On November 22, 2017 at the West End Cultural Centre, Black feminist writer, activist and educator Robyn Maynard is coming to Winnipeg to discuss her latest book, Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present (Fernwood Publishing).

Presented by Uniter Speakers Series, QPOC Winnipeg and Black Space Winnipeg, we hope to create an insightful evening for attendees and participants and shine list on the long history and present conditions of police and state violence in Canada. 

Delving behind Canada’s veneer of multiculturalism and tolerance, Policing Black Lives traces the violent realities of anti-blackness from the slave ships to prisons, classrooms and beyond. Robyn Maynard provides readers with the first comprehensive account of nearly four hundred years of state-sanctioned surveillance, criminalization and punishment of Black lives in Canada.

"Robyn Maynard’s meticulously-researched and compelling analysis of state violence challenges prevailing narratives of Canadian multiculturalism and inclusion by examining how structures of racism and ideologies of gender are complexly anchored in global histories of colonization and slavery.” — Angela Y. Davis

“A comprehensive and necessary book for anyone who cares about the past, present and future of Black life in this country. Brilliant work!” — Black Lives Matter Toronto

“Eye-opening and chilling.” — Andrea J. Ritchie

For more information please contact us at: [email protected]

Black Space Winnipeg and Winnipeg Cinematheque are pleased to present Unarmed Verses as a part of the The 9th Annual Gimme Some Truth Documentary Festival. 

Unarmed Verses is a thoughtful and vivid portrait of a Toronto low-income housing community facing imposed relocation. At the centre of the story is a remarkably astute and luminous 12-year-old Black girl, Francine, whose poignant observations about life, the soul, and the power of art to give voice to those rarely heard in society become a solidifying force in her community. Unarmed Verses is a cinematic rendering of our universal need for self-expression and belonging, and a statement about the strength of community. Forced relocation and displacement of Black communities has been a systemic reality that's persisted far too long in the history and present of Canada. From Africville (Nova Scotia) to Hogan's Alley (Vancouver), the demolishment of vibrant Black communities has been normalized by the state across Canada. We hope to educate attendees on the cold truth of government housing, relocation and systemic discrimination towards Black-Canadian communities in an open panel after the film.

Gimme Some Truth is produced by the Winnipeg Film Group and now enters into it's 9th year of programming and operations. This unique, four day documentary forum that includes panel discussions, master lectures, workshops and special screenings - all intended to provide filmmakers and audiences alike the opportunity to discuss creative, ethical and technical issues related to the documentary form.

We encourage the public to attend the screening at Cinematheque (7:00PM) and a free panel and reception in PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts at 9:00PM. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at: https://www.winnipegfilmgroup.com/product/gimme-some-truth-2017-individual-tickets/

For information please visit our website: www.blackspacewpg.ca or contact us at: [email protected]

David Chariandy is a Canadian writer from Scarborough, Toronto who now lives in Vancouver BC. Chariandy’s first novel, entitled Soucouyant, was published internationally, and nominated for eleven literary prizes and awards, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. His second novel, entitled Brother, will also be published internationally, and has been recently longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. A co-founder of Commodore Books (the first Black focused press in Western Canada), Chariandy is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Simon Fraser University specializing in Black Global Literature, Caribbean Literature, Canadian Literature, and Creative Writing. He is the co-editor of a recent special issue of the Harvard-based Transition Magazine entitled Writing Black Canadas. His forthcoming book of nonfiction entitled I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter will be published by McClelland and Stewart in 2018. 

The Critical Race Network UW and Black Space Winnipeg are please to present an evening with David Chariandy. Doors open at 7:15PM, event starts at 7:30PM at the University of Winnipeg (Room 2M70). We appreciate the support from our community and sponsors; Institute for Women's and Gender Studies (IWGS), The University of Winnipeg and Winnipeg International Writers Festival. 

For information please visit the following www.uwinnipeg.ca/critical-race-network/ - or contact: [email protected] for more information.

