Dear readers,
February is a month for celebration. It is Black Futures/History month, and we are so grateful to our Black contributors, readers, and creators for being part of our little community. In celebration of our Black creators, we invite you to take a look at some seminal writing we have published in The Strand, Volume 63 so far.
For Black Futures Month, we invite you to read:
Imani King’s feature, which considers the symbolism of Black History Month. Imani explores the ways in which this month has been adopted into a time of performative allyship, but also how it can be a time to celebrate and uplift Blackness and Black people in our communities. We consider this piece essential to understanding Black History/Futures Month as members of Vic, and of the wider community.
This statement from the Vic Black Student Network on why Black Lives Matter is not just a trend or a hot topic. It should be clear to see that police brutality and the murder of Black people in this country has not stopped after June and has been happening long before the murder of George Floyd. The five authors remind us to always hold ourselves accountable to the racism that is perpetuated every day.
Our June 9, 2020 Black Lives Matter editorial has resources on police abolition and how to be actively anti-racist, as well as ways to donate to Black folks in need of financial help.
How to prepare for a semester of unlearning by Furqan Mohamed. This piece, written as we all learned more about abolition, reminds us that educating oneself about the current state of racism in Canada and the world is a process that requires an open mind and determination to make things better.
A queer orientation by Rebekah Robinson. This is a piece about navigating queer life on and off campus, and we hope you’ll find some great suggestions on how to find your safe place.
Writing my way through quarantine by Imani King. We’re so blessed to have published Imani’s wonderfully written poetry and reflection on spoken word poetry in our second issue of The Strand this academic year. We hope that you’re just as moved by Imani’s artistry as we were.
Black blondes have more fun by Meredith Blaise for our Fall magazine, Explore. This piece is a feisty and eloquent talk back to those who challenge a Black woman’s right to present herself the way she wants to.
As you delve into these pieces and perhaps rediscover some of these ideas, we hope that you use this month and beyond to dig deeper into yourself. If you are non-Black, we hope you think critically about allyship and your own anti-Blackness. If you are Black, we wish you nothing but love always and forever.
Let us go forth together.
