A middle-aged man with short gray hair wearing a dark suit, light blue shirt, and navy tie, poses against a plain light gray background, looking confidently at the camera.
Ottawa, Ontario
“Today marks the beginning of the 30 Black Canadians have played a vital role in building this nation, leading global companies that drive investment into Canada and creating dynamic local businesses and institutions that build strong communities. Canada’s new government is committed to removing barriers that prevent Black Canadians from starting businesses. To that end, in October 2025, we provided $189 million to renew the

While we advance economic inclusion, we are also building stronger communities by removing barriers to care. Canada’s new government is supporting community-based, Black-led initiatives that support the mental health and well-being of Black Canadians.

Building Canada strong means ensuring everyone can contribute to and share in our country’s success. This Black History Month, we affirm our responsibility to back words with action, deliver opportunity, and build a country where racism has no place. Together, we are building a fairer and more just country – one that empowers Black Canadians to shape its future.”

This is on Prime Minister of Canada website go to the link here

Special Olympics Black History Month 2026 

The link between Black liberation and Disability Justice movements

Logo for Disability Alliance BC. The text says dabc in lowercase blue letters, with disability alliance bc written underneath in a smaller font.

February 25, 2026 by DABC

This Black History Month, we are reflecting upon the fact that Black liberation and disability justice frameworks have always been linked. Concepts of race and disability have been used to justify discrimination throughout history. Bodies and their perceived functionality were weaponized to uphold slavery in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade; false notions of black peoples’ inferior intellectual capabilities meant that Black people were legally considered less than human. Time and again, Black people have been harmed by medical and societal institutions[1].

Here in Canada, we have a similar history of the deployment of racism and ableism as tools to perpetuate harms. The Alberta Sterilization Act[2], repealed in 1972, predominantly impacted Black and Indigenous women with disabilities, and allowed for sterilization to occur without their will, knowledge, or consent. Today, Black and racialized people with disabilities have some of the highest unemployment rates[3]. Many are forced to live in legislated poverty with social assistance rates that are below the poverty line. Though these conditions impact Canadians with disabilities of all races, its impact can particularly be felt amongst Black and Indigenous Canadians with disabilities. Black and Indigenous Canadians with disabilities also have disproportionate amounts of fatal interactions with policing institutions and corrections, many of which start off as mental health calls.[4] Specifically, D’Andre Campbell[5], Abdirahman Abdi[6], and Soliman Faqiri[7] come to mind as examples.

Ableism also disproportionately impacts racialized people on a global scale. Across the world, wars and genocides in countries including Palestine, Sudan, and Congo will result in mass disability rates.

Black people with disabilities have always been leaders in resistance. Many Black freedom fighters, like Harriet Tubman, were known to live with disabilities that were often caused by their enslavement. In her case, she lived with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and was instrumental in freeing hundreds of slaves through the underground railroad [8]. During the civil rights movement, the 504 protests occurred, where people with disabilities occupied a federal building for over a month to push for the adoption of legislation that would protect the public rights of people with disabilities. During these protests, the Black Panthers, a Black focused movement based civil rights organizations, supported the 504 protests by providing food and resources to the protesters [9]. The Black Panthers also focused on health and disability rights advocacy, leading nation-wide screenings for Sickle Cell Anemia in the Black community, inspiring calls for Federal funding and research for a cure [10].

Lastly, the creation of disability justice as a framework is an example of the link between Black and disability-based resistance work. Disability Justice as a framework was created by Black and racialized, disabled and queer artists in San Francisco. [11]. The creation of this framework paved the way for disability rights work to move away from rights-based analyses and created the move toward a justice-based analyses with inclusion-based frameworks in relation to disability organizing. 

Racism and its historical context cannot be separated from systemic ableism and its historical context.  This connection has also linked the struggles of Black and racialized disabled people throughout history and has forever linked Black liberation and disability justice organizing today, both in Canada and across the world. Black people with disabilities are a large part of the disability community. It is our role as advocates for racial and disability justice to acknowledge the intersections that continue to intertwine our movements for an ableism-free world together.

To learn more about these connections, check out the following books:

  • Black Disability Politics by Samantha Dawn Schalk
  • Black skin, white masks by Frantz Fanon
  • DisCrit : disability studies and critical race theory in education by David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri, and Subini A. Annamma, editors.
  • The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability Hardcover by Jasbir K Puar
  • Blackness and disability: critical examinations and cultural interventions edited by Christopher M. Bell.
  • Embodied injustice: race, disability, and health by Mary Crossley.

[1] What Was Drapetomania? The Racist Pseudoscience of Slavery-Era America — Simply Put Psych

[2] Sterilization of Indigenous Women in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia

[3] Research — Race and Disability Canada

[4] Tracking (In)Justice: Documenting Fatal Encounters with Police in Canada | Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société | Cambridge Core

[5] D’Andre Campbell fatally shot by police in Brampton home after calling for help, family says | Globalnews.ca

[6] The Abdirahman Abdi inquest: A day-by-day guide | CBC News

[7] ‘No longer any doubt,’ says Soleiman Faqiri’s family as inquest deems Ontario jail death a homicide | CBC News

[8] The Tragic Injury Harriet Tubman Never Recovered From

[9] The 504 Protests and the Black Panther Party – Disability Social History Project

[10] Beyond Berets: The Black Panthers as Health Activists – PMC

[11] 10 Principles of Disability Justice | Sins Invalid

 

7 Black Activists Who Shaped Disability Rights

GoodLife Fitness is  Celebrating Black History Month

At GoodLife Fitness, they  are proud to celebrate Black History Month by spotlighting the contributions of our Black Associates and Members. Their stories not only inspire us but also remind us of the power of diversity to create an inclusive fitness community where everyone can thrive.

