The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) released a statement to the public on August 28 detailing their investigation into the incident of anti-black racial profiling that occurred on June 2, 2019 on the UBC campus. The independent investigation confirmed that a Congress attendee was discriminated against on the basis of race and has banned the scholar who committed the discrimination for a minimum of three years, with five conditions for his return. This comes on the heels of Congress recently changing the theme of the 2020 Congress, which is now Bridging Divides: Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism. The full statement and conditions can be read here.
The Black Canadian Studies Association (BCSA) released a statement on August 14 that can be found on their Twitter page (@BlkCdnSA), detailing, “We have now reached a beginning: an opportunity to expand and deepen efforts toward the ‘decolonization’ of higher education through becoming accountable to Black students, academics, and local communities.” CACLALS continues to stand in solidarity with Shelby McPhee and the BCSA against anti-black racism. We hope that our upcoming conference in 2020 will be an opportunity for thinking through ways of going forward with the BCSA’s direction in mind. CACLALS is currently drafting its CFP and expects to share more news in early September.