Black Women United YEG

In the spring of 2018, the Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots (SCMR) released the community inspired documentary film We are the Roots: Black Settlers and their Experiences of Discrimination on the Canadian Prairies.  This film was created as a part of community engagement project that documented the experiences of Black settlers who emigrated to Alberta and Saskatchewan between 1905 and 1912 to escape the racism and persecution that characterized the United States in the decades following the abolition of slavery. We are the Roots renders a portrait of these settlers’ experiences through the first-hand accounts of nineteen of their descendants, particularly in relation to their experiences of discrimination and marginalization in Canada. The members of SCMR and the film producers have learned that one of the individuals who was briefly mentioned in the film, and whose photo has been used to promote the film, sexually assaulted women during his lifetime. This revelation has been both disturbing and shocking to both parties, and we are grateful to Black Women United YEG and others for their bravery and strength in coming forward to alert the community of this individual’s actions. In light of these developments, we have edited the film to completely remove the mention of this individual, and we have also removed his image from all promotional materials. In addition, we have contacted relevant media sources to request that all photos of this person be removed from the photo archive and that they no longer be used in connection to this project. We have taken these actions to demonstrate our commitment to listening to Black Women United YEG and all members of the community who have been personally impacted. We deeply and sincerely regret any harm or distress that may have been caused by this individual’s inclusion in the original version of the film. However, we also hope that these changes will allow us to continue to shed light on an important part of Canadian history through the stories of these nineteen people. Indeed, we firmly believe that the sharing of these stories is critical for raising awareness and understanding of the current systemic discrimination against, and marginalization of, Black people living in Western Canada. We hope that anyone who has experienced sexual abuse or assault seeks support from the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton or any organization that provides support services.