Black Community Resource Center

Black Community Resource Center

A Background Paper by Clarence S. Bayne

The Black Community Resource center has its origins in the Community Forum  at  the Val Morin Conference July 1992. The Val Morin Conference was an attempt by the Black Community of Montreal under the leadership of the Black Community Council of Quebec to reduce the rivalry for scarce resources between groups in the Black community, and create a more unified community. Unity was not defined as a single voice speaking on behalf of the community on everything and topic, but  community voices that were  more co-ordinated and which respected the natural division of labour and specialization represented by the diversity of community agencies operating in the community. This was embodied in the Principles  and operational protocols of the community Forum and  prepared by Dr. Leo Bertley for the Conference. The Black Studies Center, the Quebec Board of Black educators, the MABBP,   and the BTW  were  the key specialists organizations that as a founding member  of the BCCQ federation participated in the shaping of the themes and agenda of the Forum that gathered at Val Morin.  BSC was the by-product of the National Black Coalition of Canada Institute of Research. It predated (1971) the founding of the BCCQ (1972).  Two years after the Conference theses specialists community groups together with the Cote des Neiges Black Community Association and the Jamaica Association played key roles in the series of community wide meetings and strategic planning workshops that gave rise to the launching  of the BCRC and its initial funding by the Federal Government. The BCRC was from its inception intended to fill a gap left in the English speaking community’s organizational network: the absence of a leadership and organizations dedicated to the support and strengthening of the Black family and the reinforcing of community structures. That continues to be the key issues in the Black community today and the central role that the community and its partners expected  the BCRC  to play. The organization has tried to do that to the best that its financial resources would permit, while searching for innovative ways to ensure its own survival.

Background to the Forum

Black community organizations do not exist in a vacuum. They are not whimsical creations of self appointed “so called leaders” preoccupied with their own self importance. There are more profitable ways to do that other than engaging in non-profit activities. It is my contentions that they are the result of the social entrepreneurial acts of individuals and groups of individuals that are in complex ways motivated to act to preserve and perpetuate the life and happiness of members of their kinship group.  They come about for the express purpose of the improvement of the group and the search for purpose in a landscape that is hostile to their complete participation in society and self fulfillment. The Black Community Forum at Val Morin is an exemplary instance in the history of the Black community acting together to map out a collective strategy for improving the social and economic fitness of Blacks in Quebec.  I believe it is important to understand this underlying motivation, if we are to have a clearer understanding as to the reason for the existence or fading of many of the community organizations today. It is important that we understand the birth and death cycles of these organizations are deeply influenced by the flexibility or inflexibility of leadership (as opposed to leaders), access to resources; ingenuity,  and  the resistance(internal and external) to change. The actions  leading to the creation of the BCRC  is representative of  a social entrepreneurial response of the community to the compelling need to preserve, perpetuate and improve the life of its members.

“The Community Forum was  funded by the Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship, and supported by the City of Montreal and the provincial Minister of Cultural Communities. It was  a response to the community’s concerns about  employment of youth, justice , education; and the need to be informed about the  cooperative planning process which was initiated at the newly formed ” Table de Concertation ” for the Black English-speaking community by the Provincial Government. The Table  was created as a result of  negotiations and representations at meetings with  the City: a   Conference of the Black community hosted by the City at  City Hall 1990; a delegation organized by  BSC with representataion from  QBBE,  Jamaica Association,  BCCQ, The Black Coalition of Quebec, and the Afro-Canadian ( March 1991);  and a  meeting with Premier Robert  Bourassa arranged by   the Jamaica Association of Montreal, BSC, the Black Coalition and Dr Leo Bertley (May 19 1992).

The Forum at Val Morin was conceived of as a means of informing and involving the wider community in the policy initiatives being discussed at the Table with the three levels of government. A cooperative planning process for the implementation of the Forum was immediately developed. A Steering Committee consisting of over thirty representatives of Black community organizations met over a period of six weeks to develop the format for the conference.

