The Association of Canadian University Presses – L’Association des presses universitaires canadiennes (ACUP-APUC), reflecting on the concerns raised by the Black Canadian Studies Association (BCSA) about this year’s Congress, shares the urgency voiced by all associations that the Federation implement changes to Congress that address anti-Black racism and other forms of systemic intolerance and ongoing biases.

Many of our authors lead the way in producing powerful works that give witness to profound anti-Black, -Asian, and -Indigenous racism found in Canada’s past and present. Their tireless commitment to the critical work of exchanging ideas, of articulating disagreements, and confronting inequities amplifies our responsibility as publishers of this work to ensure that it is made visible and available in the broadest contexts possible. We are compelled to support our authors and their scholarship across disciplines and venues and we do so with the intention of strengthening the collective voice of an academy that is calling for substantive change.

We are therefore committed to working with the Federation on the realization of the goals articulated in the recently released report from the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization Committee. ACUP-APUC understands that the value of Congress as a gathering place for open discourse is inextricably linked to its ability to make a safe and responsive space for all voices within the scholarly community and that its greatest responsibility—one shared by us all—is achieving this aim.