James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies 25th Anniversary Celebration
BLACK BLOG
My name is OmiSoore Dryden, and I鈥檓 the 4th James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies at 国民彩票. With my appointment, the James R. Johnston Chair moves into the Faculty of Medicine for the first time. I am the first queer person to hold the JRJ Chair in Black Studies at 国民彩票. These are very important and timely milestones.
Black Studies is a vast discipline which exists beyond humanities and social sciences. The JRJ Chair in the Faculty of Medicine is a reminder of this: Black studies is a necessary intervention into the field of medical education and public health in Canada and discussions of Black health equity. Medicine, medical practice, and health do not live outside of culture. The development of medical education, procedures and practices happened (and happens) within the social/cultural. Black studies in medical education and public health interrogates the parameters of what makes someone healthy and the system of health care in which we exist. The myth of racism-free field is deadly.
April 28, 2022
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Left to right: Johnston Chairs 鈥� Esmeralda Thornhill, David Divine, Afua Cooper and OmiSoore Dryden.
Thirty years ago, 国民彩票 became the first university in Canada to create a dedicated senior academic position devoted to Black Canadian Studies. Mr. Burnley 鈥楻ocky鈥� Jones 鈥� the late Halifax-based African Nova Scotian lawyer, educator, and activist, came up with the idea for the position. The position was made possible with the help of 国民彩票鈥檚 president at the time, Dr. Howard Clark, and professor Dr. Fred Wien who helped Mr. Jones engage the federal government and the African Nova Scotian community. They decided to name the position after the first African Nova Scotian person to earn a degree at 国民彩票 and the first Black lawyer in Nova Scotia, Mr. James Robinson Johnston. As a result, twenty-five years ago the inaugural Johnston Chair was appointed 鈥� Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill.
The unique structure of the Johnston endowed Chair has allowed chair holders to make lasting impacts in Black Canadian studies within a variety of scholarly disciplines.
The Johnston Chair has a six-year appointment, as opposed to the traditional five-year appointment of a Canadian Research Chair. This allows (and has allowed) Johnston Chair holders a generous time period to establish and advance research programs while engaging with the community through a number of unique events, including conferencing. The Johnston Chair also comes with tenure, giving the Johnston Chairs the security needed to do rewarding and yet, at times, difficult work.
Importantly, the endowed chair rotates through faculties reflecting how Black studies engages in research across fields 鈥� in other words, Black studies is not only interdisciplinary, but also transdisciplinary. The inaugural Johnston Chair holder was Prof. Esmeralda Thornhill (1996-2002) in the Faculty of Law. Prof. David Divine (2004-2009), a scholar of social work, held the Johnston Chair in the Faculty of Health Professions. Dr. Afua Cooper (2011-2017) held the Johnston Chair in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where she developed 国民彩票鈥檚 Black Studies minor, the first of its kind at a Canadian university. Dr. OmiSoore Dryden (2019-Present), the first queer person to have this position, holds the Johnston Chair in the Faculty of Medicine.
As we celebrate these milestones, it is important to review how we got here and just some of the amazing accomplishments to date.
To recognize twenty-five years of accomplishments in Black Canadian studies by four Johnston Chairs, the current Chair holder, Dr. OmiSoore Dryden, planned a series of celebratory events. The first of which was an online lecture and conversation with discussant Dr.