Ontario NDP candidate who said she wanted to ‘be a Black woman’ drops out of election

Amanda Zavitz, the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London, was recorded on a Zoom presentation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2024.

An Ontario NDP candidate who said she wanted to “be a Black woman” and to have the experience “of poverty and living in addiction” has stepped down and said she will not contest the upcoming provincial election.

Amanda Zavitz, the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London, was recorded during a presentation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2024.

In the video, she is heard saying: “My secret is that I want to be a Black woman,” adding later, “I want to be an expert in inequality with lived experiences of poverty and living in addiction and alcoholism. I want to be able to share my ideas without the barrier of looking the way I do.”

The clip was unearthed by the Progressive Conservative Party campaign and released on social media. There appears to be a cut between where Zavitz says she wants to be a Black woman and her comments about inequality.

After the video was shared, Zavitz released a statement saying she understood her comment was “harmful” and apologized but didn’t resign.

“As a professor of sociology and women’s studies, I have made it my entire life’s work to amplify the voices of marginalized communities,” Zavitz, who is a sociology professor at Western University, wrote on Facebook.

“My goal is to use my education and voice to challenge the systemic inequalities that hold our society back.”

Less than 24 hours after her apology, Zavitz said she would step down from the campaign.