We owe a debt of gratitude to the OGs of the Black liberation movement

Black Life: Untold Stories illuminates the struggles and triumphs of Black Canadians while celebrating the contributions of both famous and lesser-known individuals. Epic in scope, the eight-part series spans more than 400 years with an eye toward contemporary issues, culture, politics, music, art and sports. This First Person column was written by co-executive producer Sandy Hudson, who is featured in the episode 'Justice Denied.' Watch now on CBC Gem. 

There's an odd and ugly "forgetting" that can often happen with respect to the most hideous moments in Canada's political history — and that is always in Canada's favour. Canadians forget enslavement, segregation -– all the indignities that so many Black individuals and communities have been forced to bear.

As an activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada, I cannot forget the OGs; I cannot forget our ancestors. Every struggle I have ever engaged in, every act of advocacy, is informed by the monumental generosity and daring moral strength of the freedom fighters that came before me. I have been made better by the lessons they learned through staring injustice in the eye and demanding the impossible. 

As a producer and writer, I am afforded the privilege to ensure that others don't forget either.

The impact of the Black Lives Matter movement is the legacy of OGs and ancestors in the centuries-long Black liberation movement. Our society owes a debt of gratitude to the courageous advocates who preceded today's activists.

An enduring record

When I convened with my colleagues and fellow activists Rodney Diverlus and Syrus Marcus Ware to write pieces for our bestselling anthology, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada, we were conscious of what an important opportunity we had: to create an enduring record that would refuse further forgetting of our forebears who have sacrificed so much.

So we compiled their efforts in the chapters of our book, naming organizations from whence our heroes hailed: the Black Action Defence Committee; the Black Women's Collective; AYA Men; POWA; Blackness Yes! Without the courage of the people who created these organizations, Black Lives Matter Toronto and its progeny across Canada would not have had the deservedly disruptive impact it did in a country that would have preferred to ignore and forget the shame of anti-Blackness that runs through its every institution.

And I mean that quite literally.

After our first action in November 2014, and after deciding to stick it out and become an organization, we gathered on Queen Street at the now-closed Harlem Underground. We had a special dinner organized to honour our elders (who, as the flyest people I know, promptly informed us all we were to refer to them, moving forward, as OGs). We met with this council regularly to receive words of advice, caution and learning.

Because of them, it felt like we were always one step ahead.

These OGs drew upon their experiences to provide us with the best education I have ever experienced. They told us how we would be responded to, what tactics policymakers would use to brush us aside and what kind of danger we were in from white supremacists. They were a listening ear. They mediated our internal conflicts. They helped us navigate the scrutiny we found ourselves under. These were not easy conversations. They still aren't. 

We listened to the stories of what it meant to start organizations, how relationships were forever created, and forever destroyed, and how being called "rioters" impacted their lives. We took notes when they told us about the Yonge Street uprising, the protest against the Into the Heart of Africa exhibit and what it meant to create Black, queer organizations during the deadliest years of the HIV/AIDS crisis. 

They also warned us about the sexism, cissexism and colourism that permeates activist work, giving us the courage to have frank conversations internally about how we would avoid such issues and how we wanted to be understood.

At our most vulnerable moments, they organized to take care of us, organizing counseling, safe transportation and meals.

At the most heart-wrenching moments, at the height of our burnout and frustration, they reminded us why we struggled and what was at stake. 

They made us feel prepared and protected. And they made us understand the long legacy we were a part of. We didn't start a movement. We maintained a struggle that began generations before us.

It is my great honour to continue their work, and to go on refusing to forget through my contribution to Black Life: Untold Stories.

WATCH | Black Life: Untold Stories on Gem:

Nearly 10 years later, we've started an education program through Black Lives Matter Canada to continue this hallowed oral tradition, teaching another generation what was learned before.

I have a personal practice of grounding my changemaking work in learning and teaching; in generosity and gratefulness. I can comfortably say our OGs were a vital influence in developing that practice.

At our very first meeting with our OGs, I remember how puzzled I felt when the first thing they did was thank us younger folk for our work — how wrong it felt.

It is we who are eternally grateful. And I will never forget.

Watch "Justice Denied" Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. NT) on CBC-TV and anytime on CBC Gem.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from features on anti-Black racism to success stories from within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.