The British Columbia Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS) celebrates the achievements of Black people in British Columbia by creating an awareness of the history of Blacks in B.C., stimulating interest in the contributions of persons of African ancestry to B.C. and Canada today, and celebrating historical and contemporary achievements in the arts, education, government, sports, science etc. The non-profit Society was formed in February 1994.

Since March 2018 the Society is a charity registered with the Canada Revenue Agency.

 

 

The Canadian Encyclopedia

Collection  Black History in Canada

Rev. Jesse Jackson, the iconic civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, passed away at the age of 84 on February 17, 2026. In his later years, he became a prominent figure in the disability community through his public battle with neurodegenerative conditions and his advocacy for health equity.
Health Challenges and Advocacy
Jackson’s personal experience with disability profoundly influenced his later work:
  • Medical Journey: He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2017 and later with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in early 2025. Despite these conditions eventually confining him to a wheelchair and affecting his ability to speak, he remained active in public life.
  • Reducing Stigma: By being open about his diagnosis, Jackson sought to reduce the stigma associated with neurological disorders and encourage others to seek treatment.
  • Health Equity: During the COVID-19 pandemic, he focused on disability and health justice, leading vaccination drives in Black communities to address systemic healthcare disparities.
Legacy of Inclusive Civil Rights
Jackson’s broader civil rights work often intersected with disability rights through his focus on the “overlooked”:
  • Rainbow PUSH Coalition: Founded to “protect, defend, and gain civil rights” for all, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition advocated for underrepresented groups, including those with physical and economic disabilities.
  • “I Am Somebody”: His famous mantra was used to empower the marginalized, including those on welfare or living in poverty, groups that disproportionately include people with disabilities.
  • Political Inclusion: His presidential runs and Rainbow Coalition platform emphasized a “broad-based” movement that included the disabled, the poor, and racial minorities as part of a single fight for human rights.
Would you like more details on the specific health initiatives led by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition or information regarding his memorial services?
Most people know him as a civil rights leader and founder of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. They remember the marches, the speeches, the presidential runs. But what often gets left out? His work for disabled people. Jesse Jackson consistently pushed for inclusion, long before “inclusion” was a buzzword. He advocated for:
• Equal access to education for students with disabilities
• Enforcement of civil rights protections for disabled Americans
• Economic justice that included people with disabilities
• The idea that disability rights are civil rights
He understood something many still miss: marginalized communities overlap. Race, disability, poverty, they are not separate conversations.
And let’s talk about how he was portrayed. For decades, media narratives painted him as an “angry Black man.” A “rabble-rouser.” Someone loud and disruptive–too much. That portrayal wasn’t accidental. It’s a stereotype that has been weaponized against Black leaders for generations. It dismisses urgency as aggression and reframes moral clarity as hostility–and neither is true. These issues are urgent, necessary and clear as far as what needs to happen.The truth? Jesse Jackson was deeply rooted in nonviolent protest and coalition-building. He believed in peaceful resistance. He believed in policy change and systems work. Today, I’m choosing to remember Jesse Jackson as a bridge builder and coalition creator. A man who understood that justice isn’t divisible.Disability rights are civil rights. Education access is civil rights.May we continue his work with courage.

Jesse Jackson 1988 Democratic National Convention Speech

Reverend Al Sharpton

Reverend Al Sharpton, founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), has incorporated advocacy for people with disabilities into his broader, intersectional civil rights agenda, particularly through his defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. As of 2025, he has actively opposed the rollback of corporate DEI programs, which he argues protect marginalized groups, including people with disabilities.
Key Aspects of Civil Rights and Disability Advocacy
  • Defense of DEI Programs: In January 2025, Sharpton announced a boycott of companies (such as Target, Lowe’s, and Harley-Davidson) that scaled back their DEI initiatives, citing that these programs protect disabled individuals, veterans, and other minority groups.
  • Intersectionality in Advocacy: Sharpton has stated that individuals with disabilities are often targeted by “a sophisticated architecture of exclusion” regarding voting rights and access, alongside other marginalized communities.
  • Critique of Targeted Scapegoating: He has criticized political leaders for using “Black, Brown, LGBTQ, [and] disabled” Americans as scapegoats for broader societal or corporate issues.
  • Broader Social Justice Focus: While his primary focus for nearly 50 years has been police reform, voting rights, and racial equality, his work via the National Action Network often includes alliances with disability rights advocates.
Background on National Action Network
Founded in 1991, NAN is a non-profit civil rights organization that works to promote a modern agenda that includes, among other issues, equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, nationality, or gender.