SpeakUP! International Inc.

Black History Month in Canada feels permanent now, but it was never guaranteed. We talk with Rosemary Sadlier, researcher, author, and longtime leader with the Ontario Black History Society, about the unglamorous, determined work it took to move Black History Month from community celebration to nati...

A kid is up at 7:30 a.m. for a program that starts at eight not because it’s trendy, but because it means a real meal, real coaching, and adults who actually listen. That’s the kind of front-line truth Kevin Francis brings to SpeakUP! International, and it’s why his work hits so hard. Kevin is a lif...

Join us on SpeakUP! International for a deeply moving episode with Kwanza Msingwana! Kwanza opens with “Old Woman, Sing Me a Song,” a breathtaking spoken-word tribute to his mother who held on to her wisdom, resilience and grace. From there, we follow the poetry back to its origins and forward to ou...

“I don’t see colour” can sound polite, but Nana Dei calls colourblindness an insult and explains why: the problem isn’t colour; it’s the meaning and power we attach to it. We talk about what it takes to teach with critical consciousness in Canada, where anti-Black racism, colonial history, and schoo...

A lot of people say they support equity, diversity, and inclusion, but far fewer are willing to challenge the systems that keep producing the same unequal outcomes. We’re joined by Dr. Ardavan Eizadirad, assistant professor in Ontario teacher education and executive director with YACE in Toronto’s J...

What is it like when decades of hard work & isolation suddenly become public recognition (Order of Ontario)? For decades, Dwayne Morgan was building a life of private sacrifice before the public recognition of his achievements. In our latest episode, legendary spoken word poet and community leader D...

Burnout gets framed as a personal problem far too often, so we sit down with author and DEI speaker Rochelle Ramathe to name what many people are living: sometimes the workplace is the hazard. Rochelle shares her journey from being overlooked in school in Edmonton to earning a master’s degree in soc...

3% is a number that should stop you cold. C.J. Stewart tells us you’ve got roughly a 3% chance of making it to pro sports and, in Atlanta, a similar shot at escaping poverty if you’re born into it. C.J. knows both worlds. He’s a former Chicago Cubs outfielder, and he’s now the chief visionary office...

Enjoy the podcast in its entirety by utilizing the following link: https://youtu.be/Zl4npwMDbvI?si=CCymIV9sZD9B-nEV Exploring the profound fatigue and stress faced by Black individuals in North America, a direct result of societal pressures and the pervasive reality of radical fatigue. A deep dive i...

Somebody is making money off Black suffering, and that truth changes how we understand everything from politics to philanthropy to the stories we tell about ourselves. We sit down with Dennis Maurice Dumpson, author and founder of Invest Black, to name what he calls the black pain economy and how ra...