The Office of the Vice-President of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion welcomes you to the inaugural Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) Week. This week celebrates and brings forth awareness of the multifariousness that makes the University of Windsor community the beautiful and unique place that it is!
Join us for a week-long assortment of events!
Monday March 21, 2022
The UN International Day of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Charmaine Nelson
The Precariousness of Freedom: Slave Resistance as Experience, Process, and Representation
At NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dr. Charmaine Nelson teaches art history and holds the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Transatlantic Black Diasporic Art and Community Engagement. In 2001, she received her PhD in Art History from the University of Manchester (UK). She taught at Western University (2001-2003) and McGill University (2003-2020). Postcolonial and black feminist scholarship, Transatlantic Slavery Studies, and Black Diaspora Studies are among her research and teaching interests.
Transatlantic Slavery “broke the world in half,” spanning more than four hundred years and causing cataclysmic ruptures of the social, political, cultural, and psychic contexts of vast populations. This race-based slavery solidified ideals of white superiority, legitimized the displacement of approximately 12 million Africans, and created the Black Diaspora. However, the enslaved did not submit meekly to their racial debasement and institutionalized brutality. For all the dimensions of slave owner control, the enslaved sought actively to maintain their dignity and humanity, and to seize their liberty. Therefore, in as much as slavery was marred by white oppression, it was also characterized by ongoing black resistance. Enslaved Africans often resisted through work slow-downs, feigning illness, damaging, or burning the slave owners’ property, and demanding the right to independently access economic markets. Working comparatively with examples of enslaver brutality and enslaved resistance from Canada, the USA, and tropical regions, this lecture explores the profound obstacles that the enslaved faced in securing their freedom and in resisting the everyday onslaughts of slavery.
Indigenous Highlight: Special performance by University of Windsor English Literature & Creative Writing student and poet, Victoria Hecnar, to commemorate World Poetry Day.
Tuesday March 22, 2022
Accessibility Awareness Day
11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speakers: David Robbins-Singh & Dane Macri
Disability and Intersectionality
This session will explore lived experiences and provide insights into how we can become better allies to make our campus and community more inclusive.
This event is in partnership with the University of Windsor's Office of Human Rights, Equity & Accessibility's (OHREA) 9th Annual Accessibility Awareness Days - "Making UWindsor Accessible."
Wednesday March 23, 2022
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Beverly Jacobs
What does it mean to “Indigenize” the University of Windsor?
Dr. Beverly Jacobs is the Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Relations and Outreach at the University of Windsor and an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law. She held Associate Dean (Academic) and Acting Dean appointments in the Faculty of Law. She practices law part-time at her home community of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Her research focuses on Indigenous Legal Orders, Indigenous Wholistic Health, Indigenous Research Methodologies, and Decolonization of Eurocentric Law. Beverly has obtained a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of Windsor in 1994, a Master of Law Degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2000 and a PhD from the University of Calgary in 2018. Beverly is also a consultant/researcher/writer/public speaker. Her work centres around ending gendered colonial violence against Indigenous people and restoring Indigenous laws, beliefs, values, and traditions. A prolific scholar, her published work has earned her numerous awards; her research combined with her advocacy has translated into national and international recognition.
Based on the short time that she has taken on the role as Senior Advisor to the President on Indigenous Relations and Outreach, Dr. Jacobs wants to acknowledge the work that Indigenous students, staff and faculty have done to bring cultural safety within the University of Windsor. Dr. Jacobs also want to acknowledge the huge task that it is to “Indigenize” or bring cultural safety of Indigenous peoples on campus.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speakers: Fardovza Kusow & Hussein Samhat
Launch of Belonging, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity (BIDE) Institute
Presented by The Office of Student Experience, The BIDE Institute is a student led institution that serves to provide a platform for underrepresented and marginalized groups on the University of Windsor campus. Driven to create platforms that will propel steps towards eradicating racism on college campuses, The BIDE Institute believes student and academic affairs need prioritize language around race both within the educational curriculum as well as external student opportunities.
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EST (In-Person at Essex Hall Theatre & Live Stream)
Speakers: John Elliot and Amina Abdulle
BIDE Institute: Cultural Awareness & Belonging Speaker Series
BIDE is honored to highlight the honorable John Elliot and Amina Abdulle for an informative and enlightening evening of valuable perspectives from the Windsor-Essex Community.
John Elliot (he/him), a descendant of Underground Railroad (John Freeman Walls family) and previous Windsor City Councilor (Ward 2), is the Executive Director of the Sandwich Teen Action Group (STAG). STAG is a community-based non-profit organization responding to the needs of youth in Windsor-Essex County that provides after-school programming for youth between the ages of 13 and 19 years old. STAG focuses on addressing poverty, racism and hunger in minority and at-risk youth while building self-esteem and motivation through life experiences and skills. Providing positive role models and mentors, STAG activates healthy relationships and respect for oneself and others.
