”Black History is Canadian History! Join us to commemorate the 2024 Black History Month
hosted by the Truly Alive Youth and Family Foundation Inc.”
The commemoration of Black History Month dates back to 1926 when Harvard-educated,
African-American historian named Carter G. Woodson proposed setting aside a time devoted to
honour the accomplishments of African Americans and to heighten awareness of Black history
in the United States. The celebrations of Black history began in Canada later on and is observed the entire month of February of each year.
Within the Saskatchewan context, the history of the Black communities dates back to 1896 with
Dr. Alfred Shadd (MD), who came to the province to take a teaching job followed by the Black
settler’s community 1910 came from the United States and the recent increase of black
immigrant and refugees. Through trailblazing and advocacy, multi-generation of Black and people of African descent have
achieved various milestones and accomplishments that have contributed to Saskatchewan
province; these contributions have influenced and defined Saskatchewan economy, culture, and
shaped history. Notable contributions of the people of Black and African Descent to the province
of Saskatchewan are evident in key areas of science, research, and innovation; health, education,
and sports; immigration, culture, arts, creative industry, and many more.
In line with local reality as it relates to the public awareness on the
Heritage and History of people of Black and African Descent in Saskatchewan, the Truly Alive
Youth and Family Foundation Inc. TAYFFI) commemorates the 2024 Black History Month under
the theme “Black Awakening.”
The year 2024 marks the end of the international decade for people of African descent, the
Decade was proclaimed in 2014 by the United Nations General Assembly to provides a
framework from 2015 to 2024 of social, economic, and political change with the theme
“Recognition, Justice, and Development.”
Upon the principle of accountability and in respect of
Government of Canada’s formal endorsement of the United Nations’ International Decade for
People of African Descent which presents an important commitment to taking action on the
issues that affect people of African descent in Canada, including improving research and data
collection, addressing mental health challenges, systemic discrimination and the
overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system, including as victims of crime
we herewith present the following calls to action for the Saskatchewan Provincial Government:
- Recognize Black community as a “community of communities” that is uniquely diverse
and provide more disaggregated information on Blacks in Saskatchewan to address key
policy needs and to raise awareness about issues related to economic, health, race
relations, justice, gender, diversity, and inclusion.
- Allocate sustainable and enduring funds for Black-led organizations to advance their
capacity to be better positioned and ranked among service providing organizations as
opposed to being conditioned to service-seeking communities given the current inequity
in provincial funding accessible by Black-led organizations.
- Be intentional in addressing systemic and structure issues that continue to contribute to
social, health, justice, and economic inequalities faced by people of Black and African
Descent in Saskatchewan
- Develop action plan to confront Anti-Black Racism in Saskatchewan in consultation with
and led by Black leaders and Black-serving organizations across the province.
- Develop and implement outreach initiative to recruit, train, and retain diverse Black
Saskatchewan citizens for leadership and governance roles in key areas of community
and political ecosystem of the province.
- Commit to incorporating Black History into learning curriculum across Saskatchewan
educational institutions.
- (Re)commit to self-educating, and to disrupting oppression on multiple levels, including
in our own homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.