Panel 1 – Disrupting Anti-Blackness and Eurocentrism: Reflections and Reactions

Olajide Salawu is from Nigeria. He was a Fulbright fellow at Fayetteville State University for 2019-2020 cohort. His essay have appeared or are forthcoming on Third Text, Muziki, JPAS, Popula, Cambridge Journal of Postcolonial Literary Inquiry and so on. He is the managing editor for Olongo Africa.

To read Olajide’s abstract on Racism with Small Kindness in post-Floyd America, please click here.

Alexandra Davis is a Black Woman. She is a marine ecologist. She is a conservation scientist. She spent her time as an early career scientist without a single Black teacher, adviser, or mentor to interact with. Her goal is to make sure that young scientists always have a role model to engage with. She uses a combination of diving, GIS, and spatial ecology to address issues with marine invasive species. She is a Liber Ero Fellow working on invasive European green crab removal in the Salish Sea.

To read Alexandra’s abstract on Twelve Principles Trainees, PIs, Departments, and Faculties Can Use to Reduce Bias and Discrimination in STEM, please click here.

Feisal Kirumira is a PhD student in Secondary Education (curriculum studies), University of Alberta. Feisal is the only Black university teacher of German in Canada and the only Black fulltime ATS lecturer at Augustana Campus. Feisal specializes in Afrocentric antiracist pedagogy, philosophical hermeneutics, and applied linguistics. Feisal co-founded the Diversity Working Group which spearheaded many antiracist and inclusivity initiatives at Augustana Campus. Feisal received the Augustana Sessional Teaching Award and Betty Ostenrud Award for Student Engagement. He is a member, Alberta Antiracism Advisory Council and Vice-Chair, Edmonton Antiracism Advisory Committee. Feisal delivers antiracism and inclusivity sessions in Canada and abroad.

To read Feisal’s abstract, please click here.

Joao Victor Krieger is a Ph.D. student in the program of Sociology at the University of Alberta.

To read Joao’s abstract on Eurocentrism, Academia and the Coloniality of Knowledge: an alternative, please click here.

Mary Olukotun is a first-year master’s student in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta and is an actively practicing registered nurse with Alberta Health Services. As a graduate student, she is interested in the lived experiences of African immigrants and issues affecting Black people in Canada. Her additional areas of study include health disparities and inequities, maternal and child health, and international nurse migration. Her work is influenced by the Social Ecological Model, Critical Theory, and Postcolonial Feminist Theory.

To read Mary’s abstract on Community as Self-Care: Sisterhood is Self-Preservation for Black Women in Graduate Study, please click here.