Share, celebrate, understand, participate: Black History Month 2025
UM community members give their reflections
February is Black History Month (BHM) in Canada, a time to increase awareness of the issues and difficulties that have been historically faced, and continue to be faced, by Black people and communities, while honouring the achievements of Black people in Canada and around the world.
UM Today asked several members of the UM community for their thoughts on the significance of this month. Hear what they said and read on to learn about UM’s commitment to Black flourishing and anti-racism, including planned BHM events.
Reflecting on BHM: In their own words
Ghislaine Alleyne, a change and improvement specialist at UM, thinks of Black History Month as “our time to share, celebrate and understand Black histories and our current reality.”
She adds, “It is an opportunity to celebrate our achievements and influence on culture. It is also an opportunity to teach and learn about the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and chattel slavery—the roots of anti-Black racism—on our communities. This year, in particular, as we see a rise in racism and anti-immigrant sentiment in Canada and the U.S. (and in many other countries), we must reflect on what that means and how we can work to oppose it in all forms.”
Alleyne cites this quote from the late, renowned Black American author and activist James Baldwin, “To accept one’s past—one’s history—is not the same thing as drowning in it; it is learning how to use it.” The quote is from Baldwin’s book of essays, The Fire Next Time, which explores the roots of racism and the possibility of change, delving into religion, justice, and the Black experience in America.
For Afua Mante, assistant professor of soil science, celebrating Black history month is “our opportunity as Canadians to: reflect and confront our past on our active participation in enslaving black people, including children, from the sub-Saharan Africa during the trans-Atlantic slave trade; create the ethical space for black people to share their truth; confront anti-black racism; acknowledge the immense contribution of black people throughout the life of Canada; and carry out our ethical and constitutional responsibility in recognizing each other as equal and work together to protect, celebrate, and navigate our multiculturalism, which is the hallmark of our Canadian heritage and identity.”
Mante is a presenter at a Black History Month panel organized by Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences on the topic, “Canadians and Black history: Navigating our multiculturalism to strengthen our True North.” The event takes place Feb. 4 (more information below).
Black History Month for Melissa Gayle is “a time of reflection, pride, and celebration, a moment to honour the excellence and resilience of Black individuals who have shaped history and left a lasting impact on the world. It is an opportunity to acknowledge their achievements, celebrate their contributions, and reflect on the work still needed to ensure Black people are fully recognized as equals in society,” she says.
“It is also a time to recommit to creating spaces where Black communities are supported and empowered to thrive,” she adds. Gayle is program coordinator and assistant to the director at the James W. Burns Leadership Institute, Asper School of Business.
Read on for BHM events taking place over the next month.
UM BHM events
Many interesting events take place during Black History Month—a sampling of 2025 events is listed below.
Also check out the 2025 UM Promoting Black Flourishing Fund projects and events, many of them student events. This annual fund provides one-time funding to support initiatives by Black members of the UM Community and Black UM-affiliated groups and organizations.
UM KEYNOTE EVENT
Anti-racism and the ‘fierce urgency of now’: Courage, mutuality and accountability
Dr. Malinda S. Smith, Associate Vice-President (Research-EDI), political science professor, University of Calgary. Weaving together legacies of Canadian hidden figures in the academy, such as Violet King, Sophia B. Jones, Ivy Lawrence Maynier, Frank Wright and Kenneth Melville, this keynote highlights principles of mutuality and accountability and our shared responsibility to combat racisms.
Date: Friday, Feb. 14
Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Theatre B, Basic Medical Sciences Building (hybrid event)
OTHER UM BHM EVENTS
Race, resistance and freedom: Black feminist thought on settler colonialism
The Distinguished Visitors Lecture Series presents: Dr. Sarah Riley Case, McGill University
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 28
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Room 204 Robson Hall
Movie screening: Bob Marley: One Love
Includes a panel discussion and guest speaker Nadine Powell
Date: January 29
Time: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Landmark Cinemas, Grant Park
Changing the Narrative Bookclub, organized by ACMP and curated in support of Black Student Collective, meets to discuss chapter 8 of A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara (reading materials at link).
