Monica Samuel founded Black Women In Motion (BWIM) in 2013 because she believed it was her duty as a Black woman to ensure the well-being, prosperity and advancement of her community.
“I wanted to create and protect opportunities for my sisters,” she says. “When I was growing up I felt alone and isolated and very disconnected from my community. I wanted to feel part of something. I wanted to embrace my culture.”
Read MoreThe founder of Black Women In Motion (BWIM) wanted to find a way to provide workshops, resources, and tools for black women, by black women, due to the lack of opportunities solely for black women across the Greater Toronto Area.
Monica Samuel was inspired to start BWIM after having volunteered at Black Creek Community Health center, a non-profit community-based organization, that provides health care services and programs geared to vulnerable populations living in Toronto’s North West communities.
Read MoreWhen Monica Samuel was in high school, attitudes towards sexual violence and consent were very different. A decade ago, the term “rape culture,” though coined in the 1970s, was rarely heard in public or used by mainstream media. Sexual assault and rape survivors were often doubted and considered suspect.
“It was still about what you were wearing and how you were acting,” Samuel remembers. “There was a lot of victim blaming and shaming, and folks jumped to conclusions that you shouldn’t have worn a skirt.”
In recent years, however, that conversation has shifted.
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