How We Began
TORONTO, July 1, 2021. The ACCO, a coalition of community organizers was formed in 2012 in response to the ingrained racism in our society and a rash of gun violence in our province and more specifically, the Danzig shootings. At that time the coalition was comprised of a variety of groups and individuals, approximately 35 in number, operating and living in the Greater Toronto Area.
The Guiding Circle of the ACCO was formed to lobby the Government on issues in our community that concern or impact our most vulnerable, and to work in partnership with Government and private sector to serve our youth, bringing resolution to these issues caused by anti-Black racism. We believe that ultimately violence stems from racism and many systemic inequities derived from that racism. These inequities must be addressed by the partnership among our community, government, and the private sector.
The (“ACCO”) African Canadian Coalition of Community Organizers, is ready to work with and challenge all four levels of Government to assess, and change the racist laws, policies, and practices that permeate the government, institutions, corporations, and other service providers of our country by ignoring our Constitutional Rights and Privileges. There is a theory that in 1712 a man who enslaved Black people in the Caribbean, was invited and came to the United States to educate white enslavers on keeping enslaved people in control for at least 300 years. The most pertinent component of this theory was to control by division. These practices were also transferred to Canada with the enslavement of Black people in Canada. These rules and practices still linger today in our country, in our government, in our institutions, and all the other oppressive systems in our society. If the leaders within our country believe that the archaic and oppressive rules that are present at the background of our systems today, would work forever, even the advisor of 1712 knew it wouldn’t. Time is up! And according to that theory, it would have been up in 2012.
The ACCO Guiding Circle seeks to work with the government to tailor and remove policies that historically divide and exclude the African Canadian population, to be more equitable and inclusive in their delivery. We will endeavor to provide a unified voice in the community from its many organizations and work collaboratively to effectively address the problems facing youth in particular and the African – Canadian community in general. The Wisdom, Strength, and Will outweigh the ineptitude of those systems. It is now time to acknowledge failures of the past and move forward to make a positive change in our society.
The Ripple Effect Circle is a roundtable formed by members of the Guiding Circle of the ACCO, to work in partnership with the different sectors of society that affect the lives of African Canadians. This is a roundtable made up of people in positions of influence who will work together to make dismantling racism in different sectors of our country a reality. Together, we will introduce a transparent and equitable system of operating in each sector and move from an archaic and oppressive way of responding to and working with the public, who are our clients, and citizens of our country. The Ripple Effect Circle includes leaders such as political representatives, the Directors and Executive Superintendents of School Boards, Union Heads, the Chief of Police (TPS). Senior Executives of Corporations, Senior Administration within the Child Welfare system, Administration in Social Housing, Professors, Executive Directors, and frontline workers of non-profit organizations that serve the African Canadian community and citizens at large. The Ripple Effect Circle will not only provide the expertise gathered and perfected over the years but in partnership, spread the ripple effect across our country. We urge you to join or contribute to The Ripple Effect Circle in your way to make this Ripple Effect grow one drop, one ripple at a time.