UTM students and groups are celebrating Black History Month with activities currently underway.
Multiple student groups collaborated to plan and host Black History Month events. UTMSU joined forces with ECASA, Caribbean Connections, and the Somali Student Association this year to collaborate in planning events.
Black History Month events this month have so far included an opening ceremony, a social event, a movie day, and a Buy Black event, which was hosted in the Student Centre for three days beginning on February 9. The groups invited black vendors in the GTA to sell their products, which included beauty and hair products, dashikis, and food vendors selling jollof rice, and BBQ chicken.
“Black vendors have a harder time finding their audiences, so we’re using this [platform] to bring all the vendors to the same place to connect them to their audiences,” said Farai Tigere, VP external affairs of ECASA. “Black voices in U of T are silenced as a whole, and these events are used to [strengthen] that voice.”
“I’m proud of being able to provide students with African clothing at a cheaper rate than the prices they would get online,” said Yvonne Eifediyi, treasurer of ECASA. “It makes them feel at home and comfortable, because this is their identity.”
As part of Black History Month, the groups will host an anti-blackness panel discussion on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in CC 1140.
