Category: diversity
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What is “Black identifying”?
Really. I feel like I need an answer to this question. And if anyone knows who might have some answers, please tell me. I’ll also admit my ignorance: The premise for this post is an honest question. Therefore, if “Black identifying” is an older term with a respected history, I apologize. Yet I’ve heard it…
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Juneteenth: It’s about freedom. Part Two
Today my discussion on Juneteenth with Jason Greer continues, as I asked him to share an issue of his own choosing. Claire Francis – Is there anything that I haven’t brought up thus far related to Juneteenth and its commercialization or portrayal that you think needs to be brought out into the open and discussed…
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Juneteenth: It’s about freedom. Not merch.
The story of Juneteenth is an important part of American history: On January 1, 1863, in the United States, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet enslaved Texans did not know that they had been set free until two and a half years later. On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, Major General Gordon Granger…
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Black Excellence
We talk about “Black Excellence” and regard it as this beautiful, indomitable force in people of African descent. But what if it were a product? What would its ad campaign look like? Those questions inspired this week’s video. I won’t share much about my creative process. Instead I’ll point out something very important: I didn’t…
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Take A Knee
This summer, I worked with a group of teenage ESL students. I remember the first time I taught them our national anthem. Everyone was ok with what we were doing, except one young woman. I’ll call her Emma. After we sang “O Canada,” I had the students work through an anthem-related activity. Once we were…
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Coming Soon!: CaribbeanTales International Film Festival
Caribana may have finished, but in Toronto, the celebration of Caribbean culture isn’t over. The city is home to CaribbeanTales, an organization devoted to sharing stories from people of the Caribbean diaspora. The CaribbeanTales International Film Festival begins in September, and runs from the 7th to the 17th of the month. A few days ago…
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#ThronesYall
In this episode, Jamie of Black Girl Nerds offers her listeners brilliant commentary on the idea of hashtag ownership. I’m about halfway through, and I have nothing to add. …Except for a little something about online behaviour. When I follow people on social media, it’s because their content interests me, or I like them, or both. Either…
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Dear Hollywood:
Dear Hollywood: When we look in the mirror, we expect an accurate reflection. Love, Inclusion
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False Avatar
…And to think sometimes I wonder why directors cast Chinese people to play Koreans, and vice versa… Right now there are bigger fish to fry. *cue Valley Girl accent* So I was just looking at Racialicious, and like, this series called Avatar: The Last Airbender is being made into, like, a live-action film. The characters…
claire.she.goes 