In an unsurprising turn of events, the University of Ottawa finds itself the subject of yet another controversy, this time involving at least 34 of its professors’ views on using the N-word in class.
From the response of the professor who instigated this scandal to the petition that followed, this situation has proved to be nothing but narrow-minded and short-sighted on the part of those who believe the use of the N-word by these non-Black professors is acceptable.
As a criminology student, I am well aware of the right allotted to Canadian citizens through freedom of expression. However, freedom of expression is not the dominant issue at hand within this debate.
It is both ignorant and dismissive for the white professors involved in this controversy to insist that using derogatory terms or slurs is necessary to alleviate systemic racism, despite backlash from racialized communities.
The controversy began when Verushka Lieutenant-Duval, the professor at the forefront of the controversy, used the N-word during a class discussion regarding the reappropriation of slurs and derogatory terms. And yes, while the N-word falls within this category, it does so only when it is used by members of the Black community as a demonstration of their agency and power.
It is never the place of someone who is not from the Black community to take it upon themselves to use the term—even if simply citing it as an example of a greater phenomenon.
Many may ask why it is inappropriate and damaging for white professors to engage in this debate. The reason is based in historical context.
There is a reason why terms like ‘ivory tower’ are used to describe settings of higher education—a term which is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “a state of privileged seclusion or separation from the facts and practicalities of the real world.”
Academia was built to accommodate white bodies while perpetuating a white worldview. Though the representation of Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) individuals in higher learning grows, these groups of people remain underrepresented in terms of faculty and administration (for example, at Carleton, the vast majority of the Board of Governors’ executive are white). When they do manage to obtain professorships or other prestigious positions at universities, they are more often than not underpaid in comparison to their white counterparts.
When white professors—who possess a unique privilege and power due to both their race and position in academia—make arguments revolving around issues related to racialized people, they make it even more difficult for students of colour to succeed in these environments.
BIPOC students already experience every day what it means to deal with finding their voices in a system that was not designed for them. Not being treated as the primary authority in a debate about language designed to marginalize BIPOC students only exacerbates this ostracization.
As professors and educators, their responsibility is to educate and communicate clearly and effectively. If as an educator they are unable to address topics such as systemic racism without the use of derogatory terms, and they believe the only way to make an impact with their statements is to use slurs and derogatory terms, they should not be an educator.
Racism is still alive in Canada, but discussions of closeted racism are not dependent on the ability of white professors to use slurs and derogatory terms to address those issues. Listening to BIPOC individuals speak about their experiences of marginalization, as well as heading their recommendations to fix these systems of oppression, is what is needed.
I cannot speak for all marginalized students or even all Black students, but it is clear that many believe the Lieutenant-Duval case is not an isolated incident—and never will be. Her lack of knowledge regarding why using the N-word was incorrect, as well as her colleagues’ disagreement with her dismissal, simply illustrates a larger issue in Canadian society.
Our depiction of Canada as a multicultural mosaic needs to be examined. Our long and deep history of racism needs to be addressed. This cannot be done if educators fail to educate themselves.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
