One of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter- Toronto says Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti’s efforts to prevent the group from receiving a prestigious race relations award are "hilarious."
Black Lives Matter- Toronto was awarded this year’s William P. Hubbard Award by the city’s Equity, Diversity and Human Rights division, an honour Mammoliti says the group doesn’t deserve.
“I truly don’t believe the group meets the criteria. I think this particular award speaks to a positive race relations contribution. I don’t think this group has given that to the city,” Mammoliti told CP24 Wednesday.
At this week’s council meeting, councillors were supposed to vote on an agenda item to endorse and congratulate Black Lives Matter- Toronto on the award.
Mammoliti says he has placed a hold on the agenda item and will be asking to go in camera to get a copy of the list of this year’s nominees.
“I have stopped it for now. I want to debate it. I want to ask questions. I want to be able to find out why we are not allowed to know what other groups are being looked at.”
Mammoliti’s comments come less than two weeks after members of Black Lives Matter- Toronto held up the annual Pride Parade with a sit-in.
The group, which had been invited to participate in the parade as this year’s honoured guests, brought the event to a stand-still for about 30 minutes and the parade only resumed after Pride Toronto Executive Director Mathieu Chantelois signed a list of demands presented by the group.
One of the demands was that police not have floats in future parades.
“I don’t want to give anybody an award that wants to pick a fight with our police department,” Mammoliti said Wednesday.
Speaking to CP24 Wednesday afternoon, Black Lives Matter- Toronto co-founder Sandy Hudson said the group is honoured to have been selected for the award.
“I’m honoured that there are these community groups that have decided that we should be the recipient of the award. This is great. And presumably the council has chosen these community groups to make that decision because they are better arbitrators than the council,” she said.
“I think it is kind of hilarious that Giorgio Mammoliti thinks that he has the authority to make that decision, that he is more qualified to make that decision than these community groups.”
Hudson said she wishes council would tackle some of the issues the group has raised rather than focusing on symbolic gestures, such as awards.
“I wish that the city council, Giorgio Mammoliti, (Jim) Karygiannis, John Tory, would make a positive contribution about what we are talking about which is that black people in this city are being systematically targeted, criminalized by the police, in policing and killed with impunity,” she added.
“These are things that the city council can do something about, can speak out about, and we are waiting, waiting, waiting years and years and for them to do something.”
