In celebration of Black History Month, we hosted another Sharing Herstory panel discussion with a focus on the Black Woman’s experience. Last year, we launched the Herstory Collective which is a space created for women of colour to tell their story. Although many women of colour share similar experiences, black women have a specific, uncomparable experience amongst women minority groups.
In this event, we discussed the Black Woman’s experience and the different trials & tribulations we go through. We heard from panelists, Kelsey Hall & Genelle Pollydore, on their experience in overcoming adversity while facing oppression and how that’s impacted them as a black woman with myself as the moderator. Through sharing your story, my goal is to have the young black women and allies join the discussion and leave feeling empowered to go after whatever they want by feeling proud of their identity.
This discussion was open to anyone interested in learning more about and sharing their perspective of the black woman experience. We encourage you to stay tuned for future events and workshops where you come into this virtual space with respect and understanding as well as chime into the discussion if you’ve moved to share your experience on a specific topic.
Share your experience on The HerStory Collective to go more in-depth with some of the topics discussed or others that we missed. You can contribute to the conversation by submitting your story.
Meet Our Panelists
Tashonta Fairman
Moderator
Founder of Big Sisters Club
Hi, I’m Tash! I’ll be your host & moderator for this discussion event. I look forward to connecting with you all. Feel free to connect with me using any of the social platforms below.
Genelle Pollydore
Speaker
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant | Anti-Racist Research and Practice | Global Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Meet Genelle Pollydore. She is a passionate and ambitious Anti-Racist Research and Practice Graduate student with an undergraduate background in Global Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Genelle facilitates programs for the strengthening and empowering of Black youth, Black young women, and Black families in her community. Genelle is a member of the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Committee where she coordinates workshops and connects young Black businesswomen.
Genelle sits on the Advisory Council of Kujenga Family Wellness Project where she supports the provision of community resources that promotes Black health and wellness. Genelle has a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which racism operates in the healthcare system in Canada. Genelle is talented at communicating and consulting on anti-racism and the social determinants of health. Genelle’s community experience and knowledge of health inequities, and systemic racism in Canada have flourished into a combined passion of social justice and health equity rooted in personal experiences of racism in academic and professional spaces. Genelle is determined to dismantle the system of discrimination that racialized people face in Canadian healthcare.
Black excellence and the upliftment of the Black community are of utmost importance to Genelle. She will continue to promote Black health through innovative anti-racism and holistic health promotion initiatives.
Stay connected with Genelle on Instagram - @genelleashleyy & @akeelahsroom
Kelsey Hall
Speaker
Self-Proclaimed Activist | Graduate from Brock’s Psychology Honors Program
Meet Kelsey Hall. She is a powerful, energetic and refreshing black woman. In the streets, she's ‘partygurl kels' because she loves to celebrate. At school, she is a sweet surprise, because peers never know what to expect. And at home, she regards herself as a cry baby, which is self-explanatory. But all her friends call her Kels (and you can too)!
Kelsey studied at Brock for 5 years, the first year she was in the Physical Education program. She switched to their Psychology program in year 2 after completing her first-year psych course and fell in love with understanding and predicting behaviour, motivations, and feelings. Throughout this program, she was able to study the thing she loved most, people. Kelsey loves understanding and SEEing people for what they are, just human and imperfect, all deserving of love and respect regardless of race, social status, or identities. Kelsey especially loves black people, because due to our struggles of being beaten, overlooked, and silenced. YET, we have triumphed over so many hardships, and there are many more celebrations and wins to have today and in the future! She believes her purpose is to help lift the black community in her own unique way, through laughter, tough conversation and sharing joy all around.
Stay connected with Kelsey on Instagram - @kxlshall
and check out her Black History Celebration site
Click here for the recording (passcode: HERSTORY2!)