Wednesday, 30 September 2020

Research Project About Racialized Midwives in Canada Launches Website

 By Neil Armstrong


Photo contributed   Dr. Karline Wilson-Mitchell, Director of the School of Midwifery, Ryerson University


 

A website to support a groundbreaking research project to uncover the history of racialized midwives in Canada was recently launched in Toronto.

 

The virtual event showcased the Colour of Birth website -- 

https://www.ryerson.ca/colour-of-birth/ -- which is a part of the Canadian Midwives of Colour History Project (CMOCHP), initiated in the fall of 2019 by Dr. Karline Wilson-Mitchell, a midwife, associate professor and director of the School of Midwifery at Ryerson University.

 

The project is motivated by the desires of racialized midwifery students to know the history of racialized midwives in Canada.  

 

“The purpose of the website is to keep the public abreast of the work we

are doing as we continue to unearth narratives of racialized midwives.

There is a dearth in the current scholarship and besides the archival

research we are conducting, our hope is that the website will inspire people

to contact us and provide us with information and spread the word about our

project,” says co-investigator Dr. Karen C. Flynn, associate professor in the Departments of Gender and Women's Studies and African-American Studies and associate chair in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 

 

The revelation of these stories and representations of midwives of colour in the historical text could empower racialized students, inform practice and midwifery curriculum, notes Wilson-Mitchell who has been practicing midwifery since 1992 and has been teaching in the Ryerson Midwifery Education Program since 2008.

 

“The process of mining for facts and truth, unveils amazing stories of resilience and advocacy in Canada's earliest racialized immigrant and refugee communities.  The project is consequently an act of social justice or healing for the student researchers,” says the professor who is passionate about reproductive justice that informs midwifery education, practice and global partnerships.

 

 Since 1992, her clinical work grew from the U.S. (urban and rural) to Canada (Ontario, remote Quebec) and then to midwifery education and leadership building in the Global South (Jamaica, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, South Sudan).

 

 Her scholarship explores the skills and infrastructure necessary to diversify the midwifery workforce and to explore strategies that facilitate equitable and inclusive work environments for midwives and vulnerable populations. 

 

Her goal is to promote resilience and sagacity in vulnerable midwifery students.  

 

Joining Dr. Wilson-Mitchell and Dr. Flynn to execute the project are collaborators: Cyrus Sundar Singh of the Communication and Culture Department at Ryerson University, Dr. May Friedman of the School of Social Work at Ryerson, Dr. Megan Davies of Social Science, York University, and Dr. Margaret MacDonald of Anthropology, York University.

 

“I'm excited to be involved in this project. In my book, Moving Beyond

Borders:  A History of Black Canadian and Caribbean Women in the Diaspora,

most of the nurses I interviewed were also midwives. They were unable to

practice due to a prohibition against midwifery in Canada. This project

builds on the work that I have already done,” says Dr. Flynn.

 

 

In their application to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the federal research funding agency, for a grant for the project, which was approved, the team notes that midwives of colour in Canadian settler communities of the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century are not represented in the historical record.

 

“Many of these midwives were enslaved African refugees and indentured worker immigrants, and our goal is to trace and examine their histories. CHOCHP’s objective is to document and analyse the history of racialized midwives in Canada and their roles in the communities they served.”

 

The first phase of this work, a pilot study for which they sought support, focuses on Black midwives in Ontario and Nova Scotia between 1800 and 1970.

 

They hypothesize that a number of factors contributed to the erasure of Black midwives such as de facto segregation, which might have impacted the ability to train and practice in facilities.

 

“Once birth moved from homes into hospitals, Black families were unable to retain their midwives, stripping communities of their cultural practices. This also disrupted the midwives’ traditional role as keepers of healing knowledge.”


Photo contributed   Dr. Karen Flynn, Associate Professor, Departments of Gender 
 and Women's Studies and African-American Studies and associate chair in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 


 

Their method of rediscovering this lost history will be to compile relevant genealogical and census data, conduct research at local and provincial museums and archives, and interview seniors who witnessed or hold stories of midwifery care by Black midwives.

