Statement on Senate Hortative Motion Regarding York’s Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism and Daft Action Plan on Black Inclusion

The York University Graduate Students’ Association and York Federation of Students are pleased to announce the passing of a student-led hortative motion regarding the Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism (ABR Framework)  and Draft Action Plan on Black Inclusion (Action Plan) at the Senate session on January 27, 2022. This is a historical achievement, a clear student victory and a demonstration of our collective organizing power. York Federation of Students (YFS) and York University Graduate Students’ Association (YUGSA) student Senators moved a hortative motion on Thursday, January 27th, 2022, following a lengthy discussion and an appeal to York Senators to support the motion. The motion passed with a 68% majority. The Motion reads as follows: 

Senate hereby expresses its view that a combination of a bottom-up, community-led, research-based and data-driven process with strong leadership, commitment, and action from York’s administration is required to enact a robust Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism and an accompanying Draft Action Plan on Black Inclusion that challenge the structural inequities, power imbalances, and ideologies of white supremacy that are at the root of systemic racism. Senate expresses concern that such a commitment to substantial change, working closely with the affected communities, has yet to emerge, nor is it evident in the Draft Action Plan on Black Inclusion or in other actions taken so far.

The passing of this motion is of great significance because it reserves the right to co-ownership and co-production of the Framework to Address Anti-Black Racism and Draft Action Plan on Black Inclusion for the communities it serves, rather than the two policy documents being used as tools of the senior administration. The result of the vote indicates that York needs to do more to address anti-Black racism on its campuses, beyond the perfunctory production of superficial policy documents. 

Upon review of the two policy documents, we identified several gaps and discrepancies between problems identified by the University in the Framework and solutions proposed in the accompanying Action Plan. The gaps identified were communicated to the Senate and the majority vote in the Senate in support of this motion is a demonstration of the Senate’s support of the students’ observations and concerns. Some of the major discrepancies include: 

1) The Framework recognizes white supremacy is a root cause of anti-Black racism, yet the Action Plan provides neither actionable items to sufficiently address white supremacy nor consequences for violators. 2) The Action Plan lacks a complaint system for reporting in a way that ensures confidentiality and protection of victims. As such, the students called for an anonymous barrier free complaint system that offers protection, compensation/restitution for those who face anti-Black racism at York. 3) The Action Plan’s singular focus on inclusion misses the critical need to decolonize pedagogies and curricula across the institution. 4) Instead of concrete action, the Action Plan proposes the hiring of 12 Black Faculty over the next two years (2021-2023). This number is not undergirded by any research or data undertaken by the university. The arbitrariness of this number is both astonishing and absurd. The students have proposed first and foremost, a University-wide human resources inventory, to determine how wide the representation gap is, to establish where to fill these gaps, with a breakdown and distribution by faculty and department with a specific timeline. 5) We have called for the creation of an office specializing in reporting, investigations, mental health support, legal support among others, rather than the hiring of one officer to take on all these roles as proposed in the current draft Action Plan. 6) We are aware of the existence of several cases of anti-Black racism which have gone unresolved. As a result, we have recommended that York hire an external third party expert to audit the handling of existing complaints and make recommendations on best practices.

The Office of Vice-President Equity, People and Culture (OVPEPC), which was established in 2019, is a division tasked with the mandate to bring equity, diversity, and inclusion at York. In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder and uprising of the Black Lives Matter Movement,  an Anti-Black Racism campaign was launched by the YFS, YUGSA, and 17 campus organizations that outlined necessary demands to address anti Blackness at York. Subsequently, York University hosted a series of meetings where community stakeholders expressed an urgent need for action. Student leaders led this process, driving the important discussions and proposing changes to be made. As a result, York University responded by tasking the OVPEC to develop the ABR Framework, which was unveiled in February 2021. YUGSA requested to be included in consultations on the ABR Framework and draft Action Plan in February 2021, and subsequently met with the OVPEPC in April and again in September 2021. YUGSA highlighted/articulated several discrepancies and gaps, including those mentioned above, and made a number of recommendations for action. After failing to make headway with the OVPEPC, on Sept 16, 2021, the YUGSA Council moved and passed a motion of no confidence in the ABR Framework and Action Plan and mandated YUGSA representatives on the Senate to call the Senate’s attention to the gaps that exist in the documents.

It is an unfortunate reality that anti-Black racism continues to prevail at York campuses, and we know that it affects York’s Black community in unimaginable ways, with dire consequences on the wellbeing, and academic performance of Black students, as well as the livelihoods and careers of faculty and staff. Needless to say, there needs to be a centering of the communities affected in order to produce a robust Action Plan that addresses their concerns and adequate allocation of resources to support its implementation. 

York students can no longer stay silent as our work is not yet finished. The vote at the Senate is a demonstration that our voices carry weight and that collectively we can compel the Administration into action that is favourable to York’s largest stakeholders  - the students. Our hope is that the York community can contribute to the creation of an effective Action Plan that will lead to substantial change; an Action Plan that is community-led, research-based and data-driven.  We hope that this victory will galvanize and energize us to continue being agents of change. YUGSA calls on all the graduate student community to action. As researchers, critical thinkers in higher education, as educators, and as stakeholders of this institution - we invite you to engage with the ABR Framework and Action Plan.