Speaking out against racism
Asper School of Business joins the conversation to support Winnipeg’s Anti-Racism week
From March 21 to 27, the City of Winnipeg is hosting an anti-racism week with the theme, “What would Winnipeg look like without racism?” This citywide initiative involves virtual events in partnership with Immigration Partnership Winnipeg, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, Elmwood Community Resource Centre, Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties, Human Rights Hub, and Black History Manitoba.
The Asper School of Business stands behind this important initiative particularly at a time where there has been an increase in incidents of senseless violence and racism, including recent events targeting members of the Asian community.
“At the Asper School of Business, we stand with our Indigenous, Asian, Black, and Persons of Colour (BIPOC) communities and reject all forms of racism,” said Dr. Gady Jacoby, Dean and CPA Manitoba Chair in Business Leadership. “Just last week the Asper community shared the pain of one of our Asian colleagues who was the target of a hate crime in her business in Winnipeg. I want to specifically express my support at this time for our Asian community represented by students, faculty, staff and alumni.”
As part of the commitment to improving the community, in September 2020, the Asper School of Business created a faculty wide Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The Task Force, with representation from faculty, administration, staff, students and alumni, that is working to drive a cultural shift that considers any and all patterns of exclusion and discrimination, and raises awareness of the barriers and challenges faced by groups and individuals in our community.
Dr. Suzanne Gagnon, Canada Life Chair in Leadership and Director of James W. Burns Leadership Institute is co-chair of the Task Force, along with Associate Dean Undergraduate Dr. Subbu Sivaramakrishnan.
“The City’s initiative in this first Winnipeg Anti-Racism Week focuses specifically on having the difficult conversations that will bring much greater awareness of all forms of racism in our city and community,” said Dr. Gagnon. “We are inspired by this orientation and working to do the same through our Task Force.”
As a way to demonstrate your solidarity with our BIPOC communities, we invite the community to participate in the City of Winnipeg’s Anti-Racism Week activities taking place this week. University of Manitoba President, Michael Benarroch, also released an anti-racism community message today including information about an upcoming “Dismantling Racism” workshop, and the new “Our Path to Reconciliation” workshop.
We welcome all Asper students to share their stories on our dedicated email address asper [dot] edi [at] umanitoba [dot] ca to provide ideas and stories that can lead us to a more inclusive and supportive community.