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Black community members are invited to share their vision as Queen’s University determines how to implement the Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion.

The Blacktalk Sessions began during Black Histories and Futures Month in February. At its conclusion, a total of eight consultation sessions will be held, with the final discussion taking place April 9.

Each three-hour session is open to Black students, staff, and faculty at Queen’s as well as members of the Kingston Black community. Sessions are broken down by topic, which were identified by the working groups pursuing the implementation of the Scarborough Charter at Queen’s in 2022. Attendees review the existing goals related to topics like representation, research and post-doctoral success, teaching, learning, and community engagement. Once they’ve reviewed the goals, they are asked to openly share, dream, and reflect on how the can best be integrated into the Queen’s ethos. Once the consultations are complete, findings will be packaged into a report and shared with senior leadership. 

“When Black students, staff, and faculty choose to put their trust into an institution, they do so envisioning a campus community that is welcoming, while sincerely invested in their success and wellbeing,” says Stephanie Simpson, Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion). “The Scarborough Charter lays a path that campuses across Canada can follow, creating an atmosphere that is conducive to and true to equity and diversity.”

Queen’s became a signatory of the Scarborough Charter in November 2021 and soon after created multiple working groups to focus on the charter’s priorities. As the title suggests, the charter is a tool for post-secondary educational institutions to address anti-Black discrimination, while also promoting Black inclusion. The Scarborough Charter is based on four foundational principles: Black flourishing; inclusive excellence; mutuality; and accountability. According to the Charter, the proper application of the four principles is expected to guide the “letter and spirit of all university, college, and sector-wide policy making and action.”

“It is important that members of the Black community at Queen’s and in Kingston have a voice in how the four principles of the Charter are implemented here,” says Lavonne Hood, Associate Vice-Principal (Human Rights, Equity, and Inclusion), who has served as co-lead of the Scarborough Charter’s Teaching, Learning and Student Success Working Group at Queen’s and attends the Blacktalk sessions. 

Facilitator, Tianna Edwards, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator at the Yellow House, says it has been a special time for community members to feel affirmed when they gather and share ideas. 

“Students have shared that they appreciate learning they aren’t alone in their experiences when they hear staff and faculty members reflect and share similar ideas for Black inclusion on campus,” Edwards says.

Sessions are hosted by the Office of the Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion), Yellow House, and Queen's Human Rights and Equity Office.

For more information, email Tianna Edwards (tre@queensu.ca) or the Human Rights and Equity Office (hrights@queensu.ca).

Blacktalk Dates and Locations

All sessions are open to Black staff, faculty, students, and Black community members.

March 20 (Session 5)
Topic: Community Representation (includes discussion of the working groups’ identified goals touching upon ‘Black representation, anti-Black racism, mentorship, recruitment, etc.’)
Time: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Location: B176, Macintosh-Corry Building

March 26 (Session 6)
Topic: Community Engagement (includes discussion of the working groups’ identified goals touching upon ‘Black community connections, partnerships with Black organizations, career progression’)
Time: 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Location: Pedal Works Café & Studios, 1412 Princess St.  

April 3 (Session 7)
Topic: Research (includes discussion of the working group identified goals touching upon ‘sponsorship for Black faculty, supporting Black intellectual excellence, Black staff participation in research, research leadership’)
Time: Noon - 3 pm
Location: Yellow House, 140 Stuart St. 

April 9 (Session 8)
Topic: Teaching, Learning & Student Success (success includes discussion of the working group identified goals touching upon ‘Black spaces, acknowledgements, bursaries/scholarships, outreach’)
Time: 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Location: Black Liberation Commons, Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 301