Institutionalizing Black History: What Concordia’s Black and African Diaspora studies Minor means for Quebec

When you think of Black History in North America what comes to mind?

 Maybe it's the echo of Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech, Malcolm X’s uncompromising advocacy for black empowerment or Rosa Park’s defiant act on that bus in Montgomery Alabama in 1955. These moments and figures rightfully hold a place in our collective memory, but they often overshadow an often ignored part of black history: black history in Canada. Your history textbook most likely didn’t teach you about Viola Desmond, Mary Ann Shaad, Marie Joseph Angelique or Herb Carnegie. 

The movement to achieve black civil rights is not solely an American story. Canadian black history is also rich in activism, trailblazing figures, cultural contribution and yet it remains unacknowledged in mainstream culture and education. 

Concordia University is taking a step to change that narrative. 

A First in Quebec: Concordia Launches the Black and African Diaspora Studies Minor

In September of 2025, Concordia University launched its Minor in Black and African diaspora studies in the Canadian context. The program is the first of its kind in Quebec and  aims to fill what many scholars and students describe as a longstanding void in knowledge about Black Canadian history.  

“These are aspects of our history that have been sidelined and very marginalized, and it’s about time that we focus on our history.” says inaugural program director Dr. Christiana Abraham. 

Dr. Abraham knows the importance of this program for the black community in Montreal and Concordia in particular. She was a part of the university’s Task Force on Anti Black Racism formed in 2020 and one of their recommendations was a black studies program. The roots of the program date back concretely to the infamous 1969 Sir George Williams Affair. It was the first large-scale student-led protest in Canada that brought to light the institutionalized racism that takes place on college campuses and transgressed into society at large. 

“The university has been grappling with this for more than 50 years. Black students have been demanding this. For too long they have not seen themselves reflected in the curriculum” says Dr. Abraham.

Reflection and Representation

One of the defining aspects of the program is its focus on the Canadian context of black and African diaspora studies. For many students it’ll be the first time they encounter Black Canadian histories, thinkers, and cultural contributions at the center of their learning, not the periphery. 

The first cohort of the program consists of 25 students and with positive response so far there are hopes of an even greater expansion. 

“The feedback we’re getting in class is that students are very happy” said Dr. Abraham. “They’re feeling very involved and see themselves in the coursework. 

Just the Beginning

The launch of this program comes at a time when Canadian institutions are increasingly being demanded to confront their history in whole. That history is not just the parts we celebrate but also the overshadowed parts that are actively avoided. 

The inaugural year of Concordia’s minor in Black and African Diaspora studies in the Canadian context serves as an overdue acknowledgement and a challenge. An acknowledgement of a black population that has been fighting for recognition for over 50 years and a challenge to institutions unwilling to attribute that recognition.