Janaya Khan is a

social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Khan is a co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto as well as an international ambassador for the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

Network. Khan identifies as black,

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

, and

gender-nonconforming Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-bina ...

. Much of their work analyzes

intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adv ...

topics including the Black Lives Matter movement, queer theory,

Black feminism Black feminism is a philosophy that centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that lack women'sliberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because our need as human persons for autonomy." Race, gen ...

, and organized protest strategies.

Personal life and education

Khan was born and raised in

to a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

father and a

British Jamaican British Jamaicans (or Jamaican British people) are British people who were born in Jamaica or who are of Jamaican descent. The community is well into its third generation and consists of around 300,000 individuals, the second-largest Jamaican ...

mother who emigrated to Canada. Khan received a Bachelor of Arts from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, graduating with an honours degree in English language and literature. Khan currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

serving as program director for

Color Of Change Color of Change is a progressive nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization in the United States. It was formed in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in order to use online resources to strengthen the political voice of African Amer ...

and as a speaker with Keppler Speakers Bureau. Khan is married to Black Lives Matter co-founder

Patrisse Cullors Patrisse Marie Khan-Cullors Brignac (née Cullors-Brignac; born June 20, 1983) is an American activist, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, artist and writer. Cullors created the hashtag in 2013 and has written and spoken widely abo ...

. Khan is an author and competitive

amateur boxer Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

Activism

Khan believes that the sole responsibility of the police is to manufacture criminals and that the police do not keep people safe. They (Khan) would rather have "rapid response justice teams" in the place of police. In a 2016 interview with

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

magazine, they recalled the difficulty of growing up with an intersectional identity in a society with limited resources and knowledge on intersectionality and

transfeminism Transfeminism, also written trans feminism, has been defined by scholar and activist Emi Koyama as "a movement by and for trans women who view their liberation to be intrinsically linked to the liberation of all women and beyond." Koyama not ...

. Khan states that actions like

carding Carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passing the fibres between differentially moving su ...

(a Canadian police policy where people are stopped and questioned not in relation to a specific offence) made them realize how normalized their community had been to a heavy police presence accompanied by biased questioning. Incidences like this initiated their path into activism and the ultimate inception of Black Lives Matter Toronto. In October 2014, Khan and fellow Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Sandy Hudson organized an action of

solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...

following the death of 33-year-old Jermaine Carby, who was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop in

Brampton, Ontario Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it th ...

, on September 24, 2014. This incident occurred a month after the August 9 shooting of Michael Brown in the United States. After announcing the protest, around 4,000 people gathered to demonstrate in solidarity outside the US Consulate. Wanting to build on this momentum, they decided to meet with

-based

, one of the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. This meeting launched the foundations for Black Lives Matter to become an international movement rather than one based only in the United States. Khan has led a number of demonstrations and events in Toronto, mainly based on instances of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

in the United States and Canada. In July 2016, they helped organize a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

during

Pride Toronto Pride Toronto is an annual event held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in June each year. A celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area, it is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, fea ...

, where protesters came prepared with a list of demands including more representation of minority groups and no uniformed police presence during Pride. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' reported on January 29, 2022, that the

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGN or the BLMGNF) is an American organization dedicated to organizing and continuing activist activities in the Black Lives Matter movement. The organization currently has no leader and most ...

transferred millions to a Canadian charity run by Janaya Khan to purchase a sprawling mansion that had once served as the headquarters of the Communist Party. M4BJ, a Toronto-based non-profit set up by Khan and other Canadian activists, purchased the 10,000-square foot historic property for the equivalent of $6.3 million in cash in July 2021, according to Toronto property records viewed by the ''Post''. Khan resigned from the group in 2021, a month after The Post revealed that they had spent $3.2 million on homes in Georgia and Los Angeles. Khan vigorously denied that BLM donations were used to buy the homes.

Lectures

Khan has presented across Canada at a number of institutions, including the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

. They have also given talks at many campuses in the United States, including

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

and

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

. In 2016, they were joined by Black Lives Matter co-founder

Opal Tometi Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms ...

to speak at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

's "When and Where I Enter"

symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

Recognition and awards

Khan is the recipient of multiple awards, including the 2015

Bromley Armstrong Bromley Lloyd Armstrong, (February 9, 1926 – August 17, 2018) was a Canadian civil rights leader. He was active in the nascent civil rights era in Canada, beginning with his arrival in 1947. Armstrong was a committed union activist who worked t ...

Human Rights Award from the Toronto & York Region Labour Council, and was named one of "Toronto's Most Influential" by ''

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

'' in 2016. Their work has been featured on sites such as ''

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, ''Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

'',

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

, and the ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Janaya Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Black Canadian activists Canadian human rights activists Activists from Toronto York University alumni Black Canadian LGBT people Canadian LGBT rights activists Black Lives Matter people