The annual CSSE Conference took place online via the Forj platform from May 14th to May 20th this year. As a member of the knowledge mobilization team, I attended various sessions over the course of the week and learned a lot from those who presented while doing so. As a first year PhD student with minimal conference experience, this was an excellent opportunity for me to network, learn more about my field, and engage in meaningful conversations. The sessions I attended were largely related to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization, and so much of the work resonated with my own experiences growing up as a visual minority in Canada. From discussing the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy, to addressing the need for more representation in our curriculums, and the call for educators to actively engage in anti-racist practices, I found myself encouraged by the work that so many educators and researchers who came before me have been engaged with.
Prior to my doctoral journey, I had days where I felt like I was screaming into a void. It felt like the voices of those who looked like me would never be heard. It felt like no matter how hard I tried, progress would be miles away. And perhaps it was because I felt so frustrated that I decided to pursue a doctorate and enroll in classes that addressed systemic racism, social justice education and the ways we can work towards dismantling norms that continue to hurt traditionally marginalized students. And while I had many take-aways from every single session I attended, one in particular reminded me of why I keep reading, keep volunteering, and keep amplifying marginalized voices.
ACDE’s Session 2.1 entitled Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Decolonization (EDID) All Year Long: Leading to Change Conversations, Cultures and Practices with Dr Airini, Dr Jerome Cranston, Dr Blye Frank, Dr Karen Ragoonaden and Dr Reginald D’Silva, spoke to the importance of EDID and how this work is not only a yearlong practice, but life-long. The work can be daunting and even exhausting at times, but everyone in attendance was there because it mattered to us. Because it matters to our students. And as Dr Karen Ragoonaden so eloquently put it, EDID “provides a voice for all, reaches out to those who in particular aren’t present, and makes space” for those who are traditionally excluded. Hearing this lit a bit of a fire under me, as did Dr Jerome Cranston’s presentation where he spoke of the challenges educators face when tackling EDID in our systems. Towards the end of his presentation, he stated, “When we take on this work, we need to know that there is a price to pay in this system. If the price I pay is that my career gets limited, so be it. I have already had to work twice as hard to get half as far.”
As a woman of colour who grew up in Canada, working twice as hard to get half as far is not news to me. I have had my share of sexist and racist encounters, both the subtle and the not so subtle in various professional settings. I have also experienced the disparity in expectations that people had for me because of my race or gender. And to carve a spot in spaces where I didn’t belong, I couldn’t be mediocre, I had to excel. So, I did. And it was absolutely exhausting. As I attended this year’s sessions and listened to educators and academics who have already worked so hard take even more time out of their days to share their wins and research, I found myself a little less tired. I realized that while there have been many tiring days, and days where I wanted to give up, there have been just as many days where I could have celebrated the progress we have made.
So yes, there is much more to be done, but much has already been done. We need to take a step back and celebrate our wins. It’s okay to take a break and to take care of ourselves along the way. And who knows? Maybe one day people who look like me will no longer have to work so hard to carve out spaces for ourselves. Perhaps our voices will be heard, and our life experiences will matter even if we don’t excel, even if we’re just a little bit ordinary.