FRIDAY OCTOBER 17TH, 7pm – Concorde Café - 937 Bloor St

A panel discussion on Anti-Racist Organizing in Toronto
Sponsored by Upping the Anti: A Journal of Theory and Action
www.uppingtheanti.org

Speakers: Chris Harris from the Black Action Defense Committee, Alok
Premjee from BASICS and the Justice for Alwy Campaign, Joesphine Gray
of Low Income Families Together, Guled Warsame from UNITE-HERE Local
75 and CORD (Community Organizing for Responsible Development) and
Faria Kamal of No One Is Illegal - Toronto.

In recent years, some of the most dynamic organizing in Toronto has
taken place around a variety of anti-racist campaigns and struggles
initiated by radical grassroots activists. On the evening before our
launch party for UTA 7, Upping the Anti presents a dialogue between
anti-racist activists in Toronto inspired by our interview with Chris
Harris of the Black Action Defense Committee in this issue.

The discussion will be kicked off by Harris who will discuss the work
that BADC is doing to intervene within Crip and Blood gangs in Toronto
through the "Hood to Hood" movement and BADC's "Freedom Cypher"
program. Alok Premjee will talk about the work that BASICS Community
Newsletter is doing in Lawrence Heights around anti-gentrification
struggles and how the Justice for Alwy Campaign is going about
organizing around the police murders of racialized youth in Toronto.
Joesphine Gray will speak about the work that her group Low Income
Families Together (LIFT) is undertaking in St. Jamestown. Guled
Warsame will talk about the union-community alliance building being
done in Rexdale by CORD and UNITE-HERE Local 75 to ensure that new
developments in the area hire members from the community into union
jobs. Faria Kamal will speak about the work that NOII has been doing
around questions of immigrant and refugee advocacy and on the
connection of this work to questions of indigenous sovereignty.

Each speaker will speak for 15-20 minutes and will discuss the work of
their organization, what political traditions they draw upon for
inspiration and organizing structure, and how they think anti-racist
activists should relate to the state, social democracy and the
"non-profit industrial complex".

We welcome all organizers, activists and allies committed to building
anti-racist movements in Toronto to attend the forum with questions
and contributions. We hope the evening will ignite debate and
reflection on questions of tactics and solidarity building that can
strengthen our movements.

The Concord Cafe is an accessible location.

For more information please e-mail uppingtheanti@gmail.com or visit
www.uppingtheanti.org