Noel Ransome / en 'Labour of love': 福利姬自慰prof takes multifaceted approach to exploring Black history in Canada /news/labour-love-u-t-prof-takes-multifaceted-approach-exploring-black-history-canada <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">'Labour of love': 福利姬自慰prof takes multifaceted approach to exploring Black history in Canada</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-10/BANNERAdams-Photography-UNESCO-conference005A0388.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=UcFbMAtL 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-10/BANNERAdams-Photography-UNESCO-conference005A0388.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=f8QgJ4gF 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-10/BANNERAdams-Photography-UNESCO-conference005A0388.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=jMZaeNnI 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-10/BANNERAdams-Photography-UNESCO-conference005A0388.jpg?h=81d682ee&amp;itok=UcFbMAtL" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-10-04T11:57:15-04:00" title="Friday, October 4, 2024 - 11:57" class="datetime">Fri, 10/04/2024 - 11:57</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Afua Cooper, a 福利姬自慰alumna and professor in 福利姬自慰Scarborough鈥檚 department of historical and cultural studies, is an expert on Black Canadian slavery and Black Canadian studies (supplied image)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noel-ransome" hreflang="en">Noel Ransome</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canadian-history" hreflang="en">Canadian History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/black" hreflang="en">Black</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">福利姬自慰Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Afua Cooper, an expert on Black Canadian slavery and Black Canadian studies, recently joined 福利姬自慰Scarborough</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Afua Cooper</strong> still vividly recalls being a recent immigrant to&nbsp;Canada in the 1980s and considering waitressing jobs at local restaurants in Toronto.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淵ou would walk into a place looking for work, and they wouldn鈥檛 even try to hide it,鈥 she says.&nbsp;鈥淭he woman just looked at me and said, 鈥業'm sorry, but we just don't want Jamaicans. You鈥檙e not the kind of people we want to hire.鈥欌<br> <br> During that time 鈥 and even today 鈥 Canada was considered by many to be what Cooper describes as 鈥減ost-racial-nice,鈥 having avoided the same depth and lasting racism found across the United States.</p> <p>But the reality was often very different.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭hese things still happened here 鈥&nbsp;not that long ago and even today 鈥&nbsp;though the language has changed so the actions don鈥檛 appear nearly as racist,鈥 says Cooper, an expert on Black Canadian slavery and Black Canadian studies who recently joined the department of historical and cultural studies at the University of Toronto Scarborough as a professor.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Cooper was raised in the Whithorn district of Westmoreland, Jamaica, in the post-independence era. Her parents, by comparison, had grown up under British colonialism.&nbsp;<br> <br> 鈥淚 guess the people at the Ministry of Education decided that little Black children should learn about themselves,鈥 says Cooper, who later became a founding member of an African Studies Club at Camperdown High School in East Kingston. 鈥淪o, I thankfully grew up with a strong notion of who I was.鈥<br> <br> By late 1980, having migrated to Toronto to pursue higher education, Cooper was fully dedicated to exploring history and the African diaspora as a 福利姬自慰undergraduate student 鈥 a time when the concept of Black studies was rare on Canadian university campuses.<br> <br> "When I was a student, the university resisted Black-focused curricula, and hiring Black faculty therefore felt superficial,鈥 says Cooper. 鈥淣ow, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://brn.utoronto.ca">Black Research Network</a>, Black faculty caucus, and dedicated programs for Black students, the commitment to diversity feels genuine 鈥&nbsp;and I鈥檓 glad to be a part of it.鈥</p> <p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#485667">Cooper, a scholar fluent in different mediums, is an award-winning author who has published 13 books spanning genres that include history, poetry, children鈥檚 literature and fiction.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span><br> <br> Cooper likens her educational approach to making gumbo: 鈥淚 put everything into it 鈥&nbsp;though as a vegan, it鈥檚 strictly plant-based 鈥&nbsp;representing the Black diaspora,鈥 she says. 鈥淭eaching isn鈥檛 a single trajectory, it鈥檚 about sharing the joys of Black culture and the multifaceted nature of our struggles.鈥</p> <p><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#485667">For example, in 2021 Cooper led a three-year project,&nbsp;</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Aptos&quot;,sans-serif"><a href="https://www.blackpeopleshistory.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#2868a0">A Black People鈥檚 History of Canada</span></span></span></span></a></span></span></span><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Open Sans&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#485667">, that received over $1 million in grant funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage. The aim is to cover Black Canadian history from 1604 onward with the help of 13 researchers who have catalogued records across Canada, from British Columbia to Newfoundland.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></p> <p>"Teachers often say, 'I'd like to teach Black history, but I can't find anything,' which is frustrating," says Cooper. "Now there are no excuses; we're writing curricula and guides with school boards, and we've partnered with government agencies responsible for education. It鈥檚 been a true labour of love."<br> <br> For Cooper, returning to 福利姬自慰is as much an opportunity to share her work with like-minded visionaries as it is a homecoming.<br> <br> 鈥淚 went into labour twice at Robarts library, once with each of my daughters,鈥 she says with a laugh.&nbsp;</p> <p>鈥淭hey both spent a lot of time there when they were younger, so I鈥檓 thrilled to be back to showcase a history of African and Black people that has been so trampled upon and denied. For me, this is my purpose 鈥 to restore and share that history.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 04 Oct 2024 15:57:15 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 309710 at