The Carleton University Students’ Association’s (CUSA) Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Hall (REC Hall) kicked off its last week of events for Black History Month with a panel discussion.
The event focused on the idea of transnational Blackness, exploring the topics of gender and sexuality, code-switching, and expressions of Blackness in different contexts.
Adae Boluwatife, a poet and activist from the UK, discussed their shared identity as part of both the queer and Black communities.
“When I think of transnationalism, the kinds of ideas that occur to me have to do with affinity and the ways we move about the world, especially in the diaspora,” they said.
“Borders sometimes create borders between us,” said Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, another panelist and a former programming co-ordinator at the CUSA Womxn’s Centre.
Winta T-Michael, the programming coordinator at REC Hall, said the idea for the event came from conversations shared at the service centre.
“[We were] talking about how Blackness is thought of and discussed as a monolithic as opposed to a diverse community or communities,” she said.
She added that the panel sought to challenge that notion.
Aylin Craig, a second-year neuroscience and mental health student, said the event creates space for marginalized voices.
“Us people of colour are not one amalgamated clump,” they said. “There’s so many nuances, parts, and intersections to being a person of colour.”
Jason Laguerre, a second-year global and international studies student who was also on the panel, agreed, adding that the event enriches academic discourse.
“Centring ideals and different people on campus, how they live their lives, how there are complexities to the different struggles they have faced . . . [brings] more richness and analysis into academia in general.”
He added that it is important to empower Black and minority voices while inspiring others to do the same.
T-Michael said she hopes participants leave knowing that they are not alone and that their experiences are valid.
“To know there’s community here is really important,” she said. “It does a lot in the sea of whiteness, in the sea of white supremacy.”
Laguerre said he hoped participants gained a better understanding of their identity.
“I hope people who attended this event, especially if they’re Black, will think of themselves through their own eyes instead of the eyes of society, instead of the eyes of other people,” he said.
Photo by Lauren Hicks
