In Quebec, Canada, White Supremacy Is Often the System That Governs "Good Schools"

• In Event: Rehearsals for Change: Engaging in Meaningful Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Teacher Education

Abstract

Intent and context: The researcher (a Canadian Black female P-16+ teacher) asserts that many Blacks are obtaining a “good education” at the expense of their authentic identity and/or mental wellness. These painful realities often manifest when Blacks navigate predominantly white academic institutions where leaders do not prioritize equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). In this presentation, the researcher critically reflects on her journey through the Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) pipeline (from STEM university student to STEM educator in P-16+). In the first part of her research, she looks at the underrepresentation of Blacks in STEM and how underdeveloped this area of research is in Canada in contrast to the United States. The second part of this study takes a look to the future and to strategies that can be implemented in P-16+ schools to help retain Blacks in STEM, which are also strategies that have the potential to help Black students create, develop, and maintain a STEM identity.

Objectives: This study aims to: 1) Detail an understanding of the experiences of Blacks in STEM in order to gain insight about why they are not remaining in STEM fields. 2) Use the knowledge acquired from the researcher’s autoethnographic research to develop strategies that educators can use in order to help improve the retention of Blacks in STEM.

Methodology: This study proposes that using autoethnography through a critical race theory (CRT) lens has the potential to amplify Canadian voices in this area of scholarship. The study analyzes the researcher's experiences navigating the STEM pipeline and utilizes CRT to identify instances when the systems she was exposed to worked against her because of her race. The findings of this study demonstrate that STEM terrain in its current form in a specifically Quebec context is toxic for Blacks, making it difficult for Blacks to develop a sense of belonging to a STEM community or to form or claim a STEM identity, and as a result “uninvites” Blacks to drop out at multiple points in the STEM pipeline.

Conclusion and potential outcomes: The researcher, based on her experience as a Black woman in STEM, discusses how she has learned to assist Black P-16+ students in predominantly white institutional domains. It has become apparent to her in her research that white supremacy isn’t something that is solely found in the “dark corners'' of the United States: white supremacy is the system that governs many of the P-16+ schools in Quebec that are deemed “good schools.” Through her work, the researcher aims to raise awareness of these unjust and unspoken truths and ultimately hopes that this awareness will hold academic leaders accountable in their roles in these injustices. Academic leaders have been too comfortable in upholding white supremacist systems for far too long: it’s time to call them out and make them uncomfortable so that they can make a genuine commitment, followed by consistent actions, to change this tragic narrative.

Author

• Sabi Hinkson, McGill University
  Presenting Author