Black Space Winnipeg and Winnipeg Film Group Cinematheque partner for our October feature, Get Out. Get Out has brought racial discourse to the horror film genre. Receiving both praise and mixed reviews, Jordan Peele (Emmy-winning creator/star of Comedy Central’s sketch series Key & Peele), made his film debut with this incredibly sharp horror film. 

Get Out follows a young African-American man (Daniel Kaluuya) who has reached a dating milestone with his girlfriend (Allison Williams): she invites him for a weekend getaway at the mysterious estate of her parents (Bradley Whitford, Catherine Keener). At first, the young man reads the family’s overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter’s interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.

Black Space Winnipeg's film series are followed with a free reception and panel discussion (9:00 PM in PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts). Our panel attempts to explore the following topics; interracial relationships, halloween and cultural appropriation, and race and horror. Hear panelists discuss narratives within the film as we interact with community members on Thursday, October 12, 2017.

See Eventbrite for tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/get-out-presented-by-black-space-winnipeg-cinematheque-tickets-37709282479
Or contact us at: [email protected] for more information. Don’t forget to spread the word. In the spirit of Get Out remember, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

On Saturday, August 12, white nationalists caused uproar and civil turmoil in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since then, white nationalists, neo-nazi supremacists have began to declare their vocal rage, inflicting harm in the public eye. White nationalist movements have since proceeded across the US and in Canada. Recently, Winnipeg has been subject to white supremacist graffiti around the city, seen at The Forks Market and on Wellington Ave. (Source: CBC Manitoba) 

It may come as a shock to the general Canadian public, but these recent actions from oppressive groups comes as no surprise for BIPOC, marginalized people. The legacy of white supremacist, neo-nazi, white-nationalists groups have a long history In Canada. Due to the cultural mosaic narrative consumes by many Canadians, when we see harsh, direct acts of racism happen within the public eye, it brings our principles of national diversity and inclusion into question and creates uncertainty for folks who believe Canada is free of discrimination, this is simply not the case.

Black Space member, local author, podcast host and public figure Adeline Bird gave Winnipeg a wake up call in her recent interview with CBC Manitoba and Winnipeg Free Press: 

"We need to debrief, come together and heal. It's important that people who are seeing this and being surprised to really remember that we (people of colour) experience this on a daily basis. This is nothing new to us."

In hopes to generate safe space, Black Space Winnipeg will be hosting Silence Is Violence #WinnipegAgainstFascism, a community conversation and support event on Wednesday, August 23 at the Bulman MPR Centre University of Winnipeg (Spence Entrance, Riddell Hall). Similar support systems have been initiated across Winnipeg. We invite the public to come share concerns, frustrations and suggestions for moving forward as a community. We ask folks coming to this event to show empathy, exercise authentic allyship, bring food and generate support. Members to the BIPOC community (Black, Indigenous, People of Colours, Newcomers) are invited to come at 5:45 PM to ensure safe space for racialized folks. We ask allies to the BIPOC community please come for 7:00pm to ensure safe space for all participants.

For those who are eager to show support and create meaningful dialogue and thank of ways to move forward as a community are invited to join the conversation. For more information please contact us at: [email protected]

Black Space Winnipeg has partnered with Gradual Rising of Women (GROW) for the Speak Out Women Series Conversation Cafes at Kokeb Restaurant (266 Edmonton St.), this Friday, September 8, 2017 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM.

GROW has embarked upon a new initiative called Project 150. This initiative aims to capture the voices of 150 immigrant, newcomer women with featured edition of Promising Young, Women and Leadership. That will help GROW to both celebrate and document their contribution to Canada and share their stories of struggles, successes and accomplishments with our community and surrounding areas. GROW believes sharing experiences such as these and think it is critically important in helping to nurture emerging leadership and ongoing civic engagement for young women from newcomer communities.

