CBC’s 2023 Black Changemakers for PEI include UPEI community members
Earlier this month—Black History Month—the Canadian Broadcasting Company named five people 2023 Black Changemakers for Prince Edward Island. Four of the five have connections to the UPEI community.
Black Changemakers is a CBC editorial series “recognizing individuals in Atlantic Canada who are creating positive change, inspiring others, and helping shape our future.” Each year, the series highlights 20 people in Atlantic Canada, five from each province.
Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, associate vice president academic and research at UPEI, volunteers with community groups, university and union diversity committees, and national science organizations. In her profile on the Black Changemaker website, she says that she wants to make things better through “modelling kindness, listening to people with compassion, and telling truths in a kind and non-judgmental way.” Sweeney-Nixon joined UPEI’s biology department in 1997, serving as chair from 2012 to 2019.
Alumna Amirah Oyesegun works as Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Employment Systems Advisor in the UPEI Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion office. A strong believer in giving back to the community, they volunteer with BIPOC USHR, which advocates for Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour on PEI. A registered dietitian and graduate of the UPEI Class of 2022, they have also worked on nutrition education projects and helped acquire and distribute food gift cards to those in need. In their profile on the Black Changemakers website, they say that their goal is “an ideal world, where everyone has access to food, housing, and health care.”
Ikechukwu Daniel Ohaegbu, a graduate of the UPEI Class of 2019, is the founder and executive director of the non-profit Atlantic Student Development Alliance, which advocates for international students and helps connect them with employers. He has received several awards for his activism, volunteerism, and community engagement. He is active in the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I., FilmPEI, and BIPOC USHR. In his profile on the Black Changemakers website, Ohaegbu says that for him, people always come first, and that “change comes with a discourse on violence, resilience, solidarity, pain, love, and community.”
Poet, artist, and community organizer Chanel Briggs moved to PEI from the Bahamas in 2018 to study psychology at UPEI. They say in their profile on the Black Changemaker website that their arrival on PEI was traumatizing, but they soon began to find their community. “Now, it’s their mission to expand, share, and preserve that community for others who will follow.” Briggs is currently coordinating an anthology by Black, Indigenous and People of Colour on PEI.
Also named a Black Changemaker is Debbie Langston, writer and diversity consultant for the PEI Department of Education and Lifelong Learning. In her profile on the Black Changemaker website, she says she is motivated in her work and volunteer efforts by her children’s experiences with racism on PEI and her commitment for advocating for them.
“On behalf of UPEI, I congratulate these deserving individuals on being named 2023 Black Changemakers for PEI,” said Dr. Greg Keefe, interim president and vice-chancellor of UPEI. “Through the dedicated efforts of people like them, we will continue to work toward positive change and the elimination of systemic racism in our community.”