 

They plan to initiate and complete the pilot study by undertaking additional activities such as, “identify community partners and knowledge holders and build relationships with them.”

 

Also in the pipeline are plans for a multimedia communication platform to disseminate their research to the public, midwifery community, educators and students.

 

“The paucity of historical research on Black midwives motivates the project. Present-day Black midwives and students lament the lack of documented history. This epistemological lacuna further disenfranchises Black health care providers, and childbearing people in Canada.

 

“The project both draws and builds on studies of racialized communities. In this respect, the rationale for this study is the absence of documented histories of midwifery and childbirth that can also inform and positively disrupt the current narrow constellation of settler midwifery,” the application states.

 

As an example, the team notes that in Canada’s current midwifery landscape, major Canadian cities are increasingly diverse, for example, 49.8% of Torontonians identify as racialized and 48.61% as immigrants; yet white women remain the primary subjects of midwifery scholarship and practice.

 

“Using critical anti-oppressive and Black Canadian feminist analyses that consider the intersection of race, class, gender, nation, and age, CMOCHP places midwives of colour and their clients at the center of analysis, where we take seriously their knowledge, practices, values, experiences, and perceptions.

 

“We are attentive to birth attendants, birth customs and beliefs. Moreover, we interrogate questions of legitimacy as it relates to Black midwives’ credentials and access to health resources for their communities,” says the team, noting that also of significance are the reports by Black immigrants of their dissatisfaction with the childbearing experience.

 

The research team underscores how, despite the intersecting oppressions that Black midwives face, they emerge as agents of change who find creative ways to resist oppression.

 

They note that this groundbreaking project is both timely and relevant. It incorporates the tenets of interprofessional learning where student research assistants and faculty of multiple disciplines will learn with, from and about each other.

 

“It not only fills a gap in the midwifery scholarship and makes visible the contributions of racialized midwives; the project will also empower students and practitioners of colour in all disciplines,” notes the grant application.

 

It says the most significant knowledge users will be midwifery students and faculty across Canada since findings will inform midwifery curriculum.

 

The team also noted that heritage foundations and cultural museums will use the findings and video files to support their collections.

 

They said the living digital art gallery that will be a long-term outcome of this project will provide knowledge for education of the public, content for studies in immigration and settlement, content for Canadian history curriculum, and information on that might empower members of Canada’s diverse communities.

 

“This project creates space for the refinement of storytelling and builds credibility for a method that is highly valued by many racialized communities, thereby promoting empowerment and legitimacy,” they noted.

 

 

 

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

The United Church of Canada Appoints its First Black Gay General Secretary

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed     Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary of The United Church of Canada


 

As of November 1, The United Church of Canada will have a new general secretary, Rev. Michael Blair, the first Black gay man to hold that office in the 95-year history of the church and to be a senior leader of any mainline denomination in Canada.

He replaces Nora Sanders, who is retiring after almost 14 years as general secretary.  Blair’s appointment by the church’s general council executive during their online meeting August 27 came after a search process that lasted 10 months. 

The role of general secretary is a permanent position, providing leadership in the direction, management, and coordination of the affairs of the church working in close collaboration with the moderator, who is elected every three years as the church’s spiritual leader and spokesperson.

 

“I feel privileged, and excited to be invited to give leadership to The United Church of Canada at this particular time in its history. I am conscious of the historic nature of my appointment,” says Blair, acknowledging that he is not the first Black man, nor person of colour to be in senior leadership in the church as the Reverend Wilbur Howard was the first Black moderator of the church.

 

Howard, who was born in Toronto on February 29, 1912, and passed away at age 89 on April 17, 2001, was elected the 26th moderator and served from 1974 to 1976.

 

 Rev. Blair is currently serving in the General Council Office, Toronto, as the executive minister, Church in Mission Unit, which maintains the relationships with overseas partners, develops faith formation resources for the church and initiates advocacy campaigns for the denomination. He has been in that role for eight years. 