We invite the public to continue the momentum of organic dialogue in hopes to create space to learn from one another and push towards inclusivity. For more information visit growwomenleaders.com

There’s no denying: we’re not all the same and the differences are numerous. Our beliefs, preferred value systems, and political alignments; the personalities we divulge; the overarching intersections of income quality and various types of discrimination that stand to shape and produce those values are so nuanced and varied, its smooth sailing being able to call the world we live in diverse, but does it ease the way for cultivating connections between people? How do we make sense of life in the midst of this often-times disorienting, individualistic world that always seems to have the potential to alienate?

Perhaps you didn’t think a possible solution would come from 20th century communications scholar, but Walter Fisher’s ubiquitous Narrative Paradigm describes it perfectly: humans are story-telling beings. That’s right, all human beings— regardless of race, creed, or financial disposition—can relate to one another based on our love of producing meaning and expression through narrative, a pattern that can be found in almost everything; poetry, spoken word, film, among other things.

Early this month, Spur Festival partnered with Black Space Winnipeg and invited Alexa Potashnik to act as moderator to bring festival-goers Chimwemwe Undi, Lorraine James, and Edmund Machona (a spoken word poet and linguist, an actor, and poet, respectively) who spoke of their experiences as black individuals in the Canadian arts scene and gifted us with narratives about bringing people together with their craft whilst challenging homogenous and non-inclusive pictures of Canadian identity.

The theme of this year’s festival was “risk”, which proved a generative topic when discussing inclusivity in the arts. While we all face a certain amount of risk in our daily lives, artists of colour face unique challenges and risk aspects of their livelihood, which further highlights the need for platforms for people of colour to share their own truth—panel discussions featuring exclusively black artists are a solid place to start. James, the actor in the group, spoke of not only working under a single black director throughout her decades-long career, but having to risk portraying stereotypical, demeaning characters to put food on the table, for example.

Shortly before the start of the festival, I was named an RBC Emerging Scholar, which granted me a full-access pass to all programming held that weekend. I saw this principle of encouraging essential and often-diminished storylines to be in the spotlight repeated, put forth to challenge the status quo instead of contributing to it. Held a day after the aforementioned panel, another titled “Indigenous Perspectives on Canada 150” invited Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in from Tsi Deldel First Nation),  a writer, editor, storyteller and host; Joshua Whitehead, an Oji-Cree, Two-Spirit storyteller and scholar from Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1); Wabiska Maengun, mother, artist/observer, arts administrator and a founding member of The Ephemerals; and Jaime Black, a Metis multimedia artist to discuss, under the dutiful moderation of Lenard Monkman, exactly what the panel discussion’s title suggests: their take on what is widely regarded as a positive celebration of Canada’s anniversary. I can confirm this was not the consensus among these artists and scholars.

In both cases, my heart is full from hearing their stories, allowing myself to grow from them,  and from further shaping my understanding of the unfamiliar, which as it turns out, gets less and less foreign the more you sit down listen to it.

Photos By: Kelechi Asagwara (ÉZÈ Studio), and Corey Parsons (Prevail Media).

Photo Gallery

Black Space Winnipeg in partnership with Winnipeg Film Group's Cinematheque is pleased to present Moonlight, on Tuesday, May 30, 2017. Black Space Winnipeg celebrates Pride Festival this year with support from Pride Winnipeg and Outwards Magazine. Moonlight, directed by Barry Jenkins is based off the Tarell Alvin McCraney's semi-autobiographical play, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue. The film charts the life of Chiron across three defining chapters of his life – starting out as a young Black man growing up in turbulent Miami, it follows his ongoing struggles with his sexuality and unstable family life. This Academy Award-winning film (Best Picture), explores identity, through Black culture in its relation to queer identities. 

Pride Festival takes place May 26 - June 4 and offers a variety of events and activities that promotes and celebrates the LGBTTQ* community.  Though Pride Festival attempts to create diverse spaces, there are times where the LGBTTQ* community is not always inclusive for all members. Black Space Winnipeg hopes to address issues of race, social isolation and prejudice within queer commentates/spaces for Black people. Each film screening is followed by a panel discussion in Platform Centre, where we hear from community members reflect on narratives within the film. 

