About Us

  The Solid Black Collective design team is comprised of Dr. Kathy Moscou, Angela Bains, Kestin Cornwall, and Michael Lee Poy. We are four OCAD University Black assistant professors dedicated to outreach in Black communities and mentorship of Black students and youth. Our respective lived experiences and research is deeply committed to advancing decolonization and supporting Black and Indigenous knowledge, cultures in practice, teaching, and learning.

We are motivated by the opportunity to research, design, and develop initiatives for Black communities. Our communities have historically been underserved victimized and misrepresented which results in negative miscommunication of crucial information that ultimately leads to mistrust, disenfranchisement, and barriers to health and social equity and justice. 

We are inspired to share our collective design expertise and collaborate with the Black community using Black visual language (communication) tools, resources, message/text, iconography, and symbolism in design, art, music, architecture, and technology that will yield the confidence required to keep all our communities thrive. We are ultimately motivated by the absence of campaigns and initiatives that speak to our lived experiences.