Black History Month may be over, but Black people continually play an important role in society, no matter where we live. I am constantly reminded that this observance is neither new nor taken as a given by the Black community. Originally established as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson, a public-school teacher and historian, it was born from demands by the people for recovering Black heritage and correcting the injurious, false narratives that shaped American society as well as global perceptions of people of African descent. Woodson profoundly understood the link between knowledge production and systemic racism, famously writing “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.” Black History Month has become an international commemoration, celebrated during the month of February in countries including the US, Canada and Germany, and in October in the UK and Ireland.
In my work as an academic leader, particularly during my time in Montréal, I have been starkly reminded of how deep the roots of the African diaspora are embedded in the history of many countries. Canada is often painted as a tolerant haven compared to the United States, but Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary, True North, shatters this myth of Canadian “niceness.” The film chronicles the 1969 Sir George Williams Affair in Montreal—the largest student protest against anti-Black racism in Canadian history. When students at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia University) realized the administration would do nothing about a biology professor with a documented history of racist grading practices, they took matters into their own hands. Over 200 students, both Black and white, occupied the university’s computer lab for two weeks. The peaceful sit-in ended in a destructive fire, a riot squad raid, and the violent arrest of 97 protesters.
The students in 1969 embodied a refusal to accept the apathy of an institution that protected its own over the safety and fairness owed to its Black students. Yet, fighting the status quo can leave deep scars. In True North, Rodney John, one of the key leaders of the protest, shares that it took him 35 years to reconcile the pieces of his life after the events. This underscores the profound, lasting harm of systemic racism and the heavy burden placed on those who stand up to it. On October 28, 2022 I watched as Concordia University’s President, Graham Carr, apologized for the events that changed the lives of so many Black students, and still has an impact today.
From Empathy to Action: Diversifying the Ivory Tower
I have spent decades navigating and dismantling the exclusionary practices of the ivory tower. My recent work at McGill University—just a short distance from the site of the 1969 protests—stands as a profound testament to the power of actionable initiatives to address anti-Black racism. When McGill launched its Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism in the fall of 2020, the university had a mere 12 Black faculty members out of 1700 faculty. Serving as an advisor to the Provost on this Action Plan, I leveraged my position to institutionalize change. We actively challenged the traditional arguments of “merit” that often mask systemic bias. When we purposefully sought out Black candidates, the excuses about a “lack of talent” disappeared, and thanks to these efforts, we grew the number of Black faculty to more than three-fold by the spring of 2024.
I always emphasize that increasing faculty diversity fundamentally transforms the institution’s curriculum and the student experience. All of my students are learning something different and new when they walk into my classroom because I am coming at it from a different perspective than many of their professors. There are entire bodies of literature that simply would not exist or be taught if people of color and women were not in these academic spaces doing the work.
However, I must also be transparent about the toll this work takes. Just as the activists in True North faced harassment and immense backlash, there is a profound “invisible emotional labor” required today to constantly push against the status quo, to deal with institutional resistance, and to serve as a shock absorber for diverse students seeking guidance. In my 2025 book, Reckoning: Creating Positive Change Through Radical Empathy, I champion the necessity of vulnerability and self-care. We cannot effectively care for others, bridge racial divides, or sustain a movement without first caring for ourselves.
Carter G. Woodson envisioned a time when Black history would be so thoroughly integrated into educational curricula that a separate month would no longer be necessary. My work to diversify the professoriate is a direct continuation of that mission. I hope my work—and the even braver stories highlighted in True North—remind you that acknowledging history is only the first step. We must move from empathy to action. We all have a vital role to play in building a world where everyone can thrive.