Susie Mensah, Black Futures coordinator, at George Brown Polytechnic.Supplied
Two women, one with a background in environmental sustainability and one with a background as a social worker in harm reduction, may not sound like they would have a common goal at George Brown Polytechnic in Toronto.
But Mary Livera Ranaweera, the inaugural director of sustainability, and Susie Mensah, the Black Futures coordinator, are both acting as catalysts for change through the equity and inclusion policies and programs they are working on at the institution (formerly George Brown College).
Ranaweera, whose role at George Brown was initially all about finding ways to reduce its carbon footprint and renew its sustainability plan, says she realized that the polytechnic could do more on that front by bringing awareness to issues and injustices surrounding what is known as environmental racism.
The goal of that work is to right environmental policies and practices that have unfairly and negatively affected Indigenous, Black and racialized communities — such as decisions on where landfills, toxic waste facilities and polluting industries will be located, she explains.
But after she became involved in a network called Diversity in Sustainability, she realized that changing how environmental decisions are made requires bringing the voices of Black, Indigenous and racialized people to the forefront. And, she realized, George Brown could play a role in that.
“They need to be at the tables where a lot of these policy decisions are being made,” she says. “The more diverse the knowledge and ideas are, the quicker we resolve the very big problems that we’re grappling with right now around climate change and environmental justice.”
So, as a starting point, Ranaweera created a four-part learning series about environmental racism that will also give students access to mentors and workshops to help them build sustainability into their CVs.
At George Brown, “equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigenization goals are not just something talked about at the surface level,” she says, explaining the multidisciplinary team work it takes. “They’re truly integrated with the way that the institution operates.”
Susie Mensah shares Ranaweera’s goals, and the two say they inspire each other’s work.
Mensah, who attended George Brown to study social work from 2014 to 2016, describes class discussions around oppression and anti-Black racism as an awakening. “I became really passionate about community work — not only social justice, but just systems that allow everyone to thrive.”
After working for eight years in harm reduction and with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and refugees, she jumped at the opportunity to be part of the polytechnic’s Black Futures Initiative. The initiative is designed to offer programs and supports to Black students and employees on campus. It also provides opportunities to engage the polytechnic community on ways to promote Black inclusion within post-secondary education.
Mensah, along with the Black Student Success Network, coordinates the vast array of programs the initiative offers. They range from a week of special programming for Black students during orientation week and its Legacy in the Making graduation celebration, to offering academic and career support — as well as helping students find community services for issues such as food, housing and financial insecurity.
And at the hub of it all is The Gathering Space, for Black employees, which Mensah manages at George Brown’s St. James Campus.
Internal studies show all these programs are helping students complete their studies and raise their grade point averages, she says.
Currently, Mensah is focused on creating a mentorship program to help Black students find jobs after they graduate.
The goal of it all is “reworlding,” she says. “It’s essentially reimagining how we can do things differently. It calls for an end to oppression and inspires collective action for change.”
In short, she says, “We’re creating a future now.”
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