By Pascal Zamprelli
To mark Black History Month, McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office will host a one-day conference, Black Histories, Black Futures on Sat., Feb. 12, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bronfman Building.
Filmmakers, community workers, scholars, students and artists will convene to highlight the diversity and complex realities of our black communities.
Johanne Magliore of Québec’s Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse will discuss racial profiling in the opening keynote, which will be followed by panel discussions on issues like discrimination, community work and health issues in the black community, as well as workshops on poetry and storytelling. The conference will also feature two film screenings: Shadeism addresses discrimination between lighter-skinned and darker-skinned members of the same community, and Beyond Labels examines what it means to be black and gay in the UK.
The closing plenary, Remembering the Sir George Williams Affair: Black Montreal from the Sixties to present, will revisit an important turning point in Montreal’s black community that profoundly shapes the present.
For more info visit: www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/black_histories.