After over a year of collaborative and collective work, extensive and valuable feedback from students, faculty, staff, senior leadership of partner institutions, sector-wide bodies, and Black political and civic leaders and organizations outside academe, the Scarborough Charter is ready!
Signatories of the Scarborough Charter are following through on the promises made by universities and colleges in the summer of 2020 and by partner institutions at the October 2020 National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities, to move from rhetoric to meaningful concrete action to address anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion. The principles, actions and commitments outlined in the Scarborough Charter reflect our collective recognition of the realities of anti-Black racism, encapsulate our shared aspirations to address them, and provide a concrete framework for delivering on our promise.
2020 National Dialogues and Action Event & Co-Creation Process for the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions, and Accountabilities
1. National Dialogues & Action Event
On October 1 and 2, 2020, Canadian universities, colleges, and other partners came together to facilitate a national conversation on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion, and to develop concrete actions for change in higher education and in our communities.
(October 1-2, 2020)
2. Co-creation of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions, and Accountabilities
The Charter drafting exercise was truly a collaborative effort on a national scale, with input from various members of the higher education sector and other partners. Drawing from that input, the Inter-Institutional Advisory Committee (IIAC) for the National Dialogues and Action worked diligently to capture the valuable perspectives, rich insights, and forward-looking actions necessary to address anti-Black racism and Black inclusion from the deliberations on October 1 and 2, 2020, and other subsequent feedback, in the first iteration of the Charter.
(October - December 2020)
3. Consultations Across Partner Institutions for Feedback on the Draft Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions, and Accountabilities
The development of the Charter was a co-creation process involving institutional partners. Engagement with, and feedback from, the institutional partners who committed to the vision and goals of the collaborative effort across the Canadian higher education sector was critically important in shaping the next iteration of the Charter. Recognizing the diverse contexts in which partner institutions operate, each institution determined the most appropriate consultation process for generating feedback from their community, considering the spirit of inclusive decision-making. Non-partner institutions also had the opportunity to provide feedback.
(March - June 2021)
4. Virtual Signing of the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education: Principles, Actions and Accountabilities
(November 18, 2021)