We at Cinema Politica stand in solidarity with Black people following the recent tragic loss of the lives of George Floyd (Minneapolis), Regis Korchinski-Paquet (Toronto), D’Andre Campbell (Brampton) Tony McDade (Tallahassee), Breonna Taylor (Louisville) and so many others. We stand in defiance of oppressive and violent systems and institutions founded on centuries-long histories of slavery and genocide and the vile legacy of white supremacy and colonialism in Canada, Quebec, Montreal and the US alike.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which disproportionately affects BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities, we join in the rising tide of the transnational movement for justice for the victims of police-killings in a moment that Angela Davis describes as a “global challenge to slavery and the consequences of slavery and colonialism… and holds possibilities for change we have never experienced before.”
As a mostly non-racialized organization, we at Cinema Politica commit to continue to learn, re-examine and interrogate our own privilege and role in systems of oppression; to give up space and continue to uplift and make space for the important and vital work of Black filmmakers as they represent the struggles and resilience in their communities.
To stand in solidarity is not enough – we must stand in solidarity while continuing to do the hard work – not just in times of crisis, but every day.
We urge everyone who has attended our screenings and supported our work, events and initiatives, as well as everyone else, to use their rage and hope to individually and collectively mobilize and support the political action of the Black Lives Matter movement and Black-led organizations fighting for the end of anti-Black racism in all its forms, and to work in solidarity with them.
We join in the call of Black community leaders to defund and disband police forces, and to reorder and deepen historical memory that is built into public space. Most of Cinema Politica’s local chapters are based on university campuses and as such we join in the demands to restructure educational curricula and institutions to take up and integrate de-colonial pedagogy in all of their workings and operations.
Now more than ever, it is essential to centre the work of Black artists, activists and thinkers, support the work of Black groups and organizations in tangible and material ways with resources and bodies, and commit ourselves to supporting anti-racist, community-led and restorative social justice models of conflict resolution. This means holding our cultural institutions to account as industry-wide changes need to be made in order to support Black artists and cultural workers. We urge our audiences and all film makers and stakeholders within the CP network to support Black activists and their work, and to maintain a lasting engagement with their work.
