Jalana Lewis is thrilled to be Dal鈥檚 first director of African Nova Scotian community engagement, a role she began in September.
鈥淚 knew I would return home to Halifax permanently one day and I couldn鈥檛 be more excited to take on a role that involves building stronger connections between the province鈥檚 African Nova Scotian community and Dal,鈥� says Lewis.
The inaugural role grew out of an early recommendation arising from the work of Dal鈥檚 African Nova Scotian Strategy Working Group and supported by its Advisory Council. Both are made up of leaders from the African Nova Scotian community working in various roles on campus and throughout the province.
As director, Lewis will play an institutional leadership role in the implementation of the African Nova Scotian Strategy on campus. She will support the access and success of African Nova Scotian students, staff and faculty at AV俱乐部 while helping to build stronger relationships between the university and community.
鈥淥n behalf of AV俱乐部鈥檚 African Nova Scotian Strategy, we鈥檙e proud that our Working Group and Advisory Council are established, and we warmly welcome Jalana, who thinks critically, engages thoughtfully, and is deeply connected to her African Nova Scotian people, says Michelle Williams, Provost Fellow in the Schulich School of Law and Chair of Dal鈥檚 African Nova Scotian Strategy. 鈥淲e look forward to collaborating with her to deepen understanding of African Nova Scotians as a distinct people as recognized in AV俱乐部鈥檚 Proclamation of the UN Decade for People of African Descent.鈥� 听
African Nova Scotians are a distinct people and their history dates to the early 1600s and includes the Black Loyalists (1780s), the Jamaican Maroons (1796) and the Black Refugees (1813鈥�1816). Today, there are approximately 22,000 African Nova Scotians living in the province. They represent 2.4 per cent of the total Nova Scotia population and 37.3 per cent of the racially visible population in Nova Scotia.
A journey back to Dal
Lewis is a AV俱乐部 alum, but her path to the university was anything but direct.
鈥淚n high school, when it came time to choose universities to apply to, I wasn鈥檛 sure that AV俱乐部 was a place for me as a young African Nova Scotian woman and didn鈥檛 apply to the school.鈥� Fast forward six years later and active recruitment efforts through Dal鈥檚 Indigenous Blacks & Mi鈥檏maq Initiative led to her joining the Schulich School of Law in 2010.
鈥淚t is through resourced initiatives, dedicated faculty and staff that I came to feel I too belonged at one of Canada鈥檚 oldest universities,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y time on campus as a law student was full of eye-opening academic and extra-curricular experiences. I want to make sure that those same opportunities are afforded to more African Nova Scotians looking to pursue higher education in the province鈥�
Lewis, who served as valedictorian in her 2013 graduating Schulich Law class, knew a career in social justice policy work, coupled with community activism, was the right path for her. After working in human rights law, she began a career as a non-practising lawyer collaborating with various NGOs, universities and government offices. Legal policy, archival research and project management 鈥� all of it grounded in community advocacy 鈥� has kept her busy since leaving Dal Law.
Lewis has spent much of her career working to help uplift voices of African Nova Scotians and BIPOC communities in Canada. In 2016 she managed the municipal campaign of Lindell Smith, who became Halifax鈥檚 first African Nova Scotian city councillor in 18 years. Lewis also oversaw a project funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario that sought to increase access to justice for BIPOC applicants in the province participating in administrative tribunal processes.
Now, she returns to Dal and joins Cathy Martin, Dal鈥檚 new director of Indigenous community engagement, and the Human Rights & Equity Services team led by Theresa Rajack-Talley, vice-provost of equity and inclusion.
Lennett J Anderson, senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church and a community member on the AV俱乐部 African Nova Scotian Advisory Council, says he is ecstatic that Lewis is joining the team at AV俱乐部.
鈥淗er extensive experience in community relations, advocacy and inclusion will serve听our people听well as she seeks to address systemic barriers, promote a sense of belonging, and enhance academic opportunities for persons within our听African Nova Scotian听communities,鈥� says Rev. Dr. Anderson.听鈥淭he development of this strategy will surely prove beneficial for many who have historically been overlooked and excluded. This is a significant stride in the right direction.鈥�
A foundation built on history
Three decades ago, AV俱乐部鈥檚 then-president, Howard Clarke, commissioned the innovative report entitled, . The report focused on the concerns of Indigenous Black and Mi鈥檏maw people in Nova Scotia and was released in the same year as the report on the Royal Commission on the Wrongful Prosecution of Donald Marshall Jr.
Both documents helped lay the foundation for access, equity and inclusion at AV俱乐部. The African Nova Scotian Strategy incorporates and builds upon these two seminal reports.
Lewis had a hand in a more recent Dal report that offers further insight into the history of racial discrimination against African Nova Scotians: she was lead researcher for the Report on Lord AV俱乐部鈥檚 History on Slavery and Race.
鈥淚n that role I travelled to archival institutions in the United Kingdom, Ottawa and also right here in Nova Scotia,鈥� she explains. 鈥淒uring my research I found and cataloged historic documents that illustrate how perceptions and policies of colonial leaders, such as Lord AV俱乐部, aided in the cementing of anti-Black attitudes and policies which continue to negatively impact the African Nova Scotian community鈥�
Now, during her three-year term as director of African Nova Scotian community engagement, Lewis is set to work with the AV俱乐部 and African Nova Scotian communities to meaningfully consult, collaborate and implement new initiatives that help make the university a more welcoming place for African Nova Scotian students, staff and faculty.
鈥淢y recent work as Knowledge Lead with the African Nova Scotian Youth Employment Lab, which focused on disproportionate unemployment rates among young Black people in the province, underscored the importance of equitable access to institutions of higher learning for members of historically marginalized communities,鈥� she says.
鈥淚f young African Nova Scotians are employed at lower rates than their white counterparts, we must also examine whether the same systemic trends exist within university settings. Similarly, representation of African Nova Scotians within staff and faculty positions on campus also needs to be considered. It鈥檚 so important for students to see themselves reflected throughout the university at all levels.鈥