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Selam Debs

@selamdebs

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Speaker | Founder of The Antiracism Course | 8,000+ Clients | Holistic Life Coach |

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“Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.” Desmond Tutu

The words we use shape how we see ourselves, how we see others, and who we believe is worthy of care, deserving of safety, entitled to opportunity, and valued in our communities.

Language is never just about the words we speak. It reflects our beliefs, reinforces our assumptions, and influences how we treat one another. The words we normalize can either uphold harmful narratives or challenge them. They can affirm someone’s humanity or diminish it.

If we want to transform culture, we have to be willing to examine the language we use, the stories we tell, and the assumptions we carry.

Because belonging begins with how we see one another, and language helps shape that vision.

Welcome to the Belonging Series. 🤎

Share what language you’ve changed below!✍🏾

#speaker #lifecoach #series #losangeles #viralreeĺs by @selamdebs

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2 days ago

You shouldn’t have to leave parts of yourself behind to belong.

What if belonging didn’t require you to shrink, edit, or leave parts of yourself behind?

I’m exploring this question and so much more in this new series on belonging.

Stay with me as we unpack what it really means to feel seen, accepted, and at home in who you are. 🤎
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#education #toronto #atlanta #viralreels #ethiopian by @selamdebs

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11 days ago

Belonging is shaped by the everyday moments we often overlook.

The mispronunciation of your name, the questions about your hair, the hyper-focus on how you speak, or the feeling of being both hypervisible and invisible in the same space.

These moments matter. They shape whether we feel seen, heard, valued, and are able to thrive.

The question isn’t how people can adapt. It’s how our spaces can transform.

How do you navigate those every day moments y’all?
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#podcast #lifecoach #toronto #dc #viralreeĺs by @selamdebs

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7 days ago

Come with me. 🎬🎥💛

I’m stepping into a new chapter of creating, discovering, inspiring, and exploring what belonging really means, and I’m bringing you along for the journey.

Over the next little while, I’ll be sharing a series exploring transformation, connection, culture, and what it means to create spaces where we don’t have to leave parts of ourselves behind to belong.

There are some new and exciting possibilities showing up, and I’m excited to bring you along as this unfolds.

What does belonging feel like to you?
How do you know you belong when you enter a space?

More to come💛
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#toronto #podcast #atlanta #ᴠɪʀᴀʟᴘᴏsᴛ by @selamdebs

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12 days ago

Selam Debs on @yourmorning speaking on Common Misconceptions of DEI in the Workplace and How to Make The Workplace More Equitable🎬

LIKE 🤎COMMENT 🤎SHARE🤎
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#equity #antiracism #dei #toronto #waterloo #ottawa #britishcolumbia #halifax #montreal #guelph by @selamdebs

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2 years ago

Selam Debs on @yourmorning speaking on the importance of Antiracism books in shaping our beliefs, views and how we move in the world. 📚

👗 @fashionnova

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#antiracismeducation #antiracismbooks by @selamdebs

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2 years ago

Selam Debs on CTV Your Morning speaking on How Racism Impacts Children in Schools🎬

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👗 @fashionnova by @selamdebs

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2 years ago

Interview with @breakfasttelevision on Microaggressions aka “death by a thousand paper cuts.”

WHAT ARE RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS?

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal,
behavioural, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward Black, Indigenous and Racialized people.

TYPES OF MICROAGGRESSIONS:

“I DON’T SEE COLOUR”:

There is no such thing as colour blindness. When you make this statement, you are minimizing and erasing the real-life experiences of racism aka white supremacy and being racialized in society.

“YOU’RE SO EXOTIC LOOKING”

This statement is rooted in decades of "World Vision and National Geographic'' images that depict Black, Brown, Indigenous & Racialized groups as "the other", less human and people to be studied and pathologized.

“BUT WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM?”

This statement perpetuates a narrative that white people are the "true Canadians" and everyone who is Black, Brown and Racialized is "from somewhere else" and therefore othered, when in fact Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of these lands.

HOW TO STOP PERPETUATING HARM AKA MICROAGRESSIONS?

1. Learn about what microaggressions are and identify the many examples that occur for Black, Indigenous & racialized people daily.

2. Understand that there is no such thing as "colour blindness" or "not being racist." Take the time to unlearn & relearn about how we've all been socialized and conditioned to see "white cisgender folks" as the standard and benchmark to which everything is compared to and BIR folks as the other & inferior.

3. Reflect on your own identity and ‘social location’— what has shaped your beliefs? (i.e. Your race, gender, sexual orientation, where you grew up & who you saw represented).

4. Unlearn and relearn Canada's history and the history of white supremacy colonialism so that you understand why these comments are harmful.

SHARE📣📣📣
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#waterlooontario #torontoontario #kitchenerontario #microaggessions #microaggressions101 #antiracism #ottawaontario #halifaxnovascotia #montrealquebec by @selamdebs

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3 years ago

Antiracism educator @selamdebs is working hard to normalize the conversation about racism and racial trauma.

She joined Tim of @chch_morninglive on the couch this morning to discuss the issues surrounding racial trauma, code-switching, and what we can do to be more aware.

Selam is also the creator of ‘The Antiracism Course.’ A teaching course to ‘dismantle unconscious bias, address white privilege, uncover systematic racism, and learn how to centre the experiences of BIR (Black, Indigenous and Racialized) individuals.

