1 00:00:11,309 --> 00:00:15,689 My name is Dre.Oceane Jasor, I am an 2 00:00:15,689 --> 00:00:18,869 assistant professor at Concordia 3 00:00:18,869 --> 00:00:22,859 University in Montreal. I'm a sociologist, 4 00:00:23,129 --> 00:00:24,809 I was trained as a sociologist, 5 00:00:24,839 --> 00:00:30,569 anthropologist, and women's studies, 6 00:00:30,599 --> 00:00:32,669 Women's and Gender Studies. So my 7 00:00:32,669 --> 00:00:38,399 specialties are race, racial relations and 8 00:00:38,639 --> 00:00:42,209 gender relations in South Africa and in 9 00:00:42,209 --> 00:00:50,339 the diaspora. With a background in 10 00:00:50,339 --> 00:00:53,159 community activism and advocacy, so that's 11 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:55,499 my first love on, you know, community 12 00:00:55,499 --> 00:00:59,639 activist, advocate. That's what I used to 13 00:00:59,639 --> 00:01:07,529 do even prior to academia. And so I do 14 00:01:07,529 --> 00:01:12,059 believe that, you know, the divide between 15 00:01:12,269 --> 00:01:17,189 academia and activism is spurious. And, 16 00:01:18,329 --> 00:01:24,449 and kind of diverts from the urgency of 17 00:01:24,449 --> 00:01:27,359 both theory, and an increased and more 18 00:01:27,359 --> 00:01:31,139 profound theorization of social movements, 19 00:01:31,139 --> 00:01:33,989 especially black social movements, and, 20 00:01:33,989 --> 00:01:37,289 you know, activism, the practice of it, of 21 00:01:37,289 --> 00:01:40,169 our community organizing. So I would say 22 00:01:40,169 --> 00:01:48,299 that anti-black protests, and more so 23 00:01:48,299 --> 00:01:51,239 more than protest, community organizing, 24 00:01:52,409 --> 00:01:54,509 is something that is very dear to me very, 25 00:01:54,839 --> 00:01:59,249 very close to my identity, as a 26 00:01:59,249 --> 00:02:01,859 researcher, as an academic, as a professor, 27 00:02:02,219 --> 00:02:07,349 definitely, I tried to always include, you 28 00:02:07,349 --> 00:02:11,429 know, my past and present experiences with 29 00:02:12,239 --> 00:02:15,029 community organizing into my courses, my 30 00:02:15,029 --> 00:02:17,879 classes, my lectures, and I do believe 31 00:02:17,879 --> 00:02:20,549 that my students very, very enriching 32 00:02:22,410 --> 00:02:25,980 and, and then at the same time, I get to 33 00:02:25,980 --> 00:02:29,820 do what I love most, which is, you know, 34 00:02:29,850 --> 00:02:32,100 researching, teaching, obviously, anything 35 00:02:32,130 --> 00:02:34,620 active in the community in which I live. 36 00:02:38,340 --> 00:02:40,200 So I want to 37 00:02:40,740 --> 00:02:44,010 kind of talk about the intersection of 38 00:02:44,310 --> 00:02:48,420 gender, and, you know, and racism, in the 39 00:02:48,420 --> 00:02:52,200 case of anti-black racism and anti-black 40 00:02:54,660 --> 00:02:56,700 protests organizing and community 41 00:02:56,700 --> 00:03:00,150 organizing. Gender is something that, 42 00:03:00,750 --> 00:03:02,670 obviously, is one of my specialty, yes, 43 00:03:02,910 --> 00:03:08,160 but cannot be thought of as an add-on to 44 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,100 the struggle, because it's very much 45 00:03:11,730 --> 00:03:15,540 central to it. And even though, you know, 46 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:17,820 when you read the literature on social 47 00:03:17,820 --> 00:03:20,160 movements, you know, you always have, you 48 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,230 know, some some sort of gender paragraph 49 00:03:25,290 --> 00:03:29,760 here and there, you know, as an add-on, on 50 00:03:29,790 --> 00:03:33,090 telling us about women's contribution to 51 00:03:33,390 --> 00:03:35,640 such and such movement or such and such 52 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,640 cause, right. But what you don't have 53 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,710 enough of, I believe, is analysis that 54 00:03:43,710 --> 00:03:48,450 makes gender an integral, like, an 55 00:03:48,450 --> 00:03:52,650 intersect, you know, aspect of social 56 00:03:52,650 --> 00:03:56,370 movements, and especially black 57 00:03:56,370 --> 00:03:59,730 movement. And you can see it time and time 58 00:03:59,730 --> 00:04:02,850 again, with the black power movement, for 59 00:04:02,850 --> 00:04:04,980 example. And today 60 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:06,810 with 61 00:04:08,130 --> 00:04:11,010 Black Lives Matter, but not just in the 62 00:04:11,010 --> 00:04:14,460 US, you know, in the Caribbean, also in 63 00:04:14,460 --> 00:04:16,740 South Africa, where my research is based. 