 

“I have worked with Michael for 12 years. I know his deep faith and sense of call to continue the life and work of the United Church in this time, with all its complexities. He is also well known in ecumenical circles and to many of our international partners, so he brings a broad horizon of expertise to the role,” says Sanders.

Blair, who grew up in Maverley in Kingston, Jamaica, says his roots in St. Mary’s Anglican Church in that city continue to keep him grounded.

 

 

The alumnus of Calabar High School came to Canada as a young adult with his family in 1976. 

 

Prior to serving in the United Church, he was a congregational minister of Baptist churches in Toronto and St. Catharines, Ontario, a staff member with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Toronto, and as a community chaplain with the Ontario Multifaith Council’s Reintegration Program. 


In 2010, he was admitted to the United Church’s order of ministry, however, his first engagement with the church was as the executive director of the Christian Resource Centre in Regent Park in 2003, just as the process of redevelopment was beginning in the community.

 

The Regent Park United Church owned the property and decided to invest in the redevelopment. The centre now has eighty-seven units of supportive housing in addition to some community, office, and programming spaces. 

 

Blair says working with the church to imagine what that redevelopment would like kind gave him an appreciation for a church community that was willing to take risks and to invest its resources.

 

When he came into the structure of the United Church, he was hired as the executive minister of Ethnic Ministry that worked to support the ethno-cultural linguistic congregations that were part of the church. He had to reimagine what that work could be. 

 

Just prior to his coming, the church had decided that it wanted to become what it called intercultural, to work with these linguistic cultural groups that were on the outside. They were a part of the church but had their own “rhythm and weren’t necessarily fully integrated in the church,” says Blair.

 

He says his work in that process has been very helpful coming into his new role as general secretary, in terms of working with the diversity of the church community.

 

Blair was subsequently invited to reorganize the programming area of the church and became the executive minister of an integrated program involving the ethno-cultural aspects of the church – the French church as well as all the supports to congregations, working with theological schools, youth and young adults’ worship.

 

“I think that experience again enabled me to think about issues of management, leadership, and repositioning how we would do our work.”

 

He was asked to integrate both the local community expression of programmatic life of the church with the global ecumenical so then became the executive minister for Church in Mission.

 

 

Photo contributed   Left to right: Rev. Paul Tche, Christian Disciples (USA&Canada), Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, Associate General Minister - Wider Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ in the USA (the first Jamaican to hold the office), Rev. Michael Blair, and Dr. Gail Allan, Ecumenical Officer, United Church of Canada

 

Over a 12-year period, Rev. Blair was able to provide leadership and be involved in reimagining engagement of the church, which gave him a fairly broad global perspective.

 

“I think I’m bringing to the new role a renewed sense of the United Church in the context of a global community and also bringing a justice lens because part of my oversight over the last year was the justice work of the church, also bringing the programmatic lens.”

 

 

Challenges and Opportunities 

 

Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of the church, Blair says there is a significant challenge around finances as many of the church’s older members are struggling so at the national level the funding capacity is lower. This means the church will need to reimagine what can happen with its finances.

 

He says the United Church has a rich heritage of engagement with the society but he thinks at the local level the church has been “disconnected from the common.” He wants the church to think about how it can re-engage and connect to the communities in which the churches are located.

 

“I think this is probably true for most mainline denominations these days where we attend churches that have historic connections to us so many of us drive past three, four, different congregations of the denomination that we’re a part of to go to our particular congregation. What that means is that we’re not always attentive to what’s happening in the communities where our churches are. For me that’s a critical piece to help us think through how we engage.”

 

Blair also wants the church to think about how it can re-empower the layfolk within the church and to encourage and celebrate their ministry. 

 

It also means considering what it means to be a church in the context of the post-COVID world where “things we value, like community, is going to be harder to engage when there is not a lot of face-to-face connection.”

 

Historic First

 

He’s excited about being the first but contextualizes this by noting that for most of his life in Canada, up until 2001, his energy and passion were around ministry and the Baptist Church. 

 

However, when he came out in 2001 his marriage ended and his job in the Baptist church came to an end.