 

At the Conference. Most important the Val Morin Conference underlined the community resolve  to minimize the appearance of  division among the community leadership when representing the Black Community at  the different levels of Government; and to have a more holistic approach to solving community problems. Proof of the intent and success of the new united community strategy is supported by the  evidence  of the fact that they got the Provincial Government to agree to communicate on a continuing basis through the Tables de consultation.  The community created a set of local tables in economics, education and culture, community development which gathered information at the grass roots level  and brought recommendations forward to a Central Table  for consideration and action by  senior government civil servants. Through this system of  consultation it was possible to get agreement from the Provincial Government to fund the Mathieu Da Costa Foundation for the promotion and financing of entrepreneurship in the community.  This was  proposed by the MABBP and supported by the network of   community tables de concertation and the organizations that sat at those tables.  At the Val Morin Conference, the social entrepreneurs also had their day.  There was a general agreement that there was a need for political engagement as a strategy for advancing the fuller participation of Blacks in the decision making processes in the public spheres. The case was also made by Leith Hamilton and C. Bayne that there had to be a more systematic and holistic approach to addressing social ills in the community. The workshop on “Support for the Black Family”  made the point that the community had to program for total development of the child, starting  before birth, through adolescence  until the age of 35. The holistic approach later became the central pillar of the mission of the BCRC.  Another pillar of the BCRC mission and mandate was the  “Reinforcement of Community Structures. ”   At the Forum of July 1992,  it was emphasized that there is a  “need to identify the role of the various organizations  in the community in terms of structure and services offered, to reduce unnecessary duplication of functions, and that a (permanent)  Forum be created that would act as a policy formulation body…“  to examine organizations or “community events” which are not structured effectively  or are dysfunctional.” The objective was that this Forum would  “provide assistance, considering that Black community organizations… need all the help necessary in order to survive, especially those with a track record of service in the community.” Accordingly, a statement of principles was developed by Dr Leo Bertley that outlined the protocols of the social and political framework of  such a  Forum.  In the statement of principles,  Bertley boldly states that people of African descent  have “ never  refrained from doing (their)  share; nor have we ever shirked our responsibilities” yet in spite of our manifold contributions,” we are still regarded as foreigners in , and strangers to this land, and not as full members of society. Cleary this is not acceptable. We must be allowed to participate fully in the life of this city, province, and country. We ask no more. We shall accept no less”.

PROTOCOL F OR MEETINGS OF PROPOSED FORUM:

 

1. All community groups will respectfully recognize one another’s efforts, for after all, each group’s effort is symbolic of the willingness to work for the good of the community.

 

2. All community groups will establish within group and between group, credibility that is strong enough to allow for confident working relationships within and outside of the community.

 

3. All community groups will operate in such a way that a great amount of trustworthiness will exist between groups and among members of all groups.

 

4. All views expressed at meetings are done with the best of intentions and will be accepted in the spirit of open-mindedness and with the willingness to compromise.

 

5. In the spirit of cooperativeness, views expressed are “platforms” for constructive criticism; therefore responses to issues presented will reflect an understanding of ideas that are open for discussion and will not result in any personal attack.6. The language of presentation at all meetings whether within our groups or with outside bodies, will at all times reflect the community’s interest in a positive way.

 

7. The Chair will maintain proper decorum at all times. At the beginning of each meeting the ground rules will be identified

 

 

 

 

The Conference  agreed that the following issues were  priorities for the community:

 

• Support for the Black Family,
• Anti-Racism Strategies,
• Economic development,
• Reinforcement of Community Structures,
• Education and
• Arts/Culture.

Among these, the two sets of priorities that were least effectively represented by organizational structures in the community were ( 1) Support for the Black family and (2) Reinforcement of community structures.  This set the stage and created the opportunity for the establishment of the Black Community Resource Center as an initiative of the Federal Government of Canada spearheaded by the Honourable  Sheila Finestone, Secretary of State, Multiculturalism, Status of Women.  Throughout the entire Val Morin Conference a major concern was the chronic unemployment among Black youth and their over representation in the criminal justice  system. This was unquestionably the motivation for  Rick Gill taking the initiative  to bring organizations and community leaders  together to develop a detailed   strategic plan for  the  sustainable education, training and support and employment of Black youth. These issues and priorities were central to representations made to Premier Robert Bourassa at a meeting May 19 1992. It was again  underlined fully  in  Bayne’s  memo faxed to  Finestone by Rick Gill  July 5,  1994:  “A Response to the Honourable Sheila Finestone’s Call to Address Issues of Training for Youth in our Community”.   In that memo Bayne emphasised the need for a detailed plan of action with implementation procedures and timelines; and an evaluation and  review process with a quality improvement  plan.