Amina Abdulle (she/her) is a Somali-born, Muslim Canadian educator, poet, and awareness builder. Amina has been working as an educator for over twelve years and she was a LINC Language Instructor before moving to the public-school board where she has taught English at the high school level, was the Department Head of ESL at Kennedy Collegiate, and is now the Teacher Consultant of Equity -- the first ever, for the GECDSB. She is the co-founder of an equity-based advocacy group called the Black Staff Equity Alliance as well as a member of various organizations within the city that focus on equity and justice.
Thursday March 24, 2022
Sexual Violence Awareness Day
11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speaker: Anne Rudzinski
Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence
Anne Rudzinski is the Sexual Violence Education Specialist at the University of Windsor's Office of Sexual Violence Prevention, Resistance, and Support.
In this workshop, Anne will be teaching how to support someone who discloses an experience of sexual violence. We'll walk you through our strategy - Recognize, Respond, Refer. We'll give you an overview of our Office and our current initiatives, and on- and off-campus resources.
2SLGBTQIA++ Awareness Day
1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Michael Godfrey
Close Doesn’t Count: The Academic Climate for LGBTQ2S+ Students in STEM
Dr. Michael Godfrey is a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow within the Faculty of Science where he conducts research studies to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM-related fields. To date, his studies have focused on improving the academic climate for students who belong to the LGBTQ2S+ community and better understanding the effects of ethnic diversity (or lack thereof) on the persistence of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) students. Prior to joining the University of Windsor in June 2020, Michael completed his PhD at Wilfrid Laurier University. His dissertation examined how cultural diversity influenced both group (e.g., team unity) and individual (e.g., satisfaction) outcomes in team sport contexts.
In this presentation, Dr. Godfrey will share the findings from his recent study that aimed to better understand how the academic climate in STEM disciplines influences the experiences of students who belong to the LGBTQ2S+ community. He will begin the presentation by discussing the positive aspects of the climate and highlighting key areas for improvement. Subsequently, he will discuss how this climate influences the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ students by providing example quotations from student, staff, and faculty participants. Finally, Dr. Godfrey will finish the presentation by providing key recommendations for how to make academic climates—in STEM and beyond—more inclusive.
Friday March 25, 2022
The UN International Day of the Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Isaac Saney
Remembrance, Revelation, and Reparation: The Trans-Atlantic Slave System and Its Afterlife
The Trans-Atlantic Slave System fundamentally altered not only the lives and destinies of millions of Africans and the African continent but also transformed the world. Its boundaries and reach extended into every dimension, facet and interstice of the new global society. Indeed, living in a world created by and through the sufferings and struggles of enslaved Africans presupposes that the creation of a more just and sustainable political, economic, social, and ecological order necessitates not only reckoning with this history but also demanding reparatory justice.
Isaac Saney is Director of the Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University, the ground-breaking program established in 1970 to redress the educational barriers and injustices that confront the Mi’kmaq Nation, other Indigenous peoples, and the African Nova Scotian community. His teaching and scholarship encompass Africa, the Caribbean, the U.S. Civil Rights Movement Cuba, and Black Nova Scotian history. He is the author of the acclaimed book, Cuba: A Revolution In Motion (Zed, 2004) and the forthcoming, Africa's Children Return! Cuba, Africa, and Apartheid's End (Lexington Books, 2022). He is also a recipient of the Dalhousie President’s Award for the Advancement of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusiveness (EDI). His roots lie in the Black Nova Scotian community and the Caribbean.
Saturday March 26, 2022
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST (Virtual)
Speakers:
A Fluid Frontier editor: Karolyn Smardz Frost
Contributors: Kimberly Simmons, Roy Finkenbine, Carol Mull, and Irene Moore Davis
Student Researchers: Karleigh Kochaniec and Willow Key
Special Guests: Carol Mull and Adrienne Shadd
A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Resistance, the Underground Railroad, and the Detroit River Region
The Essex County Black Historical Research Society, in partnership with the University of Windsor Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Department of History, will offer a free virtual symposium Saturday, March 26th, 9:30 am-12:30 pm EDT. This event will mark the end of the University of Windsor's EDID Week, which spans the period from March 21st (International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) to March 25th (International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.)
Hear from contributors to the groundbreaking volume A Fluid Frontier: Slavery, Resistance, and the Underground Railroad in the Detroit River Borderlands as they explore the historical significance of transnational freedom networks spanning the Detroit River region and why the Detroit River deserves international recognition/designation today. We will hear about what community and academic historians have learned about slavery, resistance, and the Underground Railroad in these borderlands in the five years since the publication of A Fluid Frontier, as well as more recent stories of African-descended peoples in the region.
EDID Week Information:
519-253-3000 ext. 2642
vpedi@uwindsor.ca