64 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:19,770 You see it with contemporary movements, 65 00:04:19,770 --> 00:04:24,390 such as Fees Must Fall, movements 66 00:04:24,390 --> 00:04:26,790 that were started and thought and 67 00:04:26,790 --> 00:04:32,010 conceptualized by black, radical feminist, 68 00:04:32,310 --> 00:04:37,860 queer women. So it's not just a 69 00:04:37,860 --> 00:04:40,050 contribution as to, you know, they were 70 00:04:40,050 --> 00:04:42,960 leaders as well, or, you know,what they 71 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:45,030 did, they were important for community 72 00:04:45,060 --> 00:04:48,420 organizing, no, no, no, the whole idea was 73 00:04:48,420 --> 00:04:51,990 kind of created around a specific 74 00:04:52,020 --> 00:04:55,680 identity, right? That when you erase it, 75 00:04:56,940 --> 00:05:00,390 the whole mission, the whole essence of 76 00:05:00,390 --> 00:05:04,410 a movement can be lost. And that is 77 00:05:04,410 --> 00:05:08,790 important, that is important because it 78 00:05:08,790 --> 00:05:12,120 can create shifts, tensions, and ruptures 79 00:05:12,210 --> 00:05:15,240 within a movement that otherwise, that 80 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,610 would otherwise be so important and so, 81 00:05:17,730 --> 00:05:21,510 you know, strong, um, you know. It also 82 00:05:21,510 --> 00:05:24,870 erases a whole set of 83 00:05:24,870 --> 00:05:30,600 concerns and changes ideas, demands that, 84 00:05:31,740 --> 00:05:34,260 you know, that were that the movement was 85 00:05:34,260 --> 00:05:36,570 supposed to be built around. And all of a 86 00:05:36,570 --> 00:05:38,880 sudden, it's a whole completely, like a 87 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,090 completely different movement. And what it 88 00:05:42,090 --> 00:05:44,970 does, it's not just retention, 89 00:05:44,970 --> 00:05:48,450 but it can actually decide and contribute 90 00:05:48,450 --> 00:05:53,220 to the legacy, the outcome, the efficiency 91 00:05:53,370 --> 00:05:57,600 of a movement. So at a time where, when 92 00:05:57,870 --> 00:05:59,100 black movement, 93 00:05:59,430 --> 00:06:00,930 black protests 94 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,890 are at such an important time, at a 95 00:06:07,890 --> 00:06:15,000 crossroads. You don't want to erase the 96 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:20,190 identity, the idea, the agenda of black 97 00:06:20,190 --> 00:06:21,990 women and women of color in general, 98 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:24,480 within your movement. And as researchers 99 00:06:24,510 --> 00:06:26,760 and social scientists, you want to fully 100 00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:30,540 acknowledge gender, not just as an 101 00:06:30,540 --> 00:06:33,240 addition to the study and analysis of 102 00:06:33,270 --> 00:06:37,440 social movement, but as a determinant of 103 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,410 its outcome, and a determinant of its 104 00:06:40,410 --> 00:06:43,710 success, its longevity, and its legacy. 105 00:06:43,950 --> 00:06:48,330 So, in a nutshell, I think that what I 106 00:06:48,330 --> 00:06:51,480 would like my viewers here, to kind of 107 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:59,130 take away from what I just said, is to 108 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:04,380 think of anti-racist protest, not just 109 00:07:04,380 --> 00:07:07,260 in terms of race, not just in terms of 110 00:07:07,260 --> 00:07:10,950 race, but to also think of it in more 111 00:07:10,950 --> 00:07:13,890 complex and critical ways, by not just 112 00:07:14,220 --> 00:07:17,550 either, you know, downgrading or, or 113 00:07:17,550 --> 00:07:21,420 excluding or somewhat erasing, you know, 114 00:07:21,450 --> 00:07:24,300 issues of gender and sexuality from that 115 00:07:24,300 --> 00:07:26,670 movement, because from from black protest, 116 00:07:27,060 --> 00:07:30,990 and black organizing, because oftentimes 117 00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:33,960 at the very heart of it, of a movement, 118 00:07:34,140 --> 00:07:37,260 those identities are present, and they 119 00:07:37,260 --> 00:07:37,770 matter. 120 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:45,000 I think it's twofold 121 00:07:45,210 --> 00:07:50,010 in academia. I'll just go beyond just, you 122 00:07:50,010 --> 00:07:53,190 know, academics and scholars, professors, 123 00:07:53,880 --> 00:08:00,300 to also include students, I think that one 124 00:08:00,300 --> 00:08:06,900 simple way, one simple way is to make 125 00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:10,980 yourself aware of what women of color have 126 00:08:10,980 --> 00:08:15,090 contributed to the literature. And it 127 00:08:15,090 --> 00:08:18,390 should not be simply the job of women of 128 00:08:18,390 --> 00:08:23,010 color or scholars of color, you know, to 129 00:08:23,010 --> 00:08:27,600 do so, it should be mainstreamed. It 130 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,870 should be the case that whenever you teach 131 00:08:30,990 --> 00:08:33,690 a subject you want, you know, your 132 00:08:33,690 --> 00:08:37,800 students, your audience, you want to 133 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,430 