The effects of anti-Black racism on the lives of African Nova Scotians and the resistance of many to fight for change will be the important conversation taking place this year during the 12th annual Dr. Agnes Calliste African Heritage Lecture happening virtually at StFX on February 10th at 7 p.m.
Keynote speaker Dr. Barb Hamilton-Hinch, Associate Vice President of Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor, School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University, will build on this year’s African Heritage Month theme, Through Our Eyes: The Voices of African Nova Scotians, during her address.
“Understanding the history and contributions of African Nova Scotians is important,” says Dr. Hamilton-Hinch, who says she’s honoured to be invited to deliver the keynote address, in particular because of the long association she held with the late Dr. Calliste, which began when they were both Black Student Advisors at StFX and Dalhousie. The two had regular conversations and built a lasting relationship. Dr. Hamilton-Hinch says she’s also used a lot of Dr. Calliste’s seminal work in her own teaching.
In her address, she says she will talk about the history, the resistance and strength, and the contributions that African Nova Scotians have made, and will look at ways to address the inequity that still exists.
“It’s important to talk about the road we’ve gone and the achievements we’ve had, and the work still to do,” she says.
She says she hopes to make people more aware of how important it is for everyone to know of this history and be aware of ways to do things differently.
Organized by the StFX Sociology Department, the annual lecture honours the legacy of the late Dr. Agnes Calliste, activist and longtime StFX sociology professor.
This year’s event will include the Committee for Black and Aboriginal Student Success (CABSS) Black Leaders Awards, and remarks by Dr. Norine Verberg, Chair and Associate Professor, Sociology; Tara Reddick, Black Student Advisor; Dr. Wendy Mackey, Assistant Professor, Education: and Elizabeth Yeo, Vice President Students.
This event takes place online via Zoom. Please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_trbu7jGDSJuUkG8LlMjxKg
“Agnes was a power to behold, constantly energized and guided by her deep commitment to promote racial justice. You have to appreciate that Agnes extended her analysis to educate about racism beyond the classroom. She built relationships and bridges on campus and in the community to constantly promote racial justice. And she was fearless in her tenacity to expose racism in the community and academy,” Dr. Verberg says.
“When Agnes retired, the Sociology faculty wanted to do something significant to recognize her tremendous contributions. You have to appreciate that Agnes was steadfast in her commitment to expose and educate about racism and to celebrate Black cultures and accomplishments.”
Dr. Verberg says if you put Dr. Calliste’s work in historical context, you realize she was exposing racism in our culture and institutions and promoting racial justice at a time when race and racism were just becoming a part of national and international conversations.
The department decided to launch the lecture series because, every year, Dr. Calliste rallied faculty, students and community members to organize events that celebrated the accomplishments of Black and Indigenous scholars and change makers.
“Hosting an annual event named in her honour allows us to also celebrate her pathbreaking research on Black families in Canada and the racialized experiences of workers, such as Black railway porters and nurses who immigrated from the Caribbean. As well, few people realize that the StFX had some of the first courses on race in the country. This is because Dr. Calliste developed landmark courses on Black African Diaspora and race and intersectionality,” Dr. Verberg says.
“Dr. Calliste inspired her students to be critical, analytical thinkers, and she had an open-door policy for office hours with students welcome to come anytime. And they did. I fondly remember her challenging them and laughing with them or just asking ‘how are things at home?’ She recognized that Black students were pathbreakers too and that many faced significant barriers. To address this, she established and held a position, now called the Black Student Advisor, to provide advice and mentorship to Black students, and she was a founding member of the Committee on Aboriginal and Black Students to address how the university could do better to promote racial equity and justice.”
Dr. Barb Hamilton-Hinch is from the historical African Nova Scotian communities of Beechville and Cherrybrook. She is the mother of three boys. Dr. Hamilton-Hinch is currently employed at Dalhousie University as the Associate Vice President of Equity and Inclusion and an Associate Professor in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dalhousie University teaching in the Recreation and Leisure Studies Division as well as the Health Promotion Division. Her work examines the impact of structural, systemic and institutional racism on diverse populations, particularly people of African descent. At Dalhousie, Dr. Hamilton-Hinch holds a number of positions. She is the co-team lead for the Health of People of African Descent Research Cluster with Healthy Populations Institute, she is one of the founders of Imhotep Legacy Academy (ILA—a program developed to increase the number of students in science, technology, engineering and math), co-chair of Promoting Leadership in Health for African Nova Scotians (PLANS—a program to increase the number of students of African descent in health), co-chair of the Faculty of Health Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a number of other committees. She was previously employed as the Black Student Advisor at Dalhousie University, a position she was actively involved in developing in the late 1980s.
Dr. Agnes Calliste African Heritage Lecture Series: The lecture series is organized by the StFX Department of Sociology in honour of the legacy of Dr. Agnes Calliste. As noted in the Canadian Sociological Association's 'In Memoriam' following her death Fall 2018: "[Dr. Calliste's] scholarship focused on the complex interrelation of work, race, ethnicity and gender in Canada. Her ground-breaking research with African-Canadian railway porters and Caribbean-Canadian nurses explored previously unexamined dimensions of our social history. Dr. Calliste studied not only the institutionalized oppression of such communities, but also their organized resistance." The lecture is made possible with support from the Academic VP & Provost and Deans of Arts, and Deans of Science, Business and Education, Associate VP Research, and Canada Research Chair Health Equity and Social Justice.
The lecture is free of charge and open to the public. Members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend. ASL interpretation and live captioning will be provided. The lecture will be held online and recorded over Zoom.
