Letter #1: “Dear Canada” A Policy Advisory Letter Please revisit the letters read during Week 2, Letters to America, to help you draft your final project letters. Part One: “Dear Canada” Examine 1-2 government policies that affected Black people in Canada (These can be acts, legislations, statutes and/or policies) These policies must have been discussed in the course texts, films, and/or What’s the Tea? Provide the full name and year of each policy Ex: The Multicultural Act of 1988 or Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada 1793 Define the policy and/or policies by answering the following questions (in 5-10 sentences): Who enacted these policies (ex. John Graves Simcoe)? What were the conditions/situations that brought it about? For what purpose was the legislation enacted? Who was the beneficiary of the policy? Who was negatively impacted? What effect did the policy have on Black people in Canada and elsewhere if applicable? Part Two: “Dear Canada” New Policy: In the second part of your letter propose a new policy for Canada. Feel free to name your policy (ex: Henrietta Lacks Act 2020 or Black Lives Thrive Act 2021). Your policy should include 3-5 recommendations that focus on present-day Black experiences. Based on your understanding and analysis of the policies you selected, explain how your new policy will benefit Black people and improve Black life in Canada. In line with Canada’s reputation enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedom, how will your policy redress some of the errors of the past? How will your policy better Black life? How will your policy insist that all Black Lives Matter in Canada? How will your policy help bring about an end to anti-Black racism? How will your policy prioritize the concerns of Black Canadians and residents? How will your policy make Canada more inclusive, equitable and socially just? Letter from Week 2: To the late Essex Hemphill, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/we-must-work-toward-an-abolitionist-future-for-our-world/ To my brothers and sisters in America, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/canadas-own-legacy-of-racist-oppression/ To the woman on the plane, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/the-weight-of-change-should-not-rest-on-the-shoulders-of-black-people/ Dear Dad, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/vote-that-willy-lump-lump-out-of-the-white-house/ Dear white people, https://www.macleans.ca/society/life/we-must-defund-the-police-it-is-the-only-option/ Dear Black women, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/black-women-its-time-society-fights-for-our-lives-too/ Dear cellphone manufacturers, https://www.macleans.ca/society/the-cameras-on-your-phones-make-black-people-invisible/ Submission Format: Submissions will only be accepted through the Blackboard Assignments portal. Both submissions are to be written in the form of a letter Word doc(.doc/.docx) No PDF submissions Times New Roman, 12-point font Each submission requires the information below in the top left corner of the First page: First & Last Name Student Number Course Title Instructor’s Name Date and Word Count Letter Submission #2: “Dear Professional Self” A Professional Pledge Please revisit the letters read during Week 2, Letters to America, to help you draft your final project letters. Part One: “Dear Professional Self” In the course of your career, you will, directly and indirectly, interact with Black people, Black experience, and Black life. Write a letter to yourself in the capacity of your chosen field (e.g., social worker, behavior therapist, police officer, early-childhood educator, tech engineer, artist, landscape designer, etc.). With the knowledge you have gained from CAN 217, propose how you will activate your allyship* in the course of your professional life. Similar to the ways in which we looked at the history of nursing in Canada (Week 8), you will do the same for your profession. Review and analyze the historical impact of your profession and its relationship to the Black experience and Black people. Suggest a set of mandates for your future engagements with Black people through the lens of your chosen profession. Part Two: The Pledge Using the mandates above, create your own professional pledge that will inform your day-to-day interactions. This pledge should take you beyond the protocols of your job, to a praxis of reflexive allyship that insists on the value of Black life and fosters strategies to ensure that Black Lives thrive. The pledge is your commitment and affirmation in service to not only Black people but humanity. This pledge will serve as a reminder of why you chose this profession, and how you will carry out your duties in service to enacting a more equitable world when you have lost your way. The pledge will act as your professional moral compass as you step into your chosen field and your specific role in it. Definition: Allyship- is the practice of emphasizing social justice, inclusion, and human rights by members of an ingroup, to advance the interests of an oppressed or marginalized outgroup. Allyship is part of the anti-oppression or anti-racist conversation, which puts into use and everyday practice social justice theories and ideals. Letter from Week 2: To the late Essex Hemphill, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/we-must-work-toward-an-abolitionist-future-for-our-world/ To my brothers and sisters in America, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/canadas-own-legacy-of-racist-oppression/ To the woman on the plane, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/the-weight-of-change-should-not-rest-on-the-shoulders-of-black-people/ Dear Dad, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/vote-that-willy-lump-lump-out-of-the-white-house/ Dear white people, https://www.macleans.ca/society/life/we-must-defund-the-police-it-is-the-only-option/ Dear Black women, https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/black-women-its-time-society-fights-for-our-lives-too/ Dear cellphone manufacturers, https://www.macleans.ca/society/the-cameras-on-your-phones-make-black-people-invisible/ Submission Format: Submissions will only be accepted through the Blackboard Assignments portal. Both submissions are to be written in the form of a letter Word doc(.doc/.docx) No PDF submissions Times New Roman, 12-point font Each submission requires the information below in the top left corner of the First page: First & Last Name Student Number Course Title and Section (KAA/KBB) Instructor’s Name Date and Word Count