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The Race/Culture Divide in Education, Law and the Helping Professions
The Fifth Annual Critical Race Conference
May 4-6, 2006 University of Regina
By Narda Razack, Associate Professor / Graduate Program Director, School of Social Work, Atkinson Faculty of Professional and Liberal Studies, York University.
28 Jun 06 - I attended this conference in the capacity of one of the Equity Officers for the York University Faculty Association to listen and learn innovative and challenging discourses on race and racism. This national conference provides opportunities to hear ongoing research on race from academics of colour and others whose works include innovative analyses of racism and oppression. The conference was attended by students, academics and practitioners from various sectors. I attended the first conference which was held at the University of British Columbia where a group called “RAGTAG” organized this groundbreaking conference which led to an annual conference format. It continues to be challenging for the organizers to financially organize this annual conference as the primary goal is to promote academics, researchers and practitioners of colour. The conference is open to presenters from all ethno-racial groups and maintains its focus on race and racism.
York University organized the fourth annual critical race conference and the Race Equity Caucus (YUFA) committee were primary members on the organizing committee which was spearheaded by the Center for Feminist Research. The conference in Regina was successful in that it continued to promote scholarship on race and the organizing committee highlighted Aboriginal scholarship by having Aboriginal keynote and plenary speakers who set the tone of the conference.
Other YUFA members attended the conference and have outlined further historical information and feedback on particular sessions. I would like to focus on an analysis of a couple of sessions that resonated with me as a faculty of colour interested in issues of equity, social justice and anti-oppression.
On arrival five of us, all people of colour, attended a pre-workshop. This interactive workshop was attended by about 25 participants. The workshop leaders introduced drama tools based on Forum Theatre methods called Theatre-for-Living. ACT (anti-racism cross cultural team building). As Sheila Lewis noted in her report, this program aims to promote anti-racism and social justice in the schools, with a focus on issues of identity and power in youth. According to Lewis, the participants in this workshop “were given an opportunity to explore their own personal experience with racism and oppression, connect these experiences to wider social issues and then consider actions to deal with these issues. Story-telling along with Theatre-for Living drama techniques were used by all participants to unfold their experiences with racism and oppression.” The workshop did not achieve the goal for the people of colour who attended because, after a few of these interactive experiences, we all left and took some time to debrief. The experiential exercises were felt to marginalize people of colour. The space was not very conducive to discussing our marginalizing experiences within this space that was meant to explore personal experiences of racism and oppression. It was also evident that the majority of the participants were highly enthusiastic and feedback at that time would have been counterproductive. Feedback was given to the conference organizers.
The conference highlighted the works of Aboriginal scholars. Verna St. Denis noted the mixed messages she continues to receive from the community. One compelling statement made was that she should get an education but not allow that education to change her. These words provide profound insights into Aboriginal scholars’ experiences where they are obliged to ‘fit’ into mainstream academia with their scholarly work but also be the voice for Aboriginal people. In addition, the community would like them to maintain their Aboriginality. These experiences can also be extended to faculty who are in the minority in academia.
One of the sessions I attended focused on pedagogical challenges in teaching race and oppression. This session enabled a discussion on the discourse of whiteness that continues to prevail in the classroom. Other papers focused on introducing analyses of ant-racism with medical doctors, in oncology departments at hospitals and in other sectors.
The proposal for the next conference is in Toronto with collaboration from York, Toronto and Ryerson universities.
Other Reports from this Conference:
Sheila Lewis's Report
Alice Propper's Report