Do equity measures launched to address systemic racism effect change? A lecture Friday, April 1, will explore the question.

Carl E. James holds the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora in the Faculty of Education at York University and is also the senior advisor on equity and representation in its Office of the Vice-President of Equity, People and Culture.

His presentation, entitled “Hortative Equity? Beyond taskforce reports, unconscious bias training, and targeted hirings,” will begin at 10 a.m. on the Microsoft Teams platform and is open to the public.

“As part of their action to accompany the talk of systemic racism affecting the education and employment issues of their members, institutions have had task forces conducting self-examinations of inequities, racism, and discrimination; anti-racism, unconscious bias, and anti-oppressive training; and targeted or cluster hiring of Indigenous and Black scholars,” notes Dr. James. “Are institutions’ claims, programs, initiatives, and activities really making a difference?”

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada – Academy of Social Sciences, whose publications include Colour Matters: Essays on the Experiences, Education and Pursuits of Black Youth, and The Equity Myth: Racialization and Indigeneity at Canadian Universities.

This event is the third in the Distinguished Speaker Series in Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Pedagogies, presented by the Office of the Vice-President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Find more information and register to attend here.