Conference to explore slavery
A conference examining the histories and legacies of slavery in Nova Scotia, Canada, and beyond is coming to Halifax in 2023.
The Universities Studying Slavery's conference will be hosted by Dalhousie University and the University of King's College in collaboration with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. The conference was scheduled for October 2021 but has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four-day conference is expected to be the first of its kind to be held outside the U.S.
Isaac Saney, director of the Transition Year Program at Dalhousie University, is chairing the conference organizing committee.
“Canada is a major focus of this conference. And we know the long history of people of African descent in Canada has been profoundly shaped by slavery,” he said in an interview Friday.
Many scholars, such as Afua Cooper, describe slavery as “the secret of Canada,” he added.
Canada takes pride in being the endpoint of the Underground Railroad and providing refuge for enslaved Black people in the 1840s and 1850s, Saney said, so people are “stunned” to learn that it wasn't too long ago that slavery existed in Canada.
THE SECRET OF CANADA
“Canada actually was a slave society in the 1830s, and there were auction blocks, right, and people were sold in various places, for example, in Halifax. ... You can find numerous slave ads, where Africans — human beings — have been advertised to be sold as chattel property,” said Saney.
It's a history, he said, that people in Canada should recognize and engage with.
The conference will be an opportunity for international and Canadian scholars, students, activists, and people from all backgrounds to explore the histories and realities of slavery, including the transatlantic slave system, the international reparation movement, and the economic and social legacies of slavery that still affect people of African descent till this day.
It will also highlight “the initiation and articulation of the process actually leading to the emergence of African Nova Scotians, as perhaps a distinct people, perhaps even a quasi nation.”
The conference will also look at what institutions of higher education that are linked to enslavement can do to address their history. As documented in two separate reports released by the institutions, both Dalhousie and King's have multiple connections with slavery and have financially depended on the wealth created by enslaved Black people.
Saney said the universities have taken steps for reparation, including scholarships and programs that address the barriers African Nova Scotian students and students of African descent face to access higher education, but more work needs to be done.
OFFERING NEW INSIGHTS
Based out of the University of Virginia, the Universities Studying Slavery is a consortium of over 60 universities working together to address historical and contemporary issues of racism and inequality in higher education.
According to their website, member schools are “committed to research, acknowledgment, and atonement regarding institutional ties to the slave trade, to enslavement on campus or abroad, and to enduring racism in school history and practice.”
Dalhousie and King's were the first Canadian institutions to join the consortium in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
At least two more Canadian institutions have joined since then: the University of New Brunswick and Mcgill University.
When Dalhousie and King's proposed to host the conference, Saney said the consortium was excited for the opportunity to learn from and reflect on the growing body of academic research on slavery in Canada. Canadian research will offer a unique perspective, he said, and add new insights to existing American research.
Speakers are expected to include distinctive scholars, such as Afua Cooper, Sir Hilary Beckles, Harvey Amani Whitfield, and Paul Lovejoy.
A CONFERENCE FOR EVERYONE
Saney is also working closely with the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, the Black Loyalist Heritage Society, and will be working with the African United Baptist Association to plan the conference.
In addition to academic presentations and debates, people who are not in academia will also be leading and engaging in discussion.
The organizing committee is also planning trips for participants to meet communities of African descent in Nova Scotia and learn about their histories and lived experiences. Possible destinations include Africville, the Halifax North Memorial Public Library, and the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre.
“In a sense, we're going to break down what often is this unnecessary wall, this artificial wall, between people who are scholars in the academy, and those who are active in the communities,” said Saney.
The conference will be open to anyone who would like to attend. A preconference event is scheduled to happen in October 2021 and more details will be available at a later date.