We need to normalize these conversations in ‘Canada.
Please tag + SHARE📣📣
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#waterlooontario #torontoontario #antiracism #ottawaontario #guelphontario #cambridgeontario #racialtrauma #dei #equity by @selamdebs

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3 years ago

THE ANTIRACISM COURSE WITH SELAM DEBS
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!! 🎉🎊🙌🏾

🔗 LINK IN BIO + SHARE!!

What could change in you, your workplace, or the way you move through the world if you had the knowledge, language and tools to understand racism, bias and microaggressions, navigate difficult conversations and create meaningful change?

The Antiracism Course is a 6-module learning experience for individuals, organizations, companies, leaders and teams ready to move beyond awareness and into meaningful practice.

Unlearn. Relearn. Transform. Take Action.

WHAT’S INCLUDED:💻

• 6 modules + 45 video lessons
• 6 downloadable workbooks
• 8+ group coaching sessions
• Guest teaching on Indigenous sovereignty
• Learning on Blackness + the 2SLGBTQ+ experience
• 1 year of course access
• Certificate of completion

WE’LL EXPLORE:📚

Racism and its impact across social, cultural and global contexts • White privilege & colonial culture • Bias • Systemic racism • Microaggressions • Allyship & accountability • Antiracism in practice

The goal isn’t simply to learn more about racism. It’s to develop the knowledge, language and practical tools to recognize how it shows up, navigate conversations and take meaningful action.

REGISTRATION CLOSES OCTOBER 6, 2026 AT MIDNIGHT PT ⏰

Group pricing available for organizations, companies and teams.

🔗 LINK IN BIO + SHARE!!
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#training #onlinecourse #learning #ᴠɪʀᴀʟᴘᴏsᴛ by @selamdebs

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a month ago

Why join this community of educators, mental health and healthcare professionals, HR and organizational leaders, social workers, business owners, nonprofit and agency staff, parents, caregivers, community leaders, and anyone committed to creating more equitable and inclusive workplaces and communities?

In order to create tangible change through unlearning, relearning and developing cultural humility, critical thinking, empathy, accountability & tangible change.

To support you on this journey, I invite you to join the Free Antiracism Workshop on Tuesday, September 22nd at 7 pm Eastern Time.

Get your Free ticket to the ‘Antiracism 101 Workshop’
🟠LINK IN BIO + SHARE!🟠

Share with friends, family, colleagues & leadership!!

For me, it’s because my son deserves better, our communities deserves better and our children’s children deserve better.

Your children or children’s children will ask you one day, where were you at this time in history? What did you do?

How did you contribute? What will you say?

Will you say that you were too busy?

That it was too political?

That you hoped it would just pass?

That you didn’t feel impacted by it?

That you wish things could go back to how it used to be?

That you don’t think you can do anything else to contribute?

That you were worried about getting it wrong?

Or will you show up, invest, unlearn, relearn and hold yourself accountable toward understanding that none of us are free until all of us are free?

Will you say Yes to being a part of the change?

REGISTER to Get Your Free Seat

For the FREE Online Antiracism 101 Workshop on Tuesday, September 22nd @ 7PM-8:30 PM ET.

🟠LINK IN BIO + SHARE🟠
Share with friends, family, colleagues & leadership!!
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#training #onlineworkshop #toronto #learning by @selamdebs

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a month ago

I need you to hear this because it matters.

The biggest fear many folks have about antiracism & equity work is the fear that you will do it wrong, offend someone, & be called in/out.

But doing ‘nothing & staying safe’ is one of the characteristics that maintain White supremacy. You become complicit in racism when you do nothing. There is no neutral stance, you are either being racist or antiracist at every moment.

This is why I am offering the Antiracism 101 Workshop Tuesday, September 22 at 7pm ET to support you in this unlearning & relearning.

🟠REGISTER WITH LINK IN BIO + SHARE🟠

Creating more access, eliminating racist hiring practices, addressing the impacts of white-only/white-majority workspaces, identifying systemic racism in our school systems, decolonizing wellness & mental health spaces, & breaking the silent contract in which white folks decide that advocating for Black, Indigenous & racialized folks rights is a form of being a “better human being to other human beings.”

And that NOT prioritizing those who have been equity-denied is unethical.

The amount of obstacles Black, Brown & Racialized folks have to face because of racism, whiteness & microaggressions and the amount of psychic energy & hyper-vigilance it takes to move in spaces that do not have an embodied antiracist lens is exhausting.

The kindest thing we can do is NOT to “be nice.” ‘Canada’ is notorious for expressing “racism with a smile.” The kindest thing you can do is to be Antiracist, to be conscious & ask:

“How is my unconscious bias impacting the people around me, my decision-making & how I see the world?”

This is not about “helping” Black, Indigenous & racialized people, this is about reconnecting to your own humanity.

This is about reparations & dismantling systems and beliefs that perpetuate harm.

Your children & children’s children will ask you one day, where were you at this time in history? What did you do? How did you contribute?

What will you say?

Invite your loved ones, colleagues & community to the ANTIRACISM 101 WORKSHOP Tuesday, September 22 at 7PM-830PM ET!

🟠REGISTER WITH LINK IN BIO + SHARE🟠
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#workshop #training by @selamdebs

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a month ago