Our Bodies, Our Liberation

About

Join us for a transformative evening during Black History Month as we explore the intersection of body positivity, social justice, and liberation in Our Bodies, Our Liberation. This public discussion features renowned poet and activist Sonya Renee Taylor alongside prominent scholar and artist Dr. Syrus Ware, moderated by Shari Okeke, CBC journalist and Toronto Metropolitan University professor.

Fostering dialogue on body positivity in a world often dominated by unrealistic beauty standards to address the ways systemic inequities affect the way bodies, especially Black bodies, are perceived and treated, this discussion aims to empower the audience with the tools and insights to advocate for themselves and others. Engaging with thought leaders will inspire participants to challenge societal norms and promote inclusivity and acceptance. Afterwards, join us for a book signing with Sonya Renee Taylor, immediately following the keynote in the Harbourfront Centre Theatre lobby.

The Journey to Black Liberation Symposium

This three-day symposium will engage with themes, discourses and strategies centred around the Black struggle for justice and liberation. This year’s theme, “Finding Home in Our Bodies,” will facilitate a transnational dialogue about what liberation means within the Black community by connecting with Black communities across North and South America and the African Diaspora. We aim to foster learning and collaboration that advance the Black liberation movement.

Organized by the Black Daddies Club (BDC) and the Toronto Kiki Ball Alliance (TKBA). Collaborating with Ultra-red and C-RRED (Center for Race, Religion and Economic Democracy) and in partnership with Harbourfront Centre.

KUUMBA30 is presented by TD Bank Group through the Bank’s Corporate Citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment.

About Syrus Marcus Ware

Syrus Marcus Ware is a Vanier Scholar, Assistant Professor at The School of Arts at McMaster University, and an activist and curator. Syrus explores social justice frameworks and Black activist culture. His work has been shown widely, including solo shows at Tangled Art + Disability, Grunt Gallery and Wil Aballe Art Projects. His work has been featured as part of the inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art in 2019 and 2022 in conjunction with the Ryerson Image Centre and The Bentway’s Safety in Public Spaces Initiative in 2020.

He is part of the PDA (Performance Disability Art) Collective and co-programmed Crip Your World: An Intergalactic Queer/POC Sick and Disabled Extravaganza as part of Mayworks 2014. Syrus’ recent curatorial projects include Nuit Blanche, Central Zone (City of Toronto, 2024), That’s So Gay (Gladstone Hotel, 2016-2019), Re: Purpose (Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2014) and The Church Street Mural Project (Church-Wellesley Village, 2013). Syrus is also co-curator of The Cycle, a two-year disability arts performance initiative of the National Arts Centre.

Syrus co-founded Black Lives Matter (Canada) and the Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism. He holds a doctorate from York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and is the co-editor of the best-selling Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada, Marvellous Grounds: Queen of Colour Formations and Queering Urban Justice.

About Sonya Renee Taylor

Sonya Renee Taylor is a New York Times best-selling author, world-renowned activist and thought leader on racial justice, body liberation and transformational change, international award-winning artist and founder of The Body Is Not an Apology (TBINAA), a global digital media and education company exploring the intersections of identity, healing and social justice through the framework of radical self-love.

She is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestseller The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self Love, Your Body Is Not an Apology Workbook, and Celebrate Your Body (and Its Changes, Too!), the poetry collection A Little Truth on Your Shirt, The Book of Radical Answers (That I Know You Already Know) and The Journal of Radical Permission, which she co-authored with Adrienne Marie Brown.

As one of many midwives for the new world, Taylor’s work is responsive to the historical moment we find ourselves in and the world we can bring into being. This is evidenced by her ongoing public video series “What’s Up, Y’all?” which tackles topics like white supremacist delusion, “cancel culture,” abolition and accountability, attacks on reproductive freedom and the existential twin crises of COVID-19 and climate chaos. The 2020 uprisings against anti-Black terrorism also inspired her to co-found Buy Back Black Debt, a reparations-inspired initiative of financial and spiritual rights that facilitated the buyback of over half a million dollars of debt held by Black people.

She continues to share her insights globally as a highly sought-after international speaker, artist and educator on radical self-love, social justice, and personal and global transformation.