Black History Month 2026: Honouring Black Brilliance and Advancing Equity

As we mark Black History Month 2026, we celebrate the profound contributions, leadership and creativity of Black communities in Canada and around the world. This year’s theme — “30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations — From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries” — invites us to honour the legacy of Black leaders who have shaped our country and our sector, while uplifting the innovators and visionaries building a more just future. 

Black History Month is also a moment for reflection and accountability. Black communities continue to experience the ongoing impacts of anti-Black racism, systemic inequality and colonialism, including within Canada’s international cooperation sector. Cooperation Canada remains committed to supporting sustained change, not only through commemoration, but through year-round action to dismantle barriers, expand representation and advance equity and justice. 

This Black History Month, we are proud to continue our digital campaign spotlighting Black change-makers, innovators and disruptors shaping Canada’s international cooperation community. Through these stories, we aim to celebrate Black brilliance in all its diversity and inspire deeper collective commitment to anti-racism and inclusion. 

As part of our commitment to advancing equity, justice and accountability in Canada’s international cooperation sector, Cooperation Canada’s Shifting Power Trainings, developed with expert partners, offer practical and reflective learning on PSEAH, anti-racism and decolonization, locally led development, intersectional feminism and humanitarian action. We invite members and partners to explore the series and stay tuned for new trainings launching throughout the year. 

We also encourage our members and partners to engage with the Anti-Racism Framework for Canada’s International Cooperation Sector, a shared resource to support learning, accountability and structural change across organizations and institutions. Building on this foundation, the Collective Commitment Report represents a tangible annual step for organizations in Canada’s international cooperation sector to reflect on, identify and address systemic racism within the sector. 

Finally, Cooperation Canada remains guided by our Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice (AEDIJ) Strategy and Action Plan (2023–2026), which strengthens our commitment to embedding equity and justice into our organizational practices and sector-wide leadership. 

In honouring Black brilliance across generations, we reaffirm our commitment to championing equity, amplifying Black voices and leadership, dismantling systems of oppression and advancing decolonization in international cooperation — during Black History Month and every day of the year. 

Notes to Editors

• Cooperation Canada is the national voice for Canadian international development and humanitarian organizations. Representing over 100 organizations, we convene, coordinate and advocate for effective, inclusive and accountable international cooperation that contributes to a fairer, safer and more sustainable world.

Media Contact

Gabriel Karasz-Perriau, Senior Communications Manager
gkaraszperriau@cooperation.ca
(514) 945-0309