You belong here. 

Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Simcoe is a home for white people working against racism in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. Our focus is connecting white people who are already involved in anti-racist work, and calling in those who are looking for a starting place. We believe we must bring all white people into this work and that white people have a responsibility to end racism. We do not think we have all the answers and we are learning for action every day. We take our direction from local Black, Indigenous and other organizations representing racially marginalized communities, but we don’t wait to be told what to do.

SURJ Simcoe occupies the land of the Anishinabek Nation which includes the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Pottawatomi who are all part of the Three Fires Confederacy. Our county is home to The Chippewas of Rama First Nation and Beausoliel First Nation. The county is also home to the Métis people, many of whom descend from the historic Métis communities of what we now know as Penetanguishine, Tiny, and Tay. Simcoe County is covered by Region 7 of the Métis Nation of Ontario. In addition, many First Nations, Inuit and Métis call what we know as Simcoe County home. The county is governed by Treaty 5 and Treaty 16 as well as the post-confederate Williams Treaties.  We honour the enduring stewardship of these lands by Indigenous nations and we are committed to working in the spirit of reciprocity to restore justice and well-being to all Indigenous people.

We believe that: reconciliation begins with truth and action, Black Lives Matter, love is love and gender is not binary, women's rights are human rights, no human is illegal, people matter more than profit, science is real, facts matter, justice is everything, and kindness is magic. 

We are an unfunded, non-partisan, grassroots group. We do not compete with non-profits for resources, we do not receive government or private corporate funding, and we do not endorse any political party. 

What is SURJ? 
SURJ was founded in 2009 as a response to racist backlash against the election of Barack Obama and has their roots in the civil rights movements of the 1960''s. SURJ calls in white people to do the work of anti-racism within white communities. There are 3 chapters of SURJ in Canada: SURJ Toronto, SURJ Saskatoon, and now SURJ Simcoe.  

While the voice, approach and work of SURJ Simcoe is unique to our regions, we are deeply committed to the core values of SURJ.