You can catch this double-feature (6pm/9pm) and free panel/reception at 8 pm. Black Space Winnipeg recognizes the unique challenges imposed on Black people in the LGBTTQIA* community, we hope to provide a platform and safe space to explore authentic conversations for 2017 Winnipeg Pride Festival. 

Visit our Eventbrite Page to purchase tickets. We appreciate your support, should you have any further questions please contact us at: [email protected]. 

Last week, in association with the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Black Space Winnipeg presented the dynamic comedy of both Caribbean-Islander-turned-- Torontonian Gilson Lubin and artistic director of the night’s venue, Lara Rae. While you could call the night an intimate one, there’s no doubt those in attendance can verify the laughter exiting that darkened room resembled that of a crowd larger than the Gas Station Arts Centre could handle.

Divulging hilarious and seldom-discussed perspectives on her transition in middle-age, Lara Rae is a prime example of the joys that come from living an authentic life—in her case, by regarding estrogen as “the best drug [she’s] ever had in her body” and confirming her identity by surgery. In a laid-back performance including some of Lara’s new material, perhaps inadvertently, she underscores the importance of established spaces where these truths can be freely explored. Between the self-deprecating bit regarding vaginal dilators that left me laughing to myself days after the show and the mentioning that Montreal is the only place in Canada where one can receive gender confirming surgery, is it possible my fellow audience members and I walked out of this show not just fully laughed-out, but a bit more informed as well? I think we’re all leaning towards a yes.

Gilson Lubin then commandeered the stage to deliver his wide-eyed and honest humour, his visit ensuring the continuance of a diverse Winnipeg Arts scene alongside his co-presenter Lara Rae. Alexa Potashnik (founder, Black Space Winnipeg), “expressed the need for inclusion and the importance of growth in the arts community to support diversified programming” in a meeting with Rae, and the St. Lucian born comedian’s remarks on race, particularly on the newfound racial disparity he experienced in leaving his island community— promises to achieve that as he continues to make appearances in Canada and internationally. His portrayal of the black community (a group he praises for its supportiveness) and his self-professed wish to “break down stereotypes” in his comedy make it easy to get behind. And of course, rants lamenting a rude awakening with the Canadian winter were not left out.

Admittedly, even though I have called the birthplace of the Winnipeg Comedy Festival my home for several years now, this exuberant pair—I say with great shame—comprised my first-ever live comedy experience if you’re not counting the endless selection of one hour specials available on Netflix. Between garnering new and hilarious perspectives to indulging in the nostalgia of the very familiar, I’m hard-pressed to say a better first time could be had. Beyond my anecdotal remarks, Gilson and Lara gifted guests a provocative and entertaining night and Black Space Winnipeg was thrilled to present them both.

Black Space Winnipeg and Winnipeg Film Group’s Cinematheque are pleased to present a cinematic tribute to Angela Davis. Free Angela Davis and all Political Prisoners is a gripping historic account of the events that catapulted a young University of California philosophy professor into a controversial political icon in the turbulent late 1960's. Angela Davis joins the Communist Party, protests with the Black Panthers, and becomes a principle spokesperson for the burgeoning prison reform movement. As a result, she finds herself fighting to keep her job, and in the national media spotlight characterized by her many detractors as a dangerous subversive menace, and by her supporters as a strong leader challenging authority and boldly advocating for "Power to All People."

This is the second installment of Black Space Winnipeg and Cinematheque's film series. After screening the critically acclaimed documentary I Am Not Your Negro, directed by Raoul Peck for Black History Month, this further developed into a relationship each organization value in the hope to promote education and awareness around narratives and themes of race, identity, class and exploring Black cinema.  During the double feature there will be a panel discussion curated by Black Space Winnipeg with panelists from the University of Winnipeg and members of the community to explore the work and life and Dr. Davis in anticipation of her visit to Winnipeg on May 6, 2017 at Knox United Church presented by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, in partnership with Black Space Winnipeg and QPOC Winnipeg.

