THUNDER BAY – As diversity advocates in the city of Thunder Bay recognized the International Day for the Elimination of Racism, advocate and educator, Toni Morgan, called upon them to help change the stories that have lingered for centuries and continue to spread inequality and prejudice.
“It’s important to recognize that stories can be changed,” Morgan said during her keynote address. “Stories can be re-written. It’s your job to make sure that stories do not harm, do not inflict unspeakable harm.”
More than 500 people attended the 12th Annual Diversity Thunder Bay Celebration Breakfast Wednesday morning representing various organizations and agencies throughout the city.
Carol Rusak, co-chair of the celebration breakfast, said holding the event on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination focuses attention on the issue of racism that remains prevalent in all parts of the world.
“We have almost 500 people here, so there are many in our community who are interested and concerned,” she said.
Morgan, who has experienced homelessness after dropping out of high school, and walked across the stage to accept a degree from Harvard University, called upon all the people in the room to not passively listen to her words about access and equity, but to go out and actively make change.
“I think we are in an interesting time in the world when we talk about racial injustice,” she said. “I think now that it has captured the public’s attention and entered the public consciousness, now is the time to actually act.”
Morgan said she was excited to speak in Thunder Bay, and even a little relieved, because she believes people here are comfortable enough to have these kinds of conversations and “talk about how we are going to make the world a fair and equitable place for all people.”
One person in the community working to help youth realize their creative potential was honoured during the celebration. Musician and filmmaker, Benjamin Murray, was awarded the 2018 respect award.
Murray has been a musician for the last 10 years and recently screened his film, Dying in Vein, in Edmonton. For the last five years, he has been teaching music and creative arts to youth in remote communities throughout Northern Ontario.
Receiving the award was unexpected, Murray said, but he believes his work with youth throughout the region demonstrates how he sees respect, which living your life the way you want other people to treat you.
Murray plans to open a youth centre in the city to provide a space to young people interested in creative arts, which he says leaves them with something more than a music or film lesson.
“Even if they are not necessarily artists or be artists in the long run, it gives them a sense of accomplishment, a sense that there is something else out there, there is something for them and something to hold on to,” he said.
And while Murray continues to work at helping youth understand respect for each other through music and art, Morgan reminded everyone that we all have a story, everyone’s story is different, and some continue to live and tell ones that are not true.
“When we are telling the stories of other people, or dealing or interacting with other people, I think it’s important to think about, in that interaction, am I doing this based on an assumption or idea I am holding and acting upon, or am I dealing with what is in front of me right now,” she said.
“Today on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I don’t want you to simply adopt the language of diversity,” Morgan continued. “No, I want you to embody the action of solidarity.”
