Ganiyat Sadiq (she/her) is the President and co-founder of the Black Inclusion Association and a Redefining Leadership Fellow at Platform.

Recently named one of Alberta’s top 30 under 30, Ganiyat is a fourth-year political science and international relations student at the University of Calgary. She is also the co-president and co-founder of the Black Inclusion Association, a nonprofit created to address systemic inequality faced by Black Calgarians.

Learn more about how Ganiyat is redefining leadership in this Q&A!

1) What inspired you to push for the work you do? How did you get started in community organizing?

The Christchurch attack, that’s when I realized that Islamophobia was actually a very big thing. But also within the Muslim community, I’ve always kind of felt a little bit isolated, because my first experience with any form of discrimination, was in Islamic school because I was Black. I feel like it’s something that’s always been in the back of my mind, just knowing that everyone sees me a little bit differently. I was in university at the time when the attack happened at the mosque. One of the things we had to do in a class was present news, and nobody presented it. I had to stand up and present it because only Muslims knew about it, obviously. That’s when I was like, I can’t wait around for someone to talk about these things.

2) What does community work look like to you now versus when you first got started?

When I first got started, community work looked very much like trying to amplify voices. I would focus my community work in spaces where I would know everybody would understand where we were coming from. It was nice to form a Black or racialized community where we could all share our experiences safely. What I’m realizing now as I grow older, is that you do have to advocate for yourself in spaces where there’s actually a lot of pushback.

Recently I was talking about creating Ramadan hampers for the food bank, for example, that it had never crossed anyone’s mind before, and I explained why it was important to have, and that a lot of people experience food insecurity. You don’t take into account, like we have Christmas hampers, for example, so that when people are experiencing food insecurity, in the holiday season, they have foods to access. But then there’s also a lot of major holidays and stuff. So I really had to go to a lot of meetings to say this is an initiative that we should focus on. I think a lot of activism work right now is also realizing that you do have to engage in conversations that people will not necessarily agree with or understand.”

3) What is the most meaningful leadership advice you received? How do you implement that in the work you do?

When I was eight my mom would always say, “every time you leave this house, you’re representing Black women, you’re representing Muslims, and you’re representing Black people.” I thought she was being dramatic. Two weeks later, is when I had the experience with someone calling me the n-word in Islamic school. It was my first reckoning moments of thinking “wow, people actually are seeing me as these things”, even if I wasn’t necessarily being like, okay, I’m wearing my Black cap today, I’m wearing my Muslim cap today. Looking back at it, it is something I take very seriously and like a lot of how I present myself and the things I advocate for. I’m not afforded the luxury of slipping up, the same way other people may be. It is a lot of not necessarily intentionally wanting to be a leader, but thinking: “Okay, if I can put Black Muslim women in a positive light, that’s something I’m going to try and do.”, you know, is not necessarily how we’re seen or perceived in the media, or just in general. That’s something I try to implement in a lot of my leadership work and capabilities. If I had to be a role model, for example, who would I want to see when I was younger? Is a lot like what I tried to do.

4) Which project stood out the most to you? What kind of community impact did it have?

I created a post-secondary application bursary. It helps high school students apply to university. A lot of people fail to take into consideration the limitations and why some Black people might not even get into universities, because they can’t afford the application fees. I can’t wait to see the impact. That’s something that is so important to both me and the rest of my board members. We all take our education very seriously, and we recognize a lot of the privileges we have.

5) What can you tell someone looking to get started in organizing, or looking to do better and more meaningful work?

Always root it in something that matters to you. I think there’s a lot of “you don’t get involved in this, get involved in that”. There are so many different issues right now. I find that I do my most meaningful activism work when it’s something I feel personally connected to, not necessarily because I’ve experienced it, but because I feel so strongly and so passionate about it. First you’re like, what do I really care about? What injustice I can’t stand to see? If you can’t find that, create spaces. Even the things I am a part of now, it’s all rooted in the things I created for myself. If you don’t have the privilege to sit down and create space, reach out to people. I didn’t have any other Black Muslim friends up until two years ago. After meeting them, my activism blew up because our friendship is tied to it. We’re organizing together. So don’t underestimate the power of having community ties.

On advice for Black Muslim women: Don’t be afraid of how powerful your voice is. When I started this, I didn’t think anybody would care. I didn’t necessarily fit. I was just doing it for myself to be like, I know I’m making an impact. Just for myself. Your voice is a lot more powerful than you think it is. Don’t be afraid to use it, is something I would say and especially for me, I don’t like talking to people. I’m very shy, my family knows that. They were quite surprised by how far my activism work has been going. If a shy person could do it, anyone can.

6- What do you think is/are important when engaging in anti-racist/anti-oppressive work

It’s not a big skill thing, it’s the little changes. When I try to explain what it means to be actively anti-racist, it stems from within. Are you operating your life from a place of privilege? What are you doing about that? If you’re operating from a place of privilege, are you working towards making sure you’re not talking over people and not undermining someone else’s experience? It’s things like that, as opposed to being like, I’m trying to tear this whole institution down, which is what we try to do at the end of the day. I think a lot of people fail to make the connection between the little things that have to be done first. For example, you’re someone navigating life through a lot of privilege, it goes beyond being like, “how can I put myself in this person’s shoes?” You should be like, how can I share this person’s experience, as opposed to talking over them to be like, I’m going to do this for you. There’s a lot of “I’ll help you by doing this”. A lot of people can help themselves, but they just need the space to do so. I think it’s a lot about uplifting, and a lot about amplifying other people’s work.

Connect with Ganiyat @ganiyatsadiq, @iamxmovement, @blackinclusionassociation.

LinkedIn: Ganiyat Sadiq ; Black Inclusion Association,

Website: https://www.blackinclusionassociation.org/