As Winnipeg impatiently waits for Angela Davis' visit in May, Free Angela Davis and all Political Prisoners will facilitate dialogue and education on the life and crucial work Dr. Davis has contributed to social movements and grassroots activism.  Join us at either screening time (6 pm or 9 pm) and stay for a panel curated by Black Space Winnipeg at 8 pm in Platform Centre at Artspace in the heart of the Exchange District. Tickets can be purchased online at our Eventbrite page (see photo below for further information).

Black Space Winnipeg, in association with Winnipeg Comedy Festival is thrilled to present Toronto based Comedian-Actor, Gilson Lubin. at the Gas Station Arts Centre on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Known for his raw and honest humor. Lubin is a powerhouse talent that delivers a signature, laid-back approach throughout his routine.

"The week before I moved to Canada, I was sticking my head in a freezer like... 'I could handle it.'" - Gilson Lubin

Saint Lucian born. Lubin was an MTV Canada Host, has appeared as himself on Comedy Central’s Comedy Now, HBO’s Def Jam, CTV’s Sugar and Hate, and has shared the stage with internationally renowned acts such as Dave Chapelle and DJ Future the Prince. He is a winner of several comedy competitions including the Canadian Comedy Award, Spike Television’s Spike the Mic Competition, Las Vegas Comedy Festival, and Laugh Across America Competition.

Gilson's visit to Winnipeg promises to push for diversity in the Winnipeg arts scene through community-led events. Artistic Director of the Gas Station Arts Centre Lara Rae, was more than eager to support the efforts of Black Space Winnipeg. After meeting with Rae, Alexa Potashnik (founder, Black Space Winnipeg), expressed the need for inclusion and the importance of growth in the arts community to support diversified programming. 

Winnipeg can catch Gilson Lubin live at the Gas Station Arts Centre, Tuesday, April 25, 2017, doors open at 7:00 PM, show starts at 8:00 PM. Alongside Gilson, "In the Black" presents Lara Rae and local DJ Jamil Williams for a night of both entertaining and thought-provoking content. Special thanks for Vantage Print Shop and local graphic designer Calvin Joseph for our amazing visuals. See Eventbrite page for tickets or contact us at [email protected] (see photo for ticket link):

On Tuesday, February 28th, 2017 Winnipeg Cinematheque in association with Black Space Winnipeg and Assiniboine Credit Union is pleased to screen the critically acclaimed film, I Am Not Your Negro. Written by James Baldwin, director Raoul Peck brings the unfinished manuscript Remember This House by Baldwin in the anticipated documentary of the year. Black Space Winnipeg celebrates 28 days of Black history both local and abroad. We encourage the public to come and engage with an important film that not only challenges the direct blatant racism within American

Black Space Winnipeg celebrates 28 days of Black history both local and abroad. We encourage the public to come and engage with an important film that not only challenges the direct blatant racism within American society, but the contemporary politeness of how racism manifests within systems of institutionalized discrimination. There will be a double screening at 6 pm and 9 pm with a panel discussion taking place in PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts at 8 pm.

We look forward to sharing an educational and enlightening evening with you.

Limited seats available. Get your tickets now.

 Please visit our GoFundMe page to donate and support future, local initiatives: https://www.gofundme.com/black-history-month

 Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/182610962221581/

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba (CCPA-MB) — in partnership with Black Space Winnipeg and Queer People of Colour Winnipeg —brings to Winnipeg world-renowned activist, academic and author Dr. Angela Davis this May 6, 2017. Buy your tickets online here.

Entitled “Race, Resistance & Revolution: Freedom is a Constant Struggle,” Dr. Davis’s Knox United Church-convened address will call upon Winnipeggers to resist oppressive political and economic forces rooted in racism, misogyny and capitalist exploitation. Dr. Davis will share how social movements around the globe resist oppressive agendas.

