To acknowledge the ongoing issues of systemic racism and inequality affecting all universities in Canada, including our own, NUFA is encouraging its members to attend one or both of the Black Lives Matter events taking place this Saturday in North Bay:
1. Black Lives Matter March: Saturday, June 6, 2020, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Memorial Gardens football field)
In support of the Black Lives Matter movement and in honour of the recent murders of George Floyd, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and Ahmaud Arbery. This event will be held in North Bay and will be starting at the football field behind Memorial Gardens at 1pm, from there we will march our way to City Hall. At City Hall, we hope to set up a vigil to honour the lives of those who have passed, not just recently but over the past countless years of police brutality and racism.
We will continue to remind everyone and encourage everyone who wishes to participate to obey COVID-19 restrictions and remain six feet apart. Attendees are asked to bring masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc. to the rally with them. Should some show up without a mask, or some display concern about attending due to not having a mask, we will be giving out masks to those who need it (the people handing them out will have masks on and gloves, and we will set up a table for the masks to be put down on and picked up at so that the six feet regulation is still in place).
Please indicate if you are able to attend so we are able to properly supply masks for those who may need.
The organizers can be contacted at kaidenpeldjak@npscschools.
2. Black Lives Matter Demonstration: Saturday, June 6, 2020, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM (Kiwanis band shelter)
This event is an information and community-building session. We will have Black speakers from the community, some scheduled (as well as time at the end for any non-scheduled speakers). If any Black NUFA members would like to say anything, they can reach out to the organizer, [email protected] to be added to the list. Or they can show up and speak at the non-scheduled speaker time. Anyone attending should note we will not have any non-Black speakers either scheduled or unscheduled.
The idea is to build community and show solidarity for Black members of our community, while reaching across the community to people who may not be involved yet in the movement. To this end we are also providing COVID-19 supplies such as hand sanitizer, masks, grocery gift cards for people to take home if they are in need.
Furthermore, following the example of our colleagues in OPSEU, NUFA will be making a contribution of $500 to the endowment fund being established at Nipissing University to provide educational opportunities for Black students. Any members interested in making a further contribution can contact the Advancement department to discuss options.