Immigrant women’s health, racial inequities and quality public education for immigrant are some areas explored by the awardees.

Juliana Tonello

Nigel Barriffe, Manavi Handa, Farrah Khan and Che Kothari are the recipients of the 2010 Urban Alliance on Race Relations (UARR) Award. The prize, which is on its 35th anniversary, honours the local activists who are committed to fighting racism.

UARR is a non-profit Toronto organization that advocates for equal employment opportunity and quality public education for all. Its current work is concentrated on media production training for youth with a focus on recognizing and strengthening their ability to fight racism and gender-based violence.

The winners:

Manavi Handa

The midwife and assistant professor has worked actively on immigrant women’s health and racial issues in Toronto for the past decade. Handa, who is a daughter of South Asian immigrant parents, is a strong advocate for free health care for all pregnant women regardless of immigration status.

Nigel Barriffe

As co-chair of the African Heritage Educators Network (AHEN) and member of the Good Jobs For All Coalition and Community Organizing for Responsible Development (CORD), Barriffe’s work focuses on quality public education and good green jobs. He was born in Kingston, Jamaica and immigrated to Canada with his family as a young child.

Farrah S. Khan

An activist and artist dedicated to addressing violence faced by newcomer and racialized communities for the past 15 years Khan is an active member of numerous community groups including the South Asian Legal Clinic and the Muslim AIDS Project.

Che Kothari

Kothari leads workshops for youths and is a consultant for local and global institutions, including the City of Toronto, Harvard University, and the United Nations. He is also the founder and executive director of Manifesto Community Projects, an organization utilizing hip hop and the arts to unite and empower diverse communities.