Views From the Legislature: Event Recap
By Annaëlle Barreau
On February 14th 2022, the Black Law Students’ Association of McGill (BLSAM) and members of the McGill Law community had the chance of virtually meeting with Member of Parliament Arielle Kayabaga, Member of Parliament Greg Fergus, and Minister Ahmed Hussen for a discussion on combating anti-Blackness in legal spaces, advocacy for Black Canadians, and exploring non-traditional legal career paths.
Black History Month is an occasion for us all to celebrate and reflect on the impact of our Blackness. Black people have historically been denied access to legal and political spheres. To this day, there are systemic barriers that persist in preventing us from fully participating in these realms. However, we must continue to push through, which is why it was so valuable to have three Black representatives to discuss these important issues.
I distinctly remember seeing a video posted on Twitter of MP Kayabaga being sworn in as a Member of Parliament. Kayabaga made history as the first Black woman elected to London's City Council. I, as well as other Black women, felt a sense of pride and excitement. I am editing this article a few days after Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first appointed Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. And a few days after, McGill Law Journal elected its first Black editor in chief, Ommu-Kulsoom Abdul-Rahman (2L).
Opening remarks
Our guests first offered opening words. In his opening remarks, Minister Hussen, reminded us of the need to dismantle the idea that anti-Black racism is a U.S problem – when it is also a Canadian reality. Change is needed “within the institutions and systems that surround us”. He grappled with an important fact which is not emphasized enough: the systems are not broken. “They’re doing exactly what they were meant to do by the people who designed them thousands of years ago. They were designed for a different time and place, and they were not designed for the diversity that is a fact in Canada. So, it is up to us to recognize that these institutions will provides those bad outcomes unless we reform them.” We must reform these structures, law enforcement, education, health care to only name those, which provide systemically negative outcomes for Black Canadians
MP Kayabaga emphasized on pushing Black history past February in our conversations, and in the federal government. Having representatives that look like us, that have lived the black experience. She reiterated Minister Hussen’s comments on the systems that were not made for us and asked how do we shift them. She found it incredibly challenging to imagine that 60 years from now, she could be watching her grandchildren still advocating for the same things she is currently advocating for. While she believes it is great that she’s the first Black woman elected to the city of London West and the downtown area of London, she believes Jean Augustine was striving for greater impact today, when she was the first Black woman elected in the House of Commons in 1993.
MP Fergus then invited us to use our legal skills to find ways to expose injustice and create a society which treats us as equals. We need to take our place. He reminds us of the responsibility that comes with success which is to go back to our community and give back in ways that are both big and small. “The crappy things about anti-Blackness and racism is that no matter how successful we may be, and the privileged paths we are on as law students, we may still experience the same challenges as less privileged members of our community. By giving ourselves this education and coming together, we can push back and help the community.” In fact, as Black law students, we navigate this position of privilege, while also experiencing systemic disadvantages.
The role of law in the fight against Anti-Black racism
When asked what is the role that lawmakers and lawyers can play in advocating for Black Canadians and against anti-Black racism specifically, Minister Hussen answered that “Law positions you in a way to have additional tools for really effective advocacy”. He encourages all young members of the community to go to law school. We must engage our community through having lawyers and judges visit schools to expose our youth to the possibility of becoming a lawyer. Mentorship and exposure are incredibly valuable in the belief that many of us hold that certain legal and political positions are out of reach. Minister Hussen emphasizes the importance of engaging the community in anti-racist work of educating on our rights and options for redress. As Black law students, we are in a privileged place to do so.
MP Kayabaga reasserted that these spaces were not made for us. To ensure we are not left out of these systems, we must spread our community out in different sectors, whether legal, political, economic, so we can be represented across the board. She encourages us to have different practices in law school and to volunteer some of our time to figure out how to advocate.As law students, we can explain and vulgarize legal jargon. This can be used to empower people, like newcomers coming into a new legal system and members of small community groups. We understand each other more than anyone else, we understand the cultural nuances that are part of a “unified black experience which we understand [while] most people don’t”. As politicians and lawyers, we can have an impact on policies and carve our space in these systems that were not built for us.
MP Fergus highlighted the importance of being involved in the community, “perhaps even as just coaching a soccer team. “While the spaces were not created for us, if we take our place, and you take your spot, then you’re there.” I particularly like the simplicity of this example of community engagement. The phrase representation matters can be construed broadly. A young community member having a Black lawyer as a leader in an extracurricular activity, like soccer, can plant a seed in their mind, through proximity, interaction, and mentorship, without being formally designed for this effect.“Be that mentor, that friend. A person who can help inspire other people to come along.”
On what makes good allies
Finally, we ended our conversation by speaking about allyship and what makes a good ally. MP Fergus explained that the ability to take a step back and see things from a different standpoint than your own is a strength. “The world is richer, more colourful when you have different ways to express yourself (similar to speaking different languages) – same thing as having different intersectionalities – it is a strength, we should celebrate that strength. […] For those who are part of the dominant group, you can learn that strength by listening to the black community, put yourself in their place, start developing the language and understand what that reality is like.”
MP Kayabaga shared her thoughts of discomfort with good allyship inquiries, which many of us also feel. Members of marginalized communities do not wish to dictate to allies how to behave, allyship ought to come from a place of respect and genuine disinterested desire to help. Despite this reluctance, she shared with us her opinion on being a good ally. Allies are not there to dictate the black experience. We do need and appreciate support, but support can be provided without owning our spaces. She borrowed the analogy of leadership often being like sitting at the back of a car and seeing it move. Allyship is similar, whereby it is best done when the people you are supporting are in the driver’s seat and you are sitting in the back of the car while it’s moving.
I thank our guests , MP Kayabaga, MP Fergus, and Minister Hussen for taking the time to meet with us and share their valuable thoughts. The discussion was moderated by our Vice-President external affairs, Raphael Yacobi-Hariss (1L) and by member of the support committee, Béatrice Rutayisire (2L). We thank our Vice-President Events Naomi (4L) for working on the organization of this wonderful event.