 

“There was a sense that my world as I knew it, as I imagined, and as I dreamed it, would be totally lost -- so fast forward to 19 years later and being in a position of the first Black gay general secretary really is a way of seeing that life doesn’t end, that there’s opportunity. So I think there is that sense for me of being very privileged, very excited. There’s a sense of me being very overwhelmed at the kind of expectation that that brings. Sometimes the first in the role can be a hard place and on the other hand, for me, it’s a testimony of witness to spaces where there’s still this intolerance of people who are gay or lesbian or trans.

 

“My sexuality is part of the gift of what I bring to my leadership and my experience around that, and in some ways it’s a reminder to folks who struggle to find their place that it is possible. It’s not always easy but it’s possible.”

 

In terms of his global connections, he says there were times when he was muted around his sexual identity for theological and political reasons, and sometimes safety reasons when he travelled globally.

 

“But I think it’s also for me now a way of saying to global spaces, global churches that a person’s sexual identity is not a barrier to God’s ability to use them. So I feel a sense of responsibility to be part of the struggle for justice and freedom for LGBTQ communities in religious spaces.”

 

Photo contributed     Rev. Michael Blair newly appointed General Secretary of The United Church of Canada


Blair knew he was gay from age 10 but it took him more than thirty years to be able to acknowledge and celebrate his sexuality.

 

He attributes this, in part, to growing up in church communities where he bought into the notion that the church had scripted for him that he was abnormal.

 

Rev. Blair says over the years he struggled and thought that if he did all the right things the church said he needed to do, his feelings and desires would be taken care of but they weren’t. “In some ways, it almost killed me,” he says.

 

In his spiritual journey, he discovered Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian,someone he respected as a Christian leader, whom he noted was, unfortunately, outed after his death.

 

“That was for me a gift to realize that here was somebody who I had looked up to as a spiritual mentor who was gay and it became clear to me that part of the struggle of his identity was also part of his gift, in terms of his understanding of his spirituality and that freed me in so many ways to begin a process of saying, why am I afraid of who I am and it enabled me to start a process of coming out.”

 

Blair, who is also a father of two boys, says he learned that his faith calls him to honesty, to truth telling and so it was important to own the truth of who he is, and not allow a system that is oppressive to define him.

 

Rev. Blair says he knows the church is a hard place and the interesting thing is that one of the challenges is that the church isn’t quite clear what it is that it is afraid of. “I think, theologically, part of the issue is around procreation and so the church’s opposition of the relationships of gays and lesbians and procreation is because they have bought into the narrative around creation that, in some ways, they have got some work to do.

 

“For me, owning truth, the truth of who you are is important. I think it’s also important to recognize that the text, scripture, there is no innocent reading of the text. Everybody reads their context so don’t become enslaved to a notion of a reading of the text which says you are an abomination, you’ve got to own that. 

 

“And I think the thing I would say they’re enough communities of people, church communities that acknowledge, name and celebrate our identities and to be part of those communities. It means sometimes you have to let go of places where you enjoy being that those places are soul-destroying. I know for many folks from the Caribbean and Jamaica they stay in spaces that destroy them because they like the expression of the worship or whatever it is. I think if you keep doing that in the hopes that those places are going to change, it’s only soul-killing so choose life and part of choosing life means being honest with who you are,” he advises anyone struggling with their sexual orientation and Christianity or religion. 

 

 

Being the first Black person in his new role also means that is a fairly lonely place because when Blair looks around – with the exception of the Black Church traditions, but even churches that many Black folks attend -- oftentimes the leadership is white.

 

“There’s a sense of being again the only one and that space kind of always…I don’t get a chance to just be, in a way I need to represent and I need to remind folks of who is not at the table. I need to remind folks of the kind of systemic racism that exists in faith communities causing people like me not to find places to kind of be.”

 

There are over 60 Black ministers in the United Church but the church does not have data enumerating its Black membership. Most of the ministers are serving in communities where there are no Black people.

