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[UPDATED] The Local Black Activists We’re Following on Twitter

By Alyssa Hirose /

This is a list of some of the local Black activists we are following on Twitter. It’s not comprehensive, and it’s not complete. Please tag or message us at @vanmag_com or send a note to mail@vanmag.com to add to the list—we’ll keep updating it.

For now, these are the people and organizations we’re looking to. Their tweets, retweets and shares paint real-time, radical news that isn’t largely captured elsewhere.

@markielsimpson

Markiel Simpson works with @ajrudder (give them a follow, too!) at the BC Community Alliance, an organization that’s dedicated to fighting the structural inequities created by anti-black racism in British Columbia. His tweets are largely focused on improving education and supporting other activists in the community. He shares lots of actionable stuff—if you’re looking to donate, sign petitions, or make calls, give his feed a look. He’s working on introducing a Canadian Black history curriculum in BC (you can read more about it here).

@bambinoir

This radical urban planner tweets and retweets about how our built environment (aka our buildings, roads, cities, etc.) both creates and maintains oppression. It’s a part of social justice work that doesn’t get a lot of attention—give her yours. 

@chukaejeckam

Chuka Ejeckam is the director of research and policy at the BC Federation of Labour and a research associate at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in BC. Recently, he’s tweeted about the myth of a racism-free Canada, defunding the police, and how Joe Biden can honesty fuck off. 

@tonyeaganaba

This singer/songwriter (she’s on our artist story, too) is also a vocal activist for the Black community in Vancouver and around the world. She tweets and retweets about police violence, resistance, and overturning capitalism.

@dannilacuna

Danni Olusanya is the culture editor of UBC’s student newspaper, the Ubyssey. In addition to sharing important news and updates from around the world, she’s also recently been advocating for action against racism at the high school she attended in England. Check out her editorial about anti-blackness at the Ubyssey (and ways forward).

@cecilybelle

Cicely Blain is a consultant and the CEO of Cicely Blain Consulting. In the past few days, they’ve tweeted about black squares, reparations and supporting organizations that both directly and indirectly impact Black people: “Now’s a good time to donate to sex worker relief funds, shelters, food banks, LGBTQ youth programs,” they say. Their blog post “10 Habits of Someone Who Doesn’t Know They’re Anti-Black” is a must-read.

@willshelling

Will Shelling works for UBC’s Equity and Inclusion office and is an incoming masters student to the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. He’s a “male student leader who is well spoken, gives a shit, and is well connected.” He tweets news, retweets articles and books to read, shares advice for allies, and more. He thinks the concept that black tile posts will end racism is “the worst idea since raisins in bread.”

@kusmu

Petros Kusmu is Deloitte’s global civil government specialist, an advisor to the Hogan’s Alley Society and a World Economic Forum global shaper. He shares news about protests, police brutality, education, and more. He compared pics of Sunday’s protest against racism to snapshots of October’s climate action protest, showing that Vancouverites rallied for both.

@fumichun

Pearl Low is an Oscar-winning Chinese-Jamaican storyboard and comics artist (if you haven’t seen Hair Love, what are you doing, watch it now, seriously). Her tweets are informative, her art is gorgeous, and she’s all about self-love. She is a featured artist in Black Art Gastown.

@inadequateteen

Originally from Ghana, Joy Gyamfi is a Black, queer photographer and poet—you can find her work here. Lately her tweets and retweets have been about abolishing the police state, calling out racist relatives, and prohibiting vs. reducing inequity. And animal crossing.

@hogans_alley

Okay, this isn’t a person, but the Hogan’s Alley Society definitely deserves a spot on this list. The society advocates for Black Vancouverites, who have been largely erased from Vancouver’s history. Their goal is for racialized and marginalized communities to be able to participate in building our city, and they are building capacity though temporary modular housing, a Black cultural centre, and the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD) Black Experience Project. They tweet about Black history and current events in Vancouver. (And hey, you can donate to them here).

@builtjustice

This 2018 Power 50 winner is also a founding member of the Hogan’s Alley Society (mentioned above, twice!). Stephanie Allen’s tweets and retweets are all about amplifying marginalized voices, ending white supremacy everywhere, and of course, donating to Hogan’s Alley and organizations like it—like the Black in BC Community Support Fund, for example.