Dr. Davis was a select keynote speaker at this past Saturday’s Women’s March on Washington, where she declared openly: “Those who still defend the supremacy of white male hetero-patriarchy had better watch out. The next 1,459 days of the Trump administration will be 1,459 days of resistance.”

Angela Davis is the author of nine books, whose subjects are drawn from her personal experiences in the early ‘70s, including an 18 month imprisonment and court trial after being placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.” Dr. Davis was subsequently acquitted. Not surprisingly, Dr. Davis has conducted extensive research on numerous issues related to imprisonment, race, gender, alongside numerous writings chronicling her early life in segregated Alabama to her involvement in the Black Panther movement.

Davis’s imprisonment served as a galvanizing moment in American politics. The international solidarity movement for her release from prison — which included tributes by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and John Lennon & Yoko Ono — propelled her into cultural iconography as a symbol of the Civil Rights movement.

A portion of proceeds from this event will be donated to support Black Space Winnipeg.

Ticket Information:

General admission: $30, Buy your tickets online here or buy them in-person at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Student: $20 University of Winnipeg Info Booth; University of Manitoba Answers and by calling the CCPA Manitoba office at 204-927-3200.

Ticket with reception afterward with Dr. Davis: $100 (includes $50 tax deductible receipt from CCPA)

Note: A limited number of reduced rate tickets are available for those whom which cost is a barrier. Please call CCPA MB for availability at 204-927-3200.

Thank you to our event sponsors: Manitoba Building Trades and Allied Hydro Council, the University of Winnipeg, Fernwood Publishing, Assiniboine Credit Union, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 832 and the Canadian Consortium on Politics and Performance in the Americas.

I'm very honoured to take part in the Big Fun Productions & Manitoba Music's January Music Meeting on Creating Safer Spaces in the Music Community on January 26, 2017 from 5:30pm - 7:30pm at Fools & Horses (379 Broadway, Winnipeg, MB, Canada).

The event description:

The conversation around safer spaces in music has been increasingly in the spotlight. How do we, as a community, make our music spaces safer for audiences, artists, and workers? Join community members for a free panel discussion on the concepts behind, and importance of, safer spaces, and the challenges in creating and maintaining them, with a focus on gender, sexual orientation, and the experiences of Black people, Indigenous people, people of colour, and the people who exist at those intersections.

Moderated by Winnipeg Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti, the panel features Alexa Potashnik, creator of Black Space, host of Raw Colours radio, and performer known as MC Woke; bassist, composer, teacher, and musician Ashley Au; Jodie Layne, founder of Safer Spaces Winnipeg; Leonard Sumner, award-winning MC and singer/songwriter; Tyler Sneesby, co-owner and founder of The Good Will Social Club, which gained national attention for drafting and adopting its House Rules; and Uzoma Asagwara, entrepreneur, founder of QPOC, registered psychiatric nurse, member of the Premier's Advisory Council on education, poverty, and citizenship.

Presented by Manitoba Music and Big Fun, this panel discussion is part of January Music Meeting, which runs in conjunction with the Big Fun Festival, January 25-29.

The venue is wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp on the south side of the building. There are no automatic doors. The inside of the venue is quite spacious and can accommodate movement throughout.

This event is free and all ages.

More information available on the Manitoba Music website.

On Saturday January 21, in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, people gathered at Portage Place to participate in the Women's March on Washington - Winnipeg. Hosted by the Women's Health Clinic in association with Black Space Winnipeg, IRCOM, CUPE Local 2348, University of Manitoba Gender Studies Association and other local community organizations gathered to express their solidarity and support. As the founder of Black Space Winnipeg, I emceed the march. Speakers from QPOC, University of Manitoba Gender Studies Association and Mama Bear Clan all spoke on similar narratives of progressive change and the need to represent marginalized voices.

