Creating Safe(r) Spaces
Xpressions Against Oppression (XAO)
XAO is back!
This year, the Xpressions Against Oppression Series will be held on October 18th, 20th, 25th, and 27th.
XAO seeks to create transformative and revolutionary ideas through meaningful dialogue and organic discussion, while taking into account our lived experiences.
Historically, the XAO series has been a series of workshops, panels and discussions centred around social and political topics like combating anti-racism, the fight for self-determination, rights of marginalized peoples and free and accessible education.
As marginalized communities continue to navigate what abolition and a call to defund the police truly means, many still ask- are prisons obsolete? The continuous imprisonment and disproportionate incarceration of Black, Indigenous and racialized communities provides an urgent need to answer this question. From racial profiling to carding to unnessecary uses of violence, various accepted carceral practices remain a byproduct of a system rooted in racism that continue to be used as a tool to purposely target the most vulnerable within our communities. Recognizing that oppressive structures like the criminal justice system play a big role in harming these communities, this event aims at discussing prison abolition in a modern context. Join us for this thought-provoking discussion with activist, Dr. Angela Davis and Dr. Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated central park five, as they speak on the police and abolition through the lens of their work and experiences.
Tickets are $2 for students and $5 for community members. They can be purchased at the YFS Member Services Office, on the first floor of the First Student Center, in room 106.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to vpequity@yfs.ca.