Who We Are

Black Youth Initiative is a collective product of love and care from the tireless labor of three Black femmes with the intersections of being Refugees, Migrants, Muslim and Queer. Our hope and intentionality for the work we do rests with sharing mutual aid efforts and resource redistribution that are vital for supporting our beloved Indigenous and Black communities.

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Values

Youth led 

We commit to ensuring that youth are the lead decision makers and beneficiaries of the work we do.

Decolonisation 

Commitment to practicing and understanding the complex ways we can dismantle systems of oppression and power that continue harm, oppress and hold back our communities.

Accessibility

Our work strives to reduce  barriers to services and opportunities, by  promoting equity, dignity, and respect in how we approach it. 

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Mission

To bridge the communal solidarity between Indigenous and Black communities across BC and Turtle Island. To further sustain the capacity for Indigenous and Black youth to continuously thrive and experience joy.

Ayaan Ismail

(she/her)

Ayaan is a Black African Muslimah living on the stolen and occupied Coast Salish territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam, Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples. She is invested in community organizing, furthering afrocentric decolonial practices in her life/community, and creating youth spaces that center the leadership and expertise of Indigenous and Black youth. Ayaan is a founding member of the Black in BC Mutual Aid Fund Team which is raising funds to support Black community members in what’s colonially known as British Columbia. Amid this global pandemic and fight for Black liberation and Indigenous Sovereignities across Turtle Island, Ayaan is being sustained by mutual support and community care from Black and Indigenous youth.