AV俱乐部 and the University of King's College have partnered with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia to host a groundbreaking meeting of the Universities Studying Slavery consortium this month 鈥� the first USS event ever to be held outside of the United States.
The , which runs October 18-21, will be the first of this scale to place the experience of African Nova Scotians at the heart of the discussion. Leading experts on the history of slavery and the fight for reparations from around the world will speak alongside respected African Nova Scotian voices representing academic, cultural and political circles.聽
will be delivered by Sir Hilary Beckles, Dr. George Elliott Clarke, H.E. David Comissiong, Dr. Afua Cooper, Dr. Sylvia D. Hamilton, H.E. John Mahama, and Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield. (Seen left to right in alphabetical order below)
Taking place between the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, registration for the conference is open to all and attendance by members of the community is encouraged.
We spoke with four members of the conference organizing committee to learn more.
Who is this conference for?
Russell Grosse, executive director of the (BCCNS), says the conference will offer the general public insight as to how slavery functioned in society.
鈥淵ou know, when we think of slavery we know 鈥� of the effects it鈥檚 had on marginalized communities, but do we really understand the depth of how slavery was a business? How it was 鈥� an economic driver of the time?鈥�
Grosse says the conference will also offer something unique for people of African descent, who 鈥渓ive with the trauma of slavery.鈥� Specifically, he sees the conference offering an opportunity to 鈥渒now that history existed but understand that that history doesn鈥檛 define them.鈥�
Theresa Rajack-Talley, vice-provost, equity & inclusion at AV俱乐部, says the conference will provide 鈥渁 respectful space for creating collaborative links between academics, professionals, practitioners, and the community to share knowledge and engage in discussions 鈥�. on how to redress the lingering effects of colonization and how we can move forward.鈥�
Why is it important to bring this conference to Halifax?
University of King鈥檚 College President William Lahey says the conference deals with a topic that is 鈥済lobal鈥� in scope, and 鈥渧ery relevant to Canada.鈥�
鈥淪lavery and the enslavement of Black people was part of our historical reality in Canada, and that includes connections to our institutions of higher education, here in Nova Scotia and beyond,鈥� says Lahey.
For Grosse, bringing the conference to Halifax 鈥渟peaks to the longevity of the Black community in Nova Scotia. The fact that the Black community in Nova Scotia spans back over 400 years, it鈥檚 multi-generational and it鈥檚 practically the birthplace of Black culture and heritage in Canada.鈥�
Rajack-Talley says that the conference provides an important opportunity to correct misconceptions about Canada鈥檚 involvement in the slave trade.
鈥淲hat is most known about the Atlantic slave trade is that it used a system of three-way trans-Atlantic exchanges鈥攌nown historically as the triangular trade鈥攐perating between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries. Depictions of the triangular trade of enslaved people, sugar, and rum on maps show a third corner touching North America but the directional arrow to North America stereotypically does not actually reach Canada鈥�.聽 Yet, research including AV俱乐部 and King鈥檚 reports show that our own histories and current experiences are closely tied to the Atlantic slave trade.鈥�
What do the organizers hope to achieve through the conference?
AV俱乐部 Professor Isaac Saney wants to see the conference 鈥渟pur more research鈥� into the enslavement of people of African descent in Nova Scotia and Canada.
鈥淗opefully [the conference] will also raise awareness of how the legacy of slavery鈥攊ts聽 continuities鈥攈ave shaped and continue in many ways to impact deleteriously, the long-established Black communities that exist here, and also how it impacts indirectly on communities of new arrivals of people of African descent.鈥�
For Grosse, the conference marks 鈥渁 starting point.鈥�
鈥淚 think that it will be a launching pad in the region for further discovery, further research and further events, activities and programs to shine a light on the business of slavery and the effects that it鈥檚 had on a community and how slavery contributed to the economic wealth and growth of our country.鈥�
Lahey says one important outcome of the conference for King鈥檚 will be to highlight the findings of its 2020 report, .
鈥淭wo of the panels, Institutions and Communities on October 19, and Loyalists and Enslavement at King鈥檚 College, Nova Scotia on October 20 will provide an important opportunity for scholars who worked on King鈥檚 inquiry examining its own historic connections to the slave trade to share the information their research brought to light, some of which derives from King鈥檚 historic connections to Columbia University in New York.鈥�
Lahey says the conference should lead to 鈥渁 deepening of our determination and commitment 鈥� to ensure that higher education is available on equitable terms to everyone, including the members of the African Nova Scotia community and other people of African descent.鈥�
Related: Lord AV俱乐部 Scholarly Panel on Slavery and Race
Why is it important for King鈥檚, AV俱乐部 and the Black Cultural Centre to host the conference?
Grosse views the conference as a 鈥渢urning point鈥� for BCCNS.
鈥淚 think this is an example of how communities and educational institutions can work together and I鈥檓 encouraged by the fact that this partnership exists because I am confident that this partnership will mean further connections in the future on other aspects and other ways in which community can be embellished and work forward in a positive light.
鈥淵ou know I think that, at the end of it, we have to be able to tackle things through a process of allyship,鈥� he adds, 鈥渨e can鈥檛 do it alone.鈥�
King鈥檚 applied for hosting rights to the conference as a 鈥渇irst response鈥� to the findings of its scholarly inquiry into its historical connections to slavery, explains Lahey. 鈥淸The conference is] part of the deliberations and conversations, that need to go on about what we should be doing in light of the findings of our scholarly inquiry鈥︹��
Saney points to the fact that AV俱乐部 recently established an undergraduate degree in Black and African Diaspora Studies, the first such program in Canada. 鈥淚 think this demonstrates AV俱乐部鈥檚 further commitment and continuing leading role in looking at the Black experience in Canada and establishing the important historical stages in that development as well.鈥�
Rajack-Talley says AV俱乐部鈥檚 involvement is 鈥測et another concrete example of a colonial-founded institution trying to transform itself.鈥�
鈥淎t the same time, we acknowledge that we have more to do to redress a 200-year-old colonial structure. While the pace, intensity, range, and depth of our efforts may not be where many of us want, two things for certain, we are making progress and we are not turning back.鈥