Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Sandy Hudson asks, hypothetically, what her life would have looked like had she never been an activist – had she never felt compelled to confront discrimination and fight for her space and the safety of her community.
Activism was never the plan for Hudson. Before she got involved with student politics, fighting for equitable access to education and BLM, Hudson would travel with a choir, perform in musical theatre and even had a role in a CBC Christmas Special once. She had always been a storyteller. But the truth for any would-be artist, storyteller or even college student from a marginalized background is that confronting unjust obstacles becomes part of the labour hoisted upon them.
Hudson is speaking from her apartment in Los Angeles, where she recently completed a law degree while working with BLM TO, nurturing their permanent 10,000-square-foot “artivist” space in Toronto, the Wildseed Centre, and writing a book tentatively titledHudson is currently in a transition period. She’s helping prepare the next generation to continue BLM TO’s work as she pours more of her energy into film and television.