Roots, Rhythm and Resistance
Anti-Racism Symposium
May 21, 22 and 23, 2022
All panels and performances will be presented both live and in-person at 3 locations,
AND live streamed.
Tickets free/by donation at:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/roots-rhythm-and-resistance-anti-racism-symposium-tickets-329334808277
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/571281024185561
Roots, Rhythm and Resistance is an inaugural anti-racism symposium and performing arts presentation featuring activists and artists, running from May 21-23 in Pitt Meadows’ Heritage Hall (May 21), and in Vancouver at Moberly Arts & Culture Centre (May 22) and the Japanese Language School & Hall (May 23).
The symposium is organized by the West Coast Coalition Against Racism Society (WC-CARS).
It will bring together activists and artists organizing against racism and related forms of oppression across BC. Each day of the symposium it will present panel discussions addressing key issues in anti-racist organizing.“Our goal for the event is to find the common threads between folks on the frontlines of disparate yet related anti-racism struggles. The panels are intended to educate the public on the intersectional nature of these issues and help strengthen our movements by learning from strategies people are using in different areas of fighting for racial justice.” The panels include a cross-section of activists drawn from different organizations.
In addition to the panels, the will be a film screening of “Food for the Rest of Us” and performances by socially committed artists.
By holding the event in different parts of the city and Lower Mainland, the organizers hope to reach as wide a range of people as possible. The goal is to benefit individuals, organizations, and communities active in anti-racist work, as well as people seeking to educate themselves on systemic racism, and actions to fight it.
For anti-racism activists in different areas of anti-racism and anti-oppression activities, the symposium will provide an exchange of ideas and experience. For general audiences of folks interested in anti-racism in various sectors, the event will introduce them to a range of issues and individuals who are working on them.
“We want to bring together people to create a forum where they can meet, learn from each other, and work together in the future.”
SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
Each panel will be an hour and a half in length and feature 2-4 panelists plus a moderator. Each panelist will speak about the current organizing they do, followed by a discussion of the issue in question and different efforts and strategies to combat it. There will be time for questions at the end.
Panels and schedule are subject to change.
SATURDAY, MAY 21: 12:30-8:30pm
Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall, 12460 Harris Rd, Pitt Meadows
Food Sovereignty with panelists: Tiffany Ayalik (producer of Food for the Rest of Us), Asha Wheeldon (Kula Kitchen), Dawn Morrison (Wild Salmon Defenders Alliance)
Labour Justice with panelists: Stephanie Fung (UniteHere40), Prabhjot Hundal (Labour Organizer)
Film Screening: Food for the Rest of Us.
SUNDAY, MAY 22: 12-8pm
Moberly Arts & Cultural Center, 7646 Prince Albert St, Vancouver
Abolition with panelists: Rabbit Richards (Organizer), Tonye Aganaba (Defund 604), Palestinian Youth Movement
Updates from Land/Water/Air Defenders
Racism in Health Care with panelists: Black Physicians of BC, Tharuna Abu (care not cops), Camille Bush (midwife, moderator)
MONDAY, MAY 23: 2-9:30pm
Japanese Language School & Hall, 487 Alexander St, Vancouver
Housing Justice
Performing Arts Evening: Onibana Taiko, Old Soul Rebel.
All venues are wheelchair accessible.
Masks and vaccine passports will be required.
This event will respectfully take place on the stolen, unceded, and occupied lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Katzie, Kwikwetlem and Kwantlen first nations.
WC-CARS is a coalition of organizations and individuals committed to positive change in the struggle against racism. Our member organizations include: Canada Palestine Association, Social Justice Centre, South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, Hari Sharma Foundation, Poetic Justice Foundation, Independent Jewish Voices, and the South Asian Studies Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley.
