Generational Resistance and Community: Black student clubs in Canadian Universities

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Black Educational Strivings: Boyhood, Resistance, and Living History

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how the themes of racial oppression, Black resistance, and Black community and celebration are entwined in the history and foundation of Black student clubs in Canadian universities, and their missions. It argues that Black clubs are fixed symbols of Black resistance and community, acting as beacons that help individual Black students feel part of a broader collective. The paper uses an oral history interview to explore the origins of the Black Students' Association at Western University in London, Ontario. Examining this history helps contextualize how racial oppression, and a need for Black resistance and Black community are essential factors in the development of clubs like the BSA and their mission for inclusion and the celebration of Blackness.

Author

• Patrick Grant Kinghan, University of Western Ontario