Ubuntu Mobilizing Central Alberta is an organization that is dedicated to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and promoting equity in central Alberta. This Black History Month, they are working amplify the voices and work of the Black community by highlighting and promoting the work of Black-owned businesses through a social media campaign.

As they continue their work, the organization would also like to challenge local businesses to take an honest look at the diversity of their workplace beyond the procedures and policies in place to promote equity in every way they can.  

“The policies and procedures are not enough or to have a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) statement. Visibly to have that on a piece of paper sitting on the shelf, is not enough. We are beyond allyship. What does it look like after allyship? That is where you have to be active that is what is lacking right now… Hollow symbolism is racist and that is what this system looks like,” said Sadia Anwar, Executive Director of Ubuntu Mobilizing Central Alberta.

The organization of Ubuntu faces racism as a non-profit organization. Program Director, Dieulita Datus says the organization sees 10 per cent less funding than other non-profits in Canada. Black people searching for work, in our local communities also face a similar plight.

“Lacombe is home to many people. We pride ourselves in being diverse because the Burman University is here.  However, when you look at who is employed at the City of Lacombe, I believe the City of Lacombe is one of the largest employers in the city, [and you] look at who is employed, how is it that we're not able to retain 10 to 15 racialized folks  in various positions throughout the city? We have a lot of students who come in and then they leave because there's no space [for them],” explained Datus.

She would like to challenge local organizations to go beyond hollow allyship and give Black people highly visible and active roles in their organizations as well as encourage others to hold those businesses accountable.

“Ask them, how diverse is city staff? How diverse is Lacombe Police and why?” she added.

Levis Kabahizi, a Social Work Student with Red Deer Polytechnique who is doing their practicum with Ubuntu Mobilizing Central Alberta admitted that he has also struggled to find work in central Alberta in the past.

“People don’t see the day-to-day experience trying to navigate a racist society that is always out there to get you… When I moved to Red Deer, my roommate at the time was a white girl who found a job in literally a week. She dropped off an application and she got a call back literally within two days.I never got a phone call, never,” said Kabahizi.

Levis came to Canada as a refugee who had not finished High School. In Alberta, he found that educators were guiding him towards lesser classes.

“If it was not for my sister who is a teacher in in Alberta, who knows the system better than anyone else because she is a teacher, I would have not been able to graduate high school with the classes necessary to go into post-secondary,” he explained.

Kabahizi hopes to see more allies challenge their own ideas and take an active role challenging others to do the same.

“When we talk about racism people often think of it as some form of individual act of racism like this nurse refused care for this black patient in a hospital, but it’s bigger than the nurse. It’s bigger than her. It’s institution-wide. It’s an idea that has fills people’s minds. I just hope and want people to interrogate that and think of ways to dismantle that one thing, or one person. It would take the whole community to be involved in challenging those ideas because power is made those ideas lead the institution and in order to change those ideas we have to change our own mind and our own ideas,” explained Kabahizi.

However, Program Director, Datus doesn’t want Black History Month to be associated with racism and would instead like to see Black culture celebrated. She hopes that people understand that despite racism and the efforts of many to culturally erase Black people from history and society, they still exist and thrive in Canada and central Alberta.

Ubuntu Mobilizing Central Alberta continues to highlight, promote, and encourage people to support Black-owned businesses throughout the month of February. You can check those businesses on their Facebook page. You can find Ubuntu Mobilizing Central Alberta's website here.