When Edward Thomas, Sc鈥06, MASc鈥12, learned that the Queen鈥檚 School of Medicine had banned all 15 of its black students 100 years ago, his instinct was to learn more about those students.
A veteran journalist who now serves as Assistant Director of Industry Partnerships at Queen鈥檚, Thomas first discovered the story while conducting research for the Principal鈥檚 Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (PICRDI). 鈥淚 became curious and I decided to roll up my sleeves and investigate a little further,鈥 he says.
What he learned 鈥 through hours of sifting through public documents and the Queen鈥檚 Archives -- is that the students didn鈥檛 let the expulsion stop them from living productive, and in many cases, extraordinary lives. 鈥淭hey endured something very painful and difficult and many of them went on to become prominent physicians and social and political leaders,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hey demonstrated incredible resilience.鈥
Resilience just happens to be the theme of this year鈥檚 Black History Month activities at Queen鈥檚. 鈥淎 common theme for a lot of black people is learning from our experiences and growing and developing in the face of oppression,鈥 says Asha Gordon, Artsci鈥18, President of the Queen鈥檚 Black Academic Society (QBAS). 鈥淩esilience is an important part of who we are.鈥
鈥淲e chose it as our theme because black people haven鈥檛 always had the easiest time, but we seem to come out of our struggles stronger,鈥 says Elorm Vowotor, Artsci鈥18, President of the African Caribbean Students Association (ACSA).
As part of its Black History Month celebrations, ACSA has invited Thomas to explore the resilience theme by sharing the fruits of his research and telling the students鈥 stories on the 100th anniversary of their expulsion. 鈥淚t is historically important that we鈥檙e doing this under the auspices of ACSA,鈥 Thomas says, explaining that ACSA鈥檚 predecessor, the West Indies Club, was one of the few organizations on campus to take up the students鈥 cause.
Thomas says he looks forward to sharing what he鈥檚 learned. 鈥淭hese people are superb role models. They lived extraordinary lives,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 think people will be surprised when they hear some of their stories.鈥
His presentation is slated for Thursday, February 15th at 6:00 p.m. at Robert Sutherland Hall (check the Queen's Black Academic Society for details).
Black History Month 2018 activities at Queen鈥檚 were supported by the Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Inclusion) and the Alma Mater Society. Funding was provided to and to help foster diversity and inclusion within the Queen鈥檚 community, in keeping with the 2017 Principal鈥檚 Implementation Committee on Racism, Diversity, and Inclusivity (PICRDI) final report.
