Until We Are Free Quotes

“Anti-Blackness, anti-Indigeneity, and other forms of racism persist in part because of the idea that there is one version of history, which white people have exclusive dominion over. It is expressed through the Eurocentric dismissal of oral histories and the reliance on the written word as irrefutable truth. It is expressed through an almost scientific reliance on the “white encoders of history” to tell us “truths,” even when we accept that there are obvious reasons as to why we should not rely on white supremacist historians to teach us Black or a Indigenous history”
― Sandy Hudson, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada

“In fact, a major form in which anti-Blackness operates in Canada is the active and passive refusal to collect and provide information.”
― Sandy Hudson, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada

“Black people are rarely thought of as belonging in Canadian society.1 In fact, Black people often experience this unbelonging through seemingly benign questions such as “where are you really from?”
― Rodney Diverlus, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada

“While we appreciate the solidarity shown by White and Non-Black POC, we want to remind folks of some things:

Please refrain from taking up space in all ways possible. Remember that you are there in support of Black folks, so should never be at the centre of anything
Refrain from speaking to the media. Black voices are crucial to this
Stand behind Black folks or between us and the police If you see a cop harassing a Black person, come in and engage (chances are they are least likely to arrest you).

The call was widely criticized by media internationally, in a raw reminder that the dominant society is more interested in how we mourn and the spectacle of our mourning than in what we mourn and the conditions of our lives.”
― Rodney Diverlus, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada

“We believed that the radical Black tradition transcends the Western, white framing of “peace.”
― Rodney Diverlus, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada