News
ABEEL Site Posters
When you go around our sites and on social media you will see posters developed by EllisDon’s Alliance of Black Employee and Experience Leadership (ABEEL) Team. ABEEL consists of like-minded individuals within EllisDon determined to make our company, industry, communities, and the world at large a better, safer, and more inclusive place for Black people.The ABEEL posters are meant to provide an avenue for everyone to be able to speak up on how we can all come together as allies in the conquest of Anti-Black racism. On these posters will be scan codes that leads to a survey around making our sites and day to day life inclusive of our Black community and everyone.To provide insights to some of the curiosities you might have from the first glance of the poster, I, Samuel Ajobo, P.Eng, ABEEL Chair have shared some insights below. Hopefully it helps you in understanding why we all should come together in these difficult times.What does "Black Is Not A Weapon" mean?There have been instances in our recent and past history, where at the first glance of a Black person, they are automatically considered dangerous. These subconscious or conscious thoughts lead to further irrational actions towards that Black person. This shouldn't be the case, and I believe there are many of us out there that agree with the same. Be an ally to say yes, "Black is Not a Weapon".What does "Black Lives Matter" mean?There are people that believe the lives of a Black person doesn't have as much value as that of others. Once again this has led to irrational reactions towards Black people by other non-Black people. We are asking for everyone that believes every human's life matters to be an ally in condemning those that think otherwise. They think otherwise, because even though they might "say" every human's life matter, their day to day actions, the criteria for setting the status quo of various policies, shows the lives of members of the Black communities carry less weight! Actions speaks louder than words.This is our planet and all humans are responsible to take care of it together. Get on it by treating each other respectfully. Understand your privileges to properly empathize, and ensure your scale of day to day justice is blind to biases!To all ED Employees and sub trades, when you see these posters, be part of the change by participating in the survey! Provide input on how we can make our EllisDon more inclusive of Black people and everyone. Based on actions and factual data, not mere words.Be the Change!ABEEL is an all-inclusive community, if you have any questions, please email abeel@ellisdon.comTo read more about ABEEL and Samuel’s article with Daily Commercial News, click HERE.