CANADA, April 12 - The province’s Anti-Racism Table is pleased to announce the recipients of the Anti-Racism Microgrant funding initiative launched earlier in February. Applications were accepted until March 4, 2022. 

There are 15 recipients, organizations and individuals, who will address racism on Prince Edward Island by creating various projects from workshops to trainings to events:

• PEI Writers’ Guild 
• The Guild
• Under The Spire Music Festival 
• Winsloe Charlottetown Royals FC 
• Kings Playhouse 
• CMHA PEI
• ECDA 
• BIPOC USHR 
• The River Clyde Pageant
• Muslim Society of PEI 
• Hassaan Abbasi 
• King Kxndi 
• Sonjel Vreeland 
• Chanel Briggs 
• Jana Wong (Youth Category)

"The Table members are excited about the opportunity to engage the wider Island community in anti-racism work”, said Prince Edward Island’s Anti-Racism Table chair Stephanie Arnold. “The selection process was competitive, with twenty-four applications requesting over $60,000 in funding. This Microgrant initiative will support projects with innovative and wide-ranging themes. We look forward to seeing these ideas come to fruition over the next year!" 

Media contact: Nicole Yeba Executive Council Office ntyeba@gov.pe.ca 

  Backgrounder

Here are the 15 organizations and individuals who received microgrants. 

Organizations

PEI Writers' Guild Pass the Mic, $3,000  The “Pass The Mic” project will amplify stories and voices of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities of Prince Edward Island.

The Guild Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration Concert, $2,500 The Guild will host a free concert for Indigenous Peoples Day with Indigenous artists, such as the Silver Wolf Band from Newfoundland and Labrador as main act, PEI Indigenous singer-songwriter DeeDee Austin and more. L'nuey will receive support to develop a day of education and celebration of indigenous artists.

Under The Spire Music Festival Anti-Racism Education for Policy Development, $2,500 The project will help the Festival board and staff with anti-racism education and the development of an anti-racism/inclusion policy.

Winsloe Charlottetown Royals FC Celebrating the Diversity of WCRFC, $2,383.20  12’ tall wing style flags representing each country within the club’s membership will be designed and be placed around the parking lot and clubhouse. 

Kings Playhouse Arts and Social Justice Anti-Racism Residency at the Playhouse, $3,000 The project will welcome a BIPOC artist of any discipline for a week-long residency at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown with studio/creative space and accommodation. The artist will immerse themselves in the community and may include educational or public workshops as well as a final exhibition/performance. 

CMHA PEI (Canadian Mental Health Association) PEI Helping Tree Project, $3,000 The CHMA anti-racism project involves the creation, translation, printing, promotion and distribution of educational tools that help individuals and families learn about culturally appropriate resources and supports available in PEI, in their own language. 

ECDA (Early Childhood Development Association of PEI)  Creating Brave Spaces in the Early Learning and Child Care Sector, $3,000 A training session surrounding Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist hiring practices will be provided to the Directors and Supervisors of Licensed Childcare Centres on the Island. A customized anti-racism training will be offered to the ECDA Board of Directors and staff. 

BIPOC USHR (Black Indigenous People of Color, United for Strength Home Relationship) Feeding our souls: Decolonial nutrition education as anti-racism, $3,000 The project is designed to create awareness of our living relationship with food, which was always a crucial component of our health but has been lost to the legacy of colonization.

The River Clyde Pageant Creating safer, more inclusive spaces within The River Clyde Pageant, $3,000  The funding will support the delivery of diversity, equity and inclusion training for the production team and community, through a partnership with Evelyn Bradley, of Beyond the Brim Consulting. 

Muslim Society of PEI PEI Anti-Islamophobia Campaign, $3,000  The Muslim Society of PEI will launch a social media campaign where local talent will create an educational video that promotes inclusivity on the island, helps fight islamophobia and educates islanders about common misconceptions about their Muslim neighbours.

Individuals

Hassaan Abbasi Continuation of BIPOC Men's Group, $850 The continuation of a BIPOC men’s group, whose primary purpose is to create a comfortable and open space for men to come and discuss their experiences and create connections. 

King Kxndi (Kendi Tarichia) Spoken Word Night, $1,500 Funding will support the creation of a space for poets and speakers to talk about their lived experiences as racialized people at a spoken word night in Charlottetown. Spoken word has been a long-time tool of resistance especially for Black people. 

Sonjel Vreeland Matthew Cuthbert Speaks, $1,500 Matthew Cuthbert Speaks is a novel that retells Anne of Green Gables from Matthew’s point of view. It will explore themes such as land ownership, relations between indigenous people and settlers, and relations between Prince Edward Island’s different cultural, racial and religious groups.

Chanel Briggs BIPOC Creative Anthology, $1,500 The project is a book uplifting and analyzing the experiences of BIPOC Islanders through their own words.  Mi’kmaq, Black, and Acadian historians and artists will share their wisdom, knowledge and expertise.

Jana Wong Stick Together in Multicultural World, $1,000 Stickers/postcards will be designed to raise awareness of different people from different nationalities.