Date: Friday, Jan. 31
Time: 6 to 7:15 p.m.
Location: Rm 409 of the Tier Building
Celebrating Black excellence in health care
Hosted by the Black and Racialized Student Support Group in collaboration with the College of Nursing’s Anti-Racism Committee. Featuring cultural dance, a vibrant fashion show, spoken word performance and keynote address by the Hon. Uzoma Asagwara, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Seniors, and Long-Term Care.
Date: Monday, Feb. 3
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Helen Glass Atrium (Nursing), Fort Garry campus
Canadians and Black history: Navigating our multiculturalism to strengthen our True North
Panel discussion organized by Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences.
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4
Time: 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building, 66 Dafoe Road
3rd annual anti-Black racism as a mental health concern
Working in solidarity: Confronting Structural Discrimination and Mental Health Inequities.
Organized by Dr. Warren Clarke, UM professor of anthropology, with guest speaker Dr. Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey (McGill University), and several panelists including these from UM: Dr. Tina Chen, Vice-Provost (Equity); Dr. Heidi Marx, dean, Faculty of Arts: and Dr. Peter Donahue, dean, Faculty of Social Work. Free. In-person and online.
Date: Friday, Feb. 7
Time: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Round House Auditorium, 319 Elgin, Red River College, and ZOOM
Panel: Why anti-racism matters to data / Why data matters to anti-racism
This panel will explore data collection, governance and analysis in the context of social practices, knowledge frameworks, and power relations. (Office of Equity Transformation Data Justice Series)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 13
Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Location: 325 Education Building (Fort Garry campus)
Black History Month celebration: Empowering voices: Amplifying Black narratives in leadership
Organized by the Afro-Caribbean Mentorship Program (ACMP), this event features keynote address by the Hon. Uzoma Asagwara, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Seniors, and Long-Term Care, and catering by D&M Flava.
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 28
Time: 5 to 9 p.m.
Location: Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, 319 Elgin, Red River College, and ZOOM
For more events, also see the Black History Manitoba February 2025 events calendar
BHM stories and resources
Stories
Dr. June Marion James reflects on Black History Month: The acclaimed Black physician and previous UM Distinguished Service Alumni Award recipient on the challenges and successes throughout her life and medical career.
Reflecting B(l)ack and moving forward: A legacy of a life well lived
‘It’s not just a moment’: Professor Warren Clarke on the mental health effects of anti-Black racism
UM endorses the Scarborough Charter to address anti-Black racism and foster Black inclusion
Resources
- The UM Black Alliance, or UMBA officially formed in 2019 and addresses challenges and honours the important history, people and experiences of UM’s Black communities.
- The Racial Equity and Inclusion Alliance (REIA): A student-led organization under the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) which aims to empower racialized identities on campus
- UM Black Student Union: A community organization strengthening and supporting the Black community at UM.
- Black Students Community at UM: An UMSU community group for Black Students at the University of Manitoba.
- Changing the Narrative Bookclub (Black Students Collective)
Education and awareness
- Canadian Black history(BHMWinnipeg)
- Black history and human rights(Canadian Human Rights Museum)
- Being Black in the Prairies(CBC Interactives / Omayra Issa & Ify Chiwetelu)
- Being Black in Canada(CBC)
- Black History Month(Government of Canada)
Anti-racism at UM
UM is committed to being a community where anti-racism is embraced. This momentum is endorsed in UM’s latest strategic plan, MomentUM: Leading Change Together, in fostering a vibrant community. It’s propelled by the equity and anti-oppression work by UM community members and the Office of Equity Transformation, and through UM’s Anti-Racism Task Force, formed in February 2022. Read more on UM’s Anti-Racism website and learn about the steps we’re taking to ensure UM is a place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
In 2022, UM announced it signed the Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black Inclusion, a historic document that commits UM to combat anti-Black racism and foster Black inclusion in higher education and communities, based on four principles: Black flourishing, inclusive excellence, mutuality, and accountability.
In August 2020, UM’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences passed the first anti-racism policy of any faculty or post-secondary institution in Canada, developed with the faculty’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion anti-racism working group. Read the UM learning module for the Disruption of all forms of racism policy.