June 16: Join the campaign relaunch

Dear friends, 

The month of June will mark nine years since Prof. Aimé Avolonto, a Black professor of French Studies at Glendon College, first raised concerns about anti-Black racism in his workplace.

Nearly a decade later, his experience has become one of the most well known cases of alleged systemic anti-Black racism in Canada’s post-secondary sector.

Related to Prof. Avolonto’s case is that of Lydia Dosu, a Black employee at Glendon for 24 years who was fired from her job in 2023, following her own complaints about anti-Black racism.

Both Aimé and Lydia are fighting York University’s attempts to silence them, to deny their experiences of racism at Glendon, and to terminate their employment, and are in the process of having their discrimination claims adjudicated by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

For the last several years, the Campaign Against Anti-Black Racism has been building public support for Aimé and Lydia. At this critical moment in their fight, we are relaunching the campaign with a special panel discussion about their cases.

On June 16, join hundreds of participants across Canada to hear Aimé, Lydia, and their supporters discuss this precedent-setting struggle for justice.

Campaign relaunch

Monday, June 16

7:00 PM EDT

Online, via Zoom

Register here for the Zoom link.

Guest speakers include: 

• Prof. Aimé Avolonto: Prof. of French Studies, Glendon College

• Lydia Dosu: Former 24-year employee, Glendon College

• Ron Franklin, Saurabh Sharma, and Runako Gregg: Human rights lawyer at Franklin Law

• Dr. Laura Mae Lindo: Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Waterloo; former Ontario NDP MPP for Kitchener Centre

• Marie Clarke Walker: Former Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress

• Others TBA

A discussion period will follow the speakers.

We look forward to your participation at this important campaign event. Thank you for your continuing support!

In solidarity, 

The Campaign Against Anti-Black Racism