Since January 2015 I’ve had the great privilege of organizing the Radical Imagination Film and Discussion Series at the Central Branch Library in downtown Halifax. This series emerged out of the Radical Imagination Project, a social movement research project that began in 2010 with the goal of working with social movements to stimulate and circulate […]
The problem with meritocracy: it destroys our humanity
Morning File, Wednesday, June 12, 2019
News 1. Studenting While Black “On June 2, Black graduate student Shelby McPhee was accused by two white women of stealing a laptop while he was attending the Black Canadian Studies Association session at the 88th annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held at the University of British Columbia,” writes El Jones: The white […]
Studenting While Black: another example of calling the cops on Black people for simply existing
Despite the outsize media coverage devoted to the idea that universities are filled with Black and brown people oppressing the free speech of white men, in fact, universities remain overwhelmingly hostile to Black people.
On June 2, Black graduate student Shelby McPhee was accused by two white women of stealing a laptop while he was attending the Black Canadian Studies Association session at the 88th annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held at the University of British Columbia. The white women, Congress attendees, asked to see proof that […]
We the North: Black lives only matter when they are shooting a basketball
In Ottawa, one of the legal advocates for the Elizabeth Fry Society tells me that the Human Rights Commission refused to speak with Black gay women in prison. E. Fry filed a complaint that argues that Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) discriminates on the grounds of sex, race, ethnicity, and mental disability in its programming […]
A White People’s Guide to Black History Month
It’s February, the most dangerous month of the year for free speech and free expression in Canada. A good way to start off the month if you’re white is by a bunch of white people having a conversation among themselves about how important it is to have a conversation about whether blackface is racist or […]
When You See That Cop Light Bling, That Can Only Mean One Thing
Morning File, Saturday, July 7, 2018
1. Welcome to Waterville: Still a Jail Hey, looking for something for your child to do this summer? Why not send them to the Nova Scotia Youth Centre (Waterville)? Why not? It’s a “fabulous place” according to this video. I’m sure the people who work there are very dedicated, and there is something to be […]
Police street check data shows we need more journalists, more news organizations
There may be few surprises in what the CBC uncovered in the Halifax police data, but that doesn’t make gathering and reporting the information less relevant or important. And, for that, we need journalists...
On October 24, 2016, CBC Halifax journalist Phlis McGregor happened to hear an interview on As It Happens about a York University research study that analyzed two years of Ottawa police data. Between 2013 and 2015, the report said, police there pulled over nearly 82,000 drivers for mostly routine checks. The data showed Middle Eastern...
On domestic violence, PTSD, and the culture of war: Examineradio, episode #96
This week we speak with Mount Allison sociologist Ardath Whynacht and Halifax Examiner columnist, academic and activist El Jones about the public discussion surrounding the triple murder-suicide that rocked Halifax two weeks ago. Many media outlets were quick to seize on Lionel Desmond’s military service and concluded that PTSD explained the horrific violence he committed without looking […]
The fraught relationship between PTSD and violence: Morning File, Monday, January 9, 2017
News 1. PTSD and domestic violence “There are a lot of questions that don’t get asked about violence against women,” Lucille Harper, the executive director of the Antigonish Women’s Resource Centre, tells the CBC, which had asked Harper about the apparent murder of Shanna Desmond, Aaliyah Desmond, and Brenda Desmond by Lionel Desmond: What we saw here clearly […]
Local goons: Examineradio, episode #77
This week we speak with Rhiannon Makohoniuk, the Dalhousie Student Union’s Vice-President Internal, about the university’s decision not to fully fund the nascent Sexual Assault Hotline. The university claims that, based on a report they won’t release to the public, the partial funding they offered was adequate. But who needs safe students when you can send billionaires […]