Sandy Hudson is a writer, activist, and multidisciplinary creative known for inspiring bold visions of justice and equity. She is the founder of Black Lives Matter–Canada and co-founder of the Black Legal Action Centre, offering legal support for Black communities in Ontario.
Sandy is Co-Executive Producer of the CBC documentary Black Life: A Canadian History, Director of Strategic Planning at Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism, and a partner at Above the Palace Productions. She co-hosts the Sandy and Nora Talk Politics podcast and is the co-author of the best-selling anthology Until We Are Free.
Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Maclean’s, and more. She is a sought-after speaker on topics including anti-Black racism, feminism, and cultural transformation.
With a JD from UCLA and an MA in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto, Sandy blends intellectual rigour with a passion for the arts to drive meaningful change.
Workshop
Organizing Spectacle: Revisiting the 2016 Toronto Pride Parade action by Black Lives Matter
When Black Lives Matter stopped the Toronto Pride Parade, it set off an atomic bomb in Canada on debates about policing, safety, queer spaces and white supremacy. What Canadians saw on their screens that day was not spontaneous. It was the result of deliberate and intense organizing that culminated in a flawless action that not only looked good, but that instantly changed the way in which pride and policing was discussed in Canada. In this workshop, Sandy Hudson will talk about the behind the scenes debates and discussions that culminated in this action, and how organizers and communicators can plan to have maximum impact using style, fashion, colour and surprise.