On Nov. 4 2023, the same day as the largest pro-Palestine rally that Montreal has seen to date, Black feminist Robyn Maynard gave a speech delineating the intricate correlations between genocide and colonialism. In this same speech, Maynard turned to the parallels between the oppressions of Black and Palestinian people,[Read More…]
Tag: Black history
Professor David Austin’s ‘Black Politics in Dark Times’ talk explores history as a methodology
On Feb. 12, a small crowd gathered in the Rare Books Collection in McLennan Library for a talk by David Austin entitled “Black Politics in Dark Times: Revisiting Fear of a Black Nation After Ten Years.” Austin—a McGill alum and professor in the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada[Read More…]
Melanie J. Newton delivers annual Black History Month Keynote Lecture on reparative justice and Afro-Indigenous histories
Students, alumni, staff, and Montrealers congregated in the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building on Feb. 8 to attend McGill’s eighth annual Black History Month Keynote Lecture, featuring Melanie J. Newton, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Graduate Associate Chair at University of Toronto. The McGill alumna, Rhodes Scholar, and[Read More…]
Archives that evade
In 1974, the first Black woman Random House editor gathered photographs, sheet music, advertisements, obituaries, patent applications, materials, art, and ephemera in a collection entitled The Black Book. These archives, anthologies, collages, and scrapbooks celebrated, bore witness to, and captured the spectacular and the quotidian of Black life in all[Read More…]
Black history isn’t one uniform experience
As an African student attending McGill, I was initially shocked to see that McGill’s course list included classes with titles such as History of Colonial Africa or African Politics. While I am glad to have the opportunity to take any classes related to Africa, something I was not provided with[Read More…]
Know your neighbourhood: Little Burgundy
Little Burgundy, also known as la Petite Bourgogne or St-Antoine, is a small neighbourhood of around 10,000 people in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest district. Located around two kilometres southwest of McGill campus, Little Burgundy is only a 30-minute walk away. The area borders Shaughnessy Village and the 720 Highway to the north,[Read More…]
For a better future, McGill must learn from Black history
Every February, Black History Month comes around with growing support, yet there is still room for growth on behalf of institutions and individuals. Oftentimes, corporations and institutions appear to care about Black history, while truly not doing much good for anyone. These institutions shape Black History Month increasingly around Black[Read More…]
CBC’s new series ‘The Porter’ tells stories of Black resilience in 1920s Montreal
Far from the rosy multicultural haven one may have been taught about in their high school history class, Canada has a sordid legacy of anti-Black racism and discrimination. CBC’s new show, The Porter, released on Feb. 21, explores the little-known history of Black Canadians in Montreal through the lens of[Read More…]
Professor Debra Thompson on the ‘absented presence’ of Black communities in Canada
The African Studies Students’ Association of McGill (ASSA) hosted a talk by professor Debra Thompson on Jan. 27 titled “The Great White North: Blackness in Canada.” An associate professor in the political science department and Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill, Thompson spoke about the[Read More…]