All tagged Commentary

Thinking Beyond 'Black Excellence'

Thinking Beyond 'Black Excellence'

Cheryl Thompson
Community, History, University

I completely understand the logic behind Black Excellence — Black people, especially students are underrepresented, under acknowledged, and often are made to feel like outsiders at universities, especially in Canada where universities are still predominantly White. However, when you only celebrate a people’s accomplishments and ignore the challenges they have had to endure, and systemic realities they lived (and continue to live) through, Black Excellence becomes the veil that shields us from seeing how our systems and institutions are still rooted in White supremacist notions of “success”.

We Need to Talk about How We Communicate at Our Universities

We Need to Talk about How We Communicate at Our Universities

Cheryl Thompson
Black Women, Canada, Community, University

It is a uniquely challenging time to be employed or a student at a university, especially if you are Black woman or a student(s) with divergent opinions. From the high profile firing of Claudine Gay at Harvard and its aftermath, to the tragic suicide of Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey, Vice President of Student Affairs at Lincoln University, to the Toronto Star’s investigation into my own university’s Law School and the student letter in support of Palestine, where there's a bad news story, institutions of higher learning are in it.

The Wealth Gap Existed Long Before COVID-19

The Wealth Gap Existed Long Before COVID-19

Cheryl Thompson

While the headlines have repeatedly told us that “everyone” is being affected by the pandemic, and as such the “playing field is now levelled,” it is extremely urgent that we not forget the policy decisions of the last few years that might not have gotten us into the economic crisis that we’re in, but that have made the effects of COVID-19 unequally felt.