The BSSC exists to connect Black students to the programs, people, and resources that will nurture their academic and personal growth. Our programmes and services focus on building a sense of belonging and safety amongst McMaster’s Black students.

The permanent home of the BSSC is in PGCLL (M07)

The Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) promotes and supports institution-wide commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, and principles of inclusive excellence, to foster a campus culture and community that respect the human rights, integrity and dignity of all community members.

The Black Student Mentorship Program (BSMP) was established in 2020 to create community among Black students and faculty at McMaster. The program’s core objectives include improving Black student academic performance, strengthening awareness of resources, creating a safe space for relationship building among peers and faculty, and fostering a sense of belonging within the wider McMaster community.

Career Access Professional Services (CAPS) are for students and alumni who identify as a member of an equity-deserving group or have barriers to employment.

SWC Wellness Program

“Let’s explore the imposter syndrome phenomenon from a unique Black perspective that is internalized through structural anti-Blackness. In this 5-week group session, Black students will reflect on lived experiences to identify, understand feelings of impostering and learn its impact with mental distress. We will discuss what’s harming your confidence and impeding on your ambitions. In addition, Black students will gain strategies and tools to increase self-acceptance and personal empowerment to thrive.”

SWC Wellness Program

The Diaspora’s Digest is a self-care practicing space where Black students can see themselves reflected in books that they’re reading together – increasing self-worth, personal confidence and peer connections.

SWC Wellness Program

The student-led Black X-Scape provides a space for Black students to participate in safe and liberating discussions about mental health and healing. Black students can express themselves freely and engage in conversations about the nuances of mental health, wellness, stigma, and more. The program focuses on sharing resources, offering support, developing coping skills, and fostering collective healing, while exploring and expanding on meaningful aspects of Blackness.

Email: bxscape@mcmaster.ca

Instagram: @blacxscape

The Ontario Public Service (OPS) is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities it serves and to promote a diverse, anti-racist, inclusive, accessible, merit-based, respectful, and equitable workplace.

The Black Alliance Internship Program (BAIP) is a one-year paid internship program, being piloted in 2022, that offers recent Black and Black bilingual (French-English) post-secondary graduates an opportunity to intern across a variety of professional positions within the OPS.