Sandy Hudson
Virtual Keynote Speaker
Lawyer and Co-Founder, Black Lives Matter Canada | Diversity and Inclusion Advocate
The co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement in Canada and Black Lives Matter – Toronto, Sandy Hudson is an activist, public intellectual, and an award-winning writer. She has a unique ability to distill complex ideas into manageable concepts and a talent for inspiring others to imagine a just future. Tackling a range of social justice issues including anti-Black racism, Hudson inspires audiences through her gift for finding the common ground needed to build a better society.
Hudson is also the co-founder of the Black Legal Action Centre, a specialty legal aid clinic that provides direct legal services and test case litigation for Black communities in Ontario, Canada. In addition, she co-founded the Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism in Toronto, a space that seeks to nurture Black radical creation and organizing. Hudson believes that the key to creating justice for society’s most challenging problems is through cultural change, and she often infuses the arts and culture into her social justice praxis.
In recognition of her work, Hudson was named to Maclean’s 2021 Power List. She has also been named one of Refinery29’s “29 Power Houses”, one of Toronto Life’s “50 most influential Torontonians”, and one of Canada International Black Women Event’s “100 Black women to watch”. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, NPR, Toronto Star, CTV News, CP24, Global News, Buzzfeed, and KTLA.
An award-winning writer, Hudson is the co-author of the bestselling anthology, Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada. Her published work has appeared in Maclean’s magazine, Chatelaine, FLARE magazine, Washington Post, Toronto Star, and the Huffington Post, among others. Hudson also co-hosts the Sandy and Nora Talk Politics podcast with Nora Loreto, and is the co-executive producer of Black Life: A Canadian History, an eight-part documentary series about Black life in Canada.
A woman of boundless energy with a lust for learning, Hudson holds a JD from the UCLA School of Law with a specialization in critical race theory. She also holds a Master of Arts in Social Justice Education from the University of Toronto.
Speakers Like Sandy Hudson
Speaking Topics
Activating Anti-Racism
Racism is far more complex and pervasive a phenomenon than how it is commonly understood. This presentation is a comprehensive introduction to what racism is, how to recognize it, how it operates, and how to actively address it in organizations and as individuals.
Engaging in anti-racist work for over 15 years, Sandy Hudson has developed a participatory teaching style that uses interactive activities, case studies, and audience participation to create the ideal atmosphere to learn about the difficult topic of racism. As an anti-racist scholar and activist, Hudson will also use first-person storytelling to show participants how they can engage in active anti-racist action throughout their lives.
Key takeaways:
- An understanding of social location, power, and privilege.
- An understanding of what society constructs as “normal” and “other”.
- How to critically reflect on media and cultural narratives about race.
Designing Inclusive, Effective Meetings
Meetings are fundamental within organizations to build teamwork, encourage collaboration, and push forward new organization initiatives. In order to have an effective meeting though, your participants need to feel prepared and included.
As an experienced facilitator, Sandy Hudson knows how to make meetings run smoothly and to ensure every participant feels prepared and supported. The goal of this presentation is to provide participants with effective strategies to ensure that meetings help the decision-making process and contribute to an effective organizational structure.
Key takeaways:
- How to engage all participants.
- Meeting preparation.
- Rules of order.
We Will Win: A Campaign Framework for Creating Social Change
Oftentimes, those who are best suited to design solutions for social issues are not in positions of power to do so. Organizations today need a sophisticated strategy in order to effectively influence decision-makers. In this presentation, Sandy Hudson uses her experiences as a student and anti-racist organizer to show participants how they can meet their goals.
Whether strategizing to change organizations, public policy or legislation, Hudson helps organizations understand that change is possible and shows them how to design a roadmap to achieve it.
Key takeaways:
- How to engage via a vision.
- Collective and coalition change-making.
- A strategic framework for planning campaigns.
Breaking the Mold: Organizing from the Individual to the Infinite
If there’s one constant truth in the world of digital organizing, it’s that organizations struggle to meaningfully connect with their supporters. When engaging with new media as an approach to organizing, we cannot forget the fundamental peer-to-peer organizing skills necessary to engage people in real life. We need to blow open our imaginations and find new ways to build real community as part of our work. In this keynote, Sandy Hudson explores how to break through to isolated communities.
Key takeaways:
- One-on-one campaign organizing strategies.
- Public speaking skills.
- Crafting a compelling message for individual consumption.
Workshop: Understanding Anti-Black Racism
This workshop will use interactive activities, case studies, a casual lecturing style, and audience participation to create the ideal atmosphere to learn about the difficult topic of anti-Black racism. It will be tailored to the experiences and expertise of the workshop participants, and is beneficial to participants with varying levels of understanding of anti-Black racism.
Key takeaways:
- How standpoints can affect what you know and how you observe.
- How to tackle anti-Black racism at work and in your personal life.
"The event was one of the best we have ever done virtually. Sandy Hudson delivered a fireside chat where she engaged with a full auditorium of our Grade 11 and 12 students. This made the presentation captivating and felt as if she was in the room." - Cawthra Park Secondary School
"Sandy Hudson is by far one of the most powerful speakers I have ever come across. She is able to unpack complex themes and ideas, is adaptive in her approach, and creates a narrative that leaves her audience spellbound. Drawing from both expertise and experience, she connects diaspora, feminism, racial justice, and transformation in ways that connect across social locations." - Campaign Director, Color of Change
"When Sandy Hudson speaks, people listen — she is genuine and powerful in relaying to others her extensive experience with organizing and mobilizing. Hearing and learning from her is a great way to support and prepare folks to fight for justice in their communities." - President, CUPE Ontario
"Sandy is an inspiring educator whom I’ve witnessed for years brilliantly move audiences to deepen their understanding of social justice and fuel their passion into taking action. She inspires courage in everyone that she meets. She’s a strong, passionate, and dynamic speaker who has consistently found ways to encourage and support diverse audiences to believe they can achieve the change they wish to see in the world." - National Women's and Human Rights Representative, Canadian Labour Congress
"Excellent speaker, workshop facilitator, and critical thinker. Sandy is a doer, action-oriented in her approach and has a way of bringing people back on the issues. A theory-practice fit advocate with a futuristic agenda." - Professor and Director of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies, University of Toronto
"Sandy is a natural leader and teacher, a passionate and articulate voice on some of the most important issues we face. She is a superb communicator, with a great gift for finding the common ground we need to make a better society. Hers is a voice for today, and for the future." - Producer, CBC Radio One