On the 29  June  1994, Gill  in collaboration with the  Honourable Sheila Fine stone proposed  a social  collaboration model to a group of Black  community organizations and representatives  at # 316, 4770 Kent Avenue. This model incorporated a holistic approach for  solving  problems in the Metropolitan Montreal English speaking Black Community.  The approach was based on the creation of  partnerships with service providers throughout metro-Montreal in both the Black and mainstream sectors; and focusing these resources on the  young Black adults in the 18-25 age group. The plan was fully backed by Sheila Finestone who championed it among her colleagues in the liberal government,  Ottawa.   In her letter of invitation to the Black community representatives she stated that the  purpose of the meeting  was threefold:

1. to discuss comprehensive and creative ways of addressing areas of need of young Black adults covering employment, training, income support and services that will help them to develop the skills they need to find, maintain, and create employment.
2. to explore the feasibility of accessing funding from federal sources that will make a comprehensive program approach possible and which will improve the effectiveness, efficiency and community impact of current and new training initiatives;

3 to plan follow up action.

The objectives and priorities were identical to those set out at the Forum. The persons involved in  the community building processes that lead to the creation  of the BCRC were essentially the same persons and organizations that were involved in the Val Morin process. They understood the issues and  had no intention to create further rivalry by creating yet another organization to compete for scarce public resources. Thus , Rick Gill with Sheila’s  very active support was able to mobilize and harness the energies  of the existing community organization by assuring them  that,  in addition to addressing the needs of Black youth,   a resource center would support existing organizations providing services in the Black English speaking communities.

BCRC and the Community Forum

It was understood that  the community organizations would implement the priorities established  by the Forum at Val Morin.  It was also agreed that the Forum would become a permanent instrument  facilitating the better management of scarce community resources.  The conference report  states the following:  “the role of the Forum is to provide a meeting place for the community to identify policy issues, to review options, to attempt to develop a consensus whenever possible, and to effectively communicate this consensus. It was noted that the Forum is not to be an organization in itself. The Report on the Confernce proceedings  further states (See Black Community Forum at http://icedportal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=64   )   “It is a facilitating mechanism. It cannot compete with other organizations for funding and resources or it will die.”  Thus, a steering committee was created and given responsibility to call meetings of the Forum and  to carry out the  day to day functions of communication. The conference attempted to induce the BCCQ to take responsibility for  the  convening of the Forum but the BCCQ shied away from carrying out this function, fearing that it would become  responsible for funding a large number of organizations in the community and be overwhelm by the conflict between rival agencies. Early attempts by the steering committee at establishing the Forum came upon rocky  grounds and were wrecked. One group led by Tony Jones circulated a draft constitution  which proposed setting up a  Quebec African Congress “ dedicated to  the preservation of  a vibrant  and dynamic Black  community in Quebec, determined to accentuate the African heritage  and promotion of unity  and social justice within Canada (February 1993) .”   A second group lead by Noel Alexander (Jamaica Association), Dan Phillips (Black Calitionof Quebec) , Noel Brady( Spatodia land Cooperation) . Curtis George (QBBE), Cecil Alfred (FOTTOQ)  and consisting primarily of  organizations from the Val Morin Conference proposed  setting up a   Caucus  of Black English-Speaking Quebecers (March 29 1996). This group made  a serious attempt to  act on the recommendations of the Val Morin Conference. But, as in the earlier attempts of the steering committee, internal bickering and perhaps the disinterest of the BCCQ and its outreach programs spelt its doom. Also in part, interest faded because of the fear among the specialists organization ( BSC, QBBE, and BTW)  membership and other community groups of  the possible misuse of  power concentrated in  a single organization. The vitriolic conflict between the QBBE and the BCCQ ( National  Archives: Clarence S.  Bayne Finding Aid, MG 31, H181; BCCQ Conflict_ BTW,  QBBE, etc.-_Notes, 1980-1983) and the open rebellion of the Carnival Promotion Committee  against the centralizing controls of the BCCQ lead to the withdrawal  of these groups and  ultimately  the BTW from their affiliations with BCCQ  ( See letter to June Mayers,  Chairperson  of  BCCQ, October 15, 1990 from Montreal Mas Designers Association  of Quebec; also Gazette: Carifete Cancelled, May 1994)  . Theses issues seemed to have  underpinned the  fear and suspicion of the umbrella organization concept.   By default, it was left to the newly created BCRC to attempt under the Sharon Singer administration to operationalize  the Forum.

