Newmarket working on multi-year action plan to tackle anti-Black racism

Yorkregion.com
July 29, 2022

In the wake of a Dismantling Anti-Black Racism Task Force report to Newmarket council last December that resulted in more than 100 recommendations, the town has announced it is working this summer to create a multi-year action plan.

The town will work with EMPOWER Strategy Group, which empowers people, workplaces and communities to create inclusive organizations, with recommendations expected to come to council in September.

It will include suggested approaches to close identified gaps, barriers and threats to equity, diversity and inclusion so the town can work toward dismantling anti-Black racism.

"My team is working with the town's departments, partner agencies and institutions and Black residents of Newmarket to draft the plan. The multi-year plan will seek to make Newmarket a place where people feel they belong,” EMPOWER CEO Evelyn Myrie, said in a statement.

The community-led task force was headed by Jerisha Grant-Hall, chair of the Newmarket African Caribbean Canadian Association (NACCA).

It was created in 2020 to support the town’s existing work, amplify voices from the Black community, make recommendations on racial equity opportunities in Newmarket and address issues and activities that impact the Black community.

The community is being invited to learn more.

A virtual town hall meeting will be held Aug. 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

An in-person meeting will be held Aug. 8 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at NACCA’s office at 449 Eagle St.

Residents in the Black community are encouraged to join the events to provide their input into the proposed action plan.

For more information and to RSVP, visit heynewmarket.ca/dabr.

Necessary work on anti-Black racism will require a commitment to confront issues that may be uncomfortable, the task force said in its report last December.

“Newmarket is an extraordinary community with extraordinary potential. We look to our leaders to act with urgency and courage,” it said, recognizing good work already done by the town and community organizations.

“The work to confront, tackle and dismantle anti-Black racism is an ongoing one. To come, are the efforts from all segments of the community as we collectively seek to build a harmonious space where all are welcomed, acknowledged, respected and loved.”