Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training
Addressing systemic anti-Black racism remains an ongoing priority for SSHRC. SSHRC’s commitment to dismantling barriers faced by Black scholars reflects a growing recognition in Canadian society that long-standing anti-Black racism is a root cause of quantifiable, systemic underrepresentation, inequality and exclusion.
In 2021, SSHRC’s Vice-President, Research, invited Black Canadian researchers and students to join the Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training. The findings and recommendations contained in their report will lay the foundation for a SSHRC action plan to address anti-Black racism in the Canadian social sciences and humanities research enterprise.
SSHRC is currently developing this action plan through an inclusive process that centres Black scholars and researchers, and also engages key institutional stakeholders.
Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training
In 2021, the Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training was created to advise the vice-president, Research, on ways to break down existing barriers, to ensure equitable access for Black scholars, and to amplify their voices and enhance their visibility in SSHRC research and research training programs.
The advisory committee was composed of 11 members from the Canadian community of Black researchers, representing the diversity of the community as closely as possible, including:
- one graduate student;
- a balanced representation of career stages, genders, francophones and anglophones, regions, social sciences and humanities fields, and those from small and large institutions;
- a mix of representatives from long-established Black communities in Canada and those representing different immigrant backgrounds (particularly, Caribbean and African); and
- international expertise.
The committee had five meetings between May 2021 and May 2022. The meetings were co-chaired by Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey, assistant professor, Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University and Karine Coen-Sanchez, doctoral candidate, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa.
Reports and publications
Report of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training
Towards an Action Plan
Based on the Report of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Advisory Committee to Address Anti-Black Racism in Research and Research Training
Members of the Advisory Committee, 2021-22
Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey (co-chair)
Assistant Professor, Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University
Karine Coen-Sanchez (co-chair)
Doctoral Candidate, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa
Adeniyi P. Asiyanbi
Assistant Professor, Human Geography, The University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus
Michael F. Charles
Associate Vice-President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Centennial College
Denise Ferreira da Silva
Professor and Director, The Social Justice Institute, and Senior Faculty Fellow, St John’s College, The University of British Columbia; and Adjunct Professor, Department of Fine Art, Monash University
Mamoudou Gazibo
Professor, Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal
Sulaimon Giwa
Assistant Professor and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, School of Social Work and Department of Sociology, Police Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland; and Endowed Chair in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, St. Thomas University
Barbara-Ann Hamilton-Hinch
Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, School of Health and Human Performance, and Assistant Vice-Provost, Equity and Inclusion, Dalhousie University
Rhonda McEwen
Canada Research Chair in Tactile Interfaces, Communication and Cognition; Vice-Principal, Academic, and Dean, University of Toronto Mississauga; and Professor, Emerging Media, Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, University of Toronto Mississauga
Barbara McNeil
Associate Professor, Language and Literacy, Faculty of Education, University of Regina
Félix Zogning Nguimeya
Associate Professor, Department of Accounting Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke
Dominique Bérubé (ex officio)
Vice-President, Research, SSHRC
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