Event page:

Women’s March on Washington - Winnipeg.

Thank you to the Winnipeg Free Press for their coverage of the Women's March on Washington. Check out the original article by Jen Zoratti published on January 18, 2017.  

On Saturday, the day after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, more than 200,000 people are expected to march in Washington, D.C., as part of the Women’s March on Washington.

And the event goes beyond America’s capital. More than one million people are also expected to attend sister events taking place all over the world, including right here in Winnipeg.

The Women’s March on Washington has been framed as an anti-Trump rally. But it’s bigger than that — and it’s bigger than him. The Trumps of the world are not created in a vacuum. People will be speaking and marching for everything from ending racial profiling and police brutality to reproductive access and childcare, to name just a few of the issues on the table. The reasons for marching are as diverse as the people attending, but everyone in attendance will be united by a common belief: that women’s rights are human rights.

"I’m definitely hoping that people know we don’t want to focus on Trump so much," says Alexa Potashnik, who will be emceeing the Winnipeg march. "I know it’s been shaped that way in the States, which is fine and obviously important, but it’s something to bring women together, especially women affected by marginalization — so Indigenous women, women of colour, women affected by poverty, by disability... We’ve heard enough about Trump."

(Amen to that.)

Potashnik, 23, is no stranger to community organizing and activism. In addition to serving as the racialized student Commissioner with the Canadian Federation of Students-Manitoba, she is the founder of Black Space Winnipeg, a grass-roots community organization that advocates for Winnipeg’s Black community.

Black Space is an organizing partner for Saturday’s march, along with CUPE Local 2348, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Winnipeg, Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association (University of Manitoba), University of Manitoba Students’ Union, Winnipeg Labour Council and Women’s Health Clinic. More than 30 other local groups have also signed on as supporting organizations.

The march itself begins at 11 a.m. at Centre Court at Portage Place. After a program of speakers, the march will travel to Portage and Main and return to Portage Place. Everyone is encouraged to attend and share why they’re marching on social media using the hashtag #WhyIMarch.

As in D.C., Winnipeg’s march will have a strong focus on intersectionality, centring and amplifying the voices and experiences of women from marginalized communities. Intersectionality is a term coined by civil rights advocate and critical race theorist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw that refers to the ways social identities and systems of oppression, discrimination and domination intersect. After all, many people can (and do) experience multiple forms of discrimination — racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, bigotry — simultaneously. Discrimination can be overt, manifesting as ugly, hateful slurs and violence. But discrimination can be subtle, too, quietly imbedded in everything from health care policies to hiring practices.

That’s why Canadians and women from all over the world are marching in Washington and organizing sister marches of their own. Oppression and discrimination are not problems unique to the U.S. Neither are leaders such as Trump.

"I think there’s a common misconception that Canada is of equal rights, a mosaic, that we’re friendly, that we’re better," Potashnik says. "We’re not better. We’re just quieter. We’re much more polite about our ignorance and prejudice." As she also points out, racists and sexists are not always easy to spot and label as "bad." Sometimes, they are our family and friends.

To that end, Saturday’s marches will be educational opportunities open to anyone who wants them. For many folks in attendance, they will largely be about listening. For others, they will be about opening up and furthering critical dialogues on race, gender, privilege, inequality and how all of those things overlap.

History will doubtlessly be made on Jan. 21, but these marches are just the beginning. My hope — and I do have hope — is that people leave these events with their hearts, eyes and minds opened, energized and empowered to affect change in their own communities.

How we move forward — all of us, together — is entirely up to us.

[email protected]
Twitter: @JenZoratti

Read more by Jen Zoratti @ the Winnipeg Free Press.

Thank you to the Winnipeg Sun for their coverage of the Women's March on Washington. Check out the original article by Glen Dawkins published on January 17, 2017 here. Full article provided below.

Winnipeg women will join hundreds of thousands of marchers in Washington, D.C., and around the world by holding a Women’s March downtown on Saturday. The march is in protest of the election of Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 45th U.S. president on Friday in Washington.