 

Blair thinks the United Church has some work to do, in terms of how it engages Black communities, because the church has so much to offer and “sometimes people don’t engage us because they don’t know who we are, they don’t see themselves among us.”


Blair is a graduate of Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University College and Seminary), the University of Waterloo, and Wycliffe College – University of Toronto. 


He is also an avid gardener and is passionate about cultural and equity issues.

 

 

 

 

Monday, 7 September 2020

Ruth Goba Steps Down as Executive Director of Black Legal Action Centre

 

Photo contributed     Ruth Goba, former executive director of Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC)

By Neil Armstrong

Ruth Goba, executive director of the Black Legal Action Centre (BLAC), has stepped down from that position, effective September 3.

BLAC has appointed Lesa Francis as interim executive director as the organization searches for a permanent candidate to fill the role. 

In a letter to colleagues and community, said she made the very difficult decision to after much deliberation. 

“Over two years ago, BLAC was created thanks to the vision and hard work of the founding Board of Directors, including the past Chair of our Board, Zanana Akande. The Board envisioned a legal clinic overseen and staffed by members of the community that would speak out on important issues of systemic anti-Black racism and provide critical services to the community. I am honoured to have been chosen to implement that vision.

“As I depart, I want to thank, first and foremost, the extraordinary members of the Black community who we strive to serve. Our community is a remarkable one. We all exist in a society that is rife with systemic racism and prejudice; a society that overlooks and diminishes Black success and devalues Black life. The disproportionately negative impacts of Covid-19 on the Black Community and far too many deaths at the hands of the police have revealed how deeply entrenched anti-Black racism is in our society. Despite that, we are diverse, strong, proud, resilient, tenacious, and beautiful. Our community has been a constant source of strength, support and inspiration to me. Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to work alongside you. “

Goba also thanked the staff with whom she worked, noting that they are smart, tenacious, compassionate and thoughtful. 

“Their zealous advocacy on behalf of the community and against anti-Black racism will continue. We have worked hard to set a high standard for service and I am excited to see all that BLAC will achieve in the future. I also thank Legal Aid Ontario for their funding and support of BLAC’s work. 

“I am so grateful for having being granted this extraordinary opportunity and I will continue to work (after a break!) toward achieving an equitable society,” she said.

In a letter to the community dated September 3, Rinaldo Walcott, Chair of the Board and Zanana Akande, Ex Officio (Past Chair) said Goba joined BLAC in June of 2018 as executive director and has shown “true leadership during her tenure, advocating tirelessly and steering our organization through some of the most pivotal times for our community. Under her guidance, BLAC has grown to be a leading advocate in confronting anti-Black racism and a strong resource in providing legal support to Black Ontarians.” 

They said the work that was done under her leadership and the credibility BLAC has established is evident by the significant amount of donations the organization has received in recent months, which are being responsibly and transparently managed to ensure their future use for the clinic and the Black community. 

“Our work has only just begun, and because of Ms. Goba’s efforts, BLAC is in a strong position to build on our achievements as we continue to serve our community and combat individual and systemic anti-Black racism in Ontario.”

The Board extended its thanks to Goba for her dedication and hard work, and said it trust that she will continue to have a positive impact the Black community. 

Goba will support the organization through this transition phase. 

Meanwhile, BLAC says it is overwhelmed by the support it has been receiving “as our society continues to confront anti-Black racism and embraces the extraordinary movement taking place in Ontario and around the world.”

“Support for our legal clinic has ranged from everyday Ontarians donating a few extra dollars of their hard-earned money, to small businesses, law firms, students and others hosting fundraising initiatives, to some of Canada’s largest corporations offering significant financial support. We are deeply grateful for every donation we receive and are empowered by the broad support from the people of Ontario and the business community. It is clear that you share in our mission to build a more just society.” 

It said equal access to justice is a critical and fundamental part of ensuring human rights are upheld in Ontario. 

“The contributions we receive enable us to better serve and represent the most vulnerable members of the Black community, and help improve the laws that affect marginalized and low-income Ontarians. It is through these services that we can support the Black community in accessing justice and advance change in our society,” said BLAC.