Ontario’s HIV sector stands in solidarity with Black Lives Matter to resist anti-Black racism and anti-Black violence.
Over the past week, we’ve witnessed unprecedented violence against Black communities in North America – much of it at the hands of the police and the state. The latest incidents of state-sanctioned violence against Black people, including Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and countless others, remind us that to be Black in North America is to live with enduring and historic anti-Black racism that perpetuates violence, and systemic, economic, health and social inequities. In recognition of these realities, the Ontario AIDS Network and its members stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movements in Ontario, across Canada, and around the world.
This is a critical moment for Ontario’s HIV sector to stand in solidarity with Black communities and speak out against anti-Black racism. It is vital that our network commit publicly to challenging white supremacy and to raising our collective voice against pervasive violence and systemic discrimination against Black people. Our organizations and movement are built on foundational social justice principles that endure in our work to this day. Many of these same principles lay at the foundation of the Black Lives Matter movement. Our histories of collective HIV activism and the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall riots are prescient reminders of our deep roots of social action and resistance and of what change can come when we act together.
As we continue to use our collective tools and voices to dismantle HIV stigma and to challenge the status quo, we must begin to speak out louder on behalf of and with Black communities and organizations like Black Lives Matter. We must collectively acknowledge high and persistent HIV rates in Ontario’s African, Caribbean and Black communities and the ways that anti-Black racism and persistent health inequities contribute to this reality. Our collective voices must also rise in resistance to anti-Indigenous racism, transphobia, and countless other forms of oppression in our community.
While the state has indeed perpetrated violence against Black communities, we must acknowledge the role of our organizations in perpetuating this violence. As community-based organizations, we must examine the ways in which our own silence makes us complicit and commit to identifying and addressing occurrences of anti-Black racism within our sector and organizations.
The Ontario AIDS Network and its membership stand with those fighting for the fair and equitable treatment of Black communities at home and abroad. We the undersigned:
- Affirm this statement in solidarity with Black communities and with the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Commit ourselves to challenging anti-Black racism and violence through our actions.
- Commit to ensuring that Black communities who access HIV-related services in Ontario can do so without fear of discrimination.
Black Lives Matter!
On behalf of the Board and staff of,
Shannon Ryan
Ontario AIDS Network
Janet Rowe
PASAN
Hope Ramsay
MOYO Health and Community Services
Suzanne Paddock
Toronto People with AIDS Foundation
Holly Gauvin
Elevate NWO
Adrian Betts
AIDS Committee of Durham Region
Ky’okusinga Kirunga
African/Caribbean Council on HIV/AIDS in Ontario
Haran Vijayanathan
Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention
Shamin Mohamed Jr.
LetsStopAIDS
John Maxwell
AIDS Committee of Toronto
Dane Griffiths
Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance
Ryan Peck
HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario
Glenn Walker
Positive Living Niagara
Stacey Mayhall
AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area
Glenn Checkley
Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy
Nadine Sookermany
Fife House
Byron James
Hemophilia Ontario
Chilombo Olawoye
The Teresa Group
Keith McCrady
2-Spirited People of the First Nations
Linda Truglia and Lorraine Kelly
Bruce House
Gavin Demonte
CAYR Community Connections
Maureen Owino
Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment
Tim McClemont
The AIDS Network
Claudio Ruiz
Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples
Molly Bannerman
Women and HIV/AIDS Initiative
Brian Lester
Regional HIV/AIDS Connection
Fanta Ongoiba
Africans in Partnership Against AIDS
Jillian Watkins
HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health
Laurie Edmiston
CATIE
Michael Brennan
AIDS Committee of Windsor
Richard Rainville
Reseau ACCESS Network
Wangari Tharao
Women’s Health in Women’s Hands
Khaled Salam
AIDS Committee of Ottawa
Wendy Pinder
Ontario Organizational Development Program
Gareth Henry
Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention
Gilles Charette
HIV/AIDS Regional Services
Michel Lussier
ACTION POSITIVE VIH/Sida
Tim McCaskell
AIDS Action Now!
Gerry Croteau
The Gilbert Centre
Joanne Simons
Casey House
Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp
Asian Community AIDS Services
Daven Seebarran
Maggie’s Toronto