 

It is clear that the Forum never became the  elaborate vigorous mechanism that  the Conference representatives intended,  with protocols that guide its members attitudes and how the Forum  conducted business (See Black Community Forum: Black Community Protocol on the Operations of the Forum). It remains an ideal that comes together in crises, but is not an organized structure set within the framework of any organization.  What replaces the Forum in the BCRC structure is the concept of partnerships; the recognition of missions and mandates of organizations, and general support for the principle that organizations serving  the Black community should work within their mission and mandates and be accountable.  There is no mechanism in place for reinforcing this outside the constrained judgments of the superior courts and social and moral suasion  or community legitimization (See Superior Court Judgment, Montreal :  CCFA  vs City of Montreal  and Henry Antoine (MCDF), Fondation, 2011)

 

BCRC Partners

 

Under its  early constitutional framework the BCRC consisted of organizational members and associate members.  Early brochures distributed by the organization, name the following organization as members:  Black Youth in Action(BYIA), Canadian Sickle Cell Society. Quebec Board of Black Educators, and Union United Church.  Some organizational members, such as the QBBE, actually were seated on its Board of Directors.  Partnerships took the form of agreements around programs of a joint nature. In the early stages, partners were interviewed to determine their needs and agreements signed detailing ways in which the two organizations would work together, and the kind of help that BCRC would try to provide. Thus the roles and responsibilities of the partners were clearly spelt out. The Partners are regularly and publicly listed on the

Organization web site at:

 

 

http://www.bcrcmontreal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=36&Itemid=55

 

The  collaborative model at work. The BCRC has created a communications network and established collaborations between itself and agencies outside the Black community that redirect resources to the main objectives of the organization and the Black Community. Some of the organizations that make up this network are :

 

Batshaw Youth and Family Centers;

CSSS de la Montagne;

Tim Hortons Children ‘s Foundation;

English Montreal School Board;

Service de Police de la  Ville de Montreal;

Head and Hands; Jewish General-Herzl Family Practice Centre ;

Multiply Inc;

Concordia University;

the volunteer Bureau of Montreal;

Information Referral Centre of Greater Montreal

 

The current administration   has been very effective in its initiatives and interventions to revitalize its programs and sure up the survival possibilities of the organization.

 

 

Programs and funding.

 

Support for Community based organizations:  In the mid-nineties, a  three year grant from the Federal Government of Canada made it possible for the  BCRC to hire an Executive Director a chief administrator and  program staff that were dedicated to the support of organizations in the Black community and to co-ordination of the flow of resources from mainstream society to meet the development  needs of individuals and organizations in the black English speaking community. The organization tried to complement rather than duplicate services that were provided by member organizations and community based organizations working in the English speaking Black community.  Regular co-ordination sessions (forums)  were held to discuss  economic development , employment, health, parenting, management and fundraising.  The Executive Director represented the community  in many public and private sector forums and government briefings and information sessions.  However, this type of   funding began to dry up with the changes in Governments and changes in government policies and priorities. Under the Conservative Government and in the face of  increasing public demands for accountability and  a shrinking funding base,  Government policies began to emphasize project financing rather than the direct funding of organizations. By focusing on project funding,  Government hoped to allocate  resources closer to those that benefited directly from the services;  and to be able to more effectively match the outcomes to dollars contributed.  In this way,  they also hoped to have more control over the proportion of each tax dollar donated that went  to covering administrative overheads as opposed to direct services to the targeted  group or individual at  risk.  This shift in the funding formula has had a significant impact on the BCRC’s operations. It meant that it  must now compete with other organizations in the community for funding for programs offered under the crime prevention funding policies at both the Provincial and Federal levels. While this allows it to address certain aspects of  its mandate for the development of  youth at  risk,  it has placed limits on  the organization’s  operational and asset capacity dedicated to sustaining its  assistance  to  Black community organizations at the late nineteen nineties  levels.   There is now very little transfer of resources either through or directly from the BCRC to other Black organizations operating in the English speaking Black communities. The BCRC visualizes and has gone through the exercise of mapping  the  operational boundaries of  existing organizations and agencies essential to the development of  the Black community.  But except for moral suasion, personal professionalism,  and  creative responses due to  internal redundancy , there is no mechanism or  plan for ensuring that the essential requirements  for success will be met and sustained at a level that significantly advances the Black community to the higher peaks in the  Quebec fitness landscape.                                                                                            Notwithstanding this, the organization has been able to provide the following useful services:

 

1. Referral services in the health and social services sector
2. Employment information and referrals
3. Facilities for meetings, workshops, and conferences
4. Communication, library and archival services
5. Social studies, research on racism, racial profiling, and the dissemination of that research in the community.
6. Workshops in governance and nonprofit management
7. Representation, clarification of government policies, support and assistance in fundraising

10 Development and maintenance of a directory on organizations, institutions, and practitioners and businesses serving the Black community ( The Black Community Resource Guide 2010-2011)