“(We want to) get around the hateful rhetoric that Trump has been igniting throughout his election and in the wake of his presidency,” said Black Space Winnipeg’s Alexa Potashnik, who will serve as emcee for the Winnipeg march. “We really want to get at the fact that not so much that this is anti-Trump because we don’t want to focus solely on him but how white women and white people can be allies to people of colour.”

One of 25 similar marches being held in Canada and over 380 planned worldwide, the Winnipeg march will begin Saturday at 11 a.m., at Portage Place and head down Portage Avenue and past the U.S. Consulate in the TD Building at 200 Portage Ave. before heading back to the mall. Over 30 organizations have signed on as supporting organizations for the march including Black Space Winnipeg, Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Winnipeg (IRCOM), Winnipeg Labour Council and the Women’s Health Clinic. Confirmed speakers include IRCOM’s Amal Shire and social justice advocate Joan Dawkins.

Also performing will be the drum group Buffalo Gals, based out of the North End Women’s Resource Centre.

Potashnik is not sure how many marchers will take part. While it’s billed as a Women’s March, it is open to all.

“It’s for everybody who believes in equality and won’t stand for racism, sexism or homophobia,” said Potashnik.

While Canadians may feel immune to what is going on in the United States, Potashnik feels we shouldn’t be smug.

“What I didn’t like is that I saw an influx of ‘I’m so proud to be Canadian’ selfies throughout my news feed,” she said. “People are being a little clueless. We’re going to be just as affected whatever Trump decides to do when he gets in office.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @SunGlenDawkins

Thank you to the Metro Winnipeg for their coverage in the lead up to the Women's March on Washington in Winnipeg. The article below was written by Jessica Botelho-Urbanski and published in the Metro Winnipeg on January 10, 2017. Read the original article here. Photograph by Jessica Botelho-Urbanski.

Women and allies in Winnipeg and around the world are planning to march in solidarity on Jan. 21, the day after Donald Trump takes office.

What started as thousands of people RSVPing to a single march in Washington, D.C. has turned into synchronized sister marches across the globe.

In Winnipeg, at least 20 grassroots groups — including unions, students, immigrants, refugees and members of the LGBTQ community — have signed on to march down Portage Avenue.

Alexa Potashnik, the founder of Black Space Winnipeg, will emcee the event. She notes everyone is marching for different reasons, not necessarily to protest Trump.

"We’re really coming together to take a stand against oppression and stand up for human rights and women’s rights," she said. "The (march) in Washington, from what I know, is really centred around anti-Trump. Ours is a little more reconciliation-based and making sure that people of colour and communities who are marginalized have a platform to be heard and recognized."

Amy Tuckett-McGimpsey, communications lead for the Women’s Health Clinic, has been helping plan the march, which will start with an elder’s blessing at Portage Place at 11 a.m., she said.

The list of speakers isn’t finalized yet, but will largely feature voices from communities that are often marginalized, she added.

Members of IRCOM (Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba) will be marching and for many of them, it’s going to be "their first taste of activism in Canada," said Jen Glenwright, who teaches English with the group’s newcomer literacy initiative.

 Many at IRCOM, including Glenwright, were devastated by the U.S. election results in November.

"It was hard for me to get out of bed that day. I woke up feeling very disillusioned," Glenwright said. "I went in (to work) and my students, right away, noticed that I wasn't my normal cheery, happy self, and we just talked about it."

 Her students, who are mostly Muslim, expressed fears about what might happen to their relatives in the U.S. and were worried about what kind of ripple effects a Trump presidency could have internationally.

 Marching together will be an act of resilience and hope for Glenwright.

 "They’re just the strongest women you’re ever going to meet," she said of her students. "And I just think, if they’ve fought this hard to get here (to Winnipeg), then I hope collectively across the world, women can really stake a stand."

 Read more from Jessica Botelho-Urbanski here.