Friends and Colleagues,
The events of the past 3 months, COVID-19, and the continued blatant and unjust systemic
practices of anti-black racism, has placed increasing pressures on members of our Afrikan
community.
COVID-19 has disproportionately and significantly impacted members of our community,
revealing the ever-present disparities in our health, and economic systems.
Additionally, the recent series of killings of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, Chantel Moore, George
Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the many more, deeply
saddening, all point to the need for police reform and brings to light anti-Black racism and
white supremacy in their darkest forms. While these recent murders of member of our
community is not new; we recognize that there is a global moment that energizes our work.
CAFCAN stands firmly, and in solidarity, with our community partners and allies, across Canada,
in denouncing the system of white supremacy, anti-black racism, and the continued racism
inflicted on our Indigenous brothers and sisters and people of color.
Resources which have been historically allocated to support police work, must be re-directed to
other support services which would more effectively support community need.
We recognize that members of the Afrikan community, have been fighting against white
supremacy and Anti-Black racism from the time we were forcefully implanted on the shores of
the Americas and Caribbean Islands. Still there is much more work to be done.
Afrikan people have endured all forms of systemic assaults and indecencies, at the hands of
members of the police force, and our criminal justice system. This MUST end.
We want to end by reinforcing the need to solidarity in the Black community to combat this
ongoing assault on members of our community.
Black Lives Matter.
sipho kwaku
Chair, Caribbean African Canadian Social Services, Board of Directors