back to its origins and forward to our own responsibilities. In this episode, we explore: How a music-making trip to Jamaica completely reshaped his perspective on culture and gratitude.The heart of African oral tradition, where folkt...

“I don’t see colour” can sound polite, but Nana Dei calls colourblindness an insult and explains why: the problem isn’t colour; it’s the meaning and power we attach to it. We talk about what it takes to teach with critical consciousness in Canada, where anti-Black racism, colonial history, and school gatekeeping still shape who feels valued, safe, and seen. Nana Day, a globally recognized University of Toronto OISE professor and advocate for Black African Canadian education, connects a...

A lot of people say they support equity, diversity, and inclusion, but far fewer are willing to challenge the systems that keep producing the same unequal outcomes. We’re joined by Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, assistant professor in Ontario teacher education and executive director with YACE in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community, to talk about what real EDI work looks like when it’s grounded in service, accountability, and lived experience. Dr. Eizadirad shares practical examples from campus and c...