expose your audience to not just,you know, 134 00:08:41,430 --> 00:08:44,640 your typical white male, academic, and 135 00:08:44,640 --> 00:08:47,460 scholar and researcher. And it's not a 136 00:08:47,460 --> 00:08:51,150 matter of including, of inclusion by 137 00:08:52,620 --> 00:08:55,440 you know, making 138 00:08:56,700 --> 00:09:00,630 writers of color a crucial part of your 139 00:09:00,630 --> 00:09:03,330 analysis, the analysis can be completely 140 00:09:03,330 --> 00:09:06,810 different, right. So, just make 141 00:09:06,810 --> 00:09:08,790 yourself aware, if you're not aware, 142 00:09:09,630 --> 00:09:12,720 traditionally in a lot of PhD programs, 143 00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:15,720 actually, you know, we are not trained to, 144 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,430 to know those colors, right. So, it 145 00:09:20,430 --> 00:09:24,960 sometimes takes an effort in our part to 146 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:26,760 go and actually make yourself 147 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,470 knowledgeable about this literature 148 00:09:31,710 --> 00:09:37,380 and also about, you know,new scholars 149 00:09:37,380 --> 00:09:42,270 who are you know, contributing to the 150 00:09:42,270 --> 00:09:44,070 field of study your, your particular field 151 00:09:44,070 --> 00:09:48,750 of study in academia, so that I would say, 152 00:09:48,780 --> 00:09:50,910 knowledge, just try and make yourself 153 00:09:50,910 --> 00:09:54,360 knowledgeable. There's lots of websites 154 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,620 nowadays. Sometimes academic groups where 155 00:09:58,830 --> 00:10:03,660 one kind shares their work. Also, you 156 00:10:03,660 --> 00:10:08,970 know, she has resources. Universities have 157 00:10:08,970 --> 00:10:12,990 centers sometimes for diversity where, and 158 00:10:12,990 --> 00:10:15,720 inclusion, you know, where you can also 159 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:20,190 ask, you know, to share for other faculty 160 00:10:20,370 --> 00:10:24,300 to share resources with you so, so, so 161 00:10:24,300 --> 00:10:26,910 kind of take advantage of those 162 00:10:26,910 --> 00:10:32,220 resources. And also, I think one important 163 00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:40,770 way that we, as scholars, professors can 164 00:10:40,770 --> 00:10:43,800 contribute to, you know, anti- 165 00:10:44,010 --> 00:10:44,790 black 166 00:10:46,470 --> 00:10:50,640 organizing really, and advocacy is by 167 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,810 caring for our black students. You know, 168 00:10:54,900 --> 00:11:00,510 oftentimes we are not cognizant of the 169 00:11:01,260 --> 00:11:04,860 very subtle and less subtle barriers that 170 00:11:04,890 --> 00:11:07,320 black students face, not just at the 171 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:10,290 university level, but from primary school, 172 00:11:10,590 --> 00:11:12,930 the whole education system, sometimes it's 173 00:11:12,930 --> 00:11:16,830 not geared towards excellency for 174 00:11:16,830 --> 00:11:20,700 black students, right, towards support and 175 00:11:20,700 --> 00:11:23,700 care for black students. So to acknowledge 176 00:11:23,700 --> 00:11:27,390 that, acknowledge that and go an extra 177 00:11:27,390 --> 00:11:30,960 way, an extra step towards, you know, 178 00:11:31,110 --> 00:11:37,440 supporting and mentoring black students. I 179 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,100 think, is, it's really, really important 180 00:11:41,100 --> 00:11:42,990 because oftentimes, professors are not 181 00:11:42,990 --> 00:11:51,330 aware of the hidden, you know, racist, you 182 00:11:51,330 --> 00:11:57,000 know, barriers. And, and, you know, 183 00:11:57,060 --> 00:12:00,870 obstacles that, that black students face 184 00:12:00,870 --> 00:12:02,730 not only in their community, in the 185 00:12:02,730 --> 00:12:04,680 communities in which they live, but 186 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:07,140 also, you know, when they stepped foot in 187 00:12:07,140 --> 00:12:08,940 school at school, and/or at the 188 00:12:08,940 --> 00:12:14,250 university. As students, and here I'm 189 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:15,720 going to talk just about students of 190 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,950 color, I would say, be proactive about 191 00:12:19,950 --> 00:12:21,060 seeking mentorship, 192 00:12:21,899 --> 00:12:22,199 that 193 00:12:22,230 --> 00:12:24,120 don't just assume that no one is out 194 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,150 there, trying to help, right? Be proactive 195 00:12:27,150 --> 00:12:31,470 about seeking mentorship, be proactive 196 00:12:31,470 --> 00:12:34,110 about networking, with other students of 197 00:12:34,110 --> 00:12:36,090 color, with professors of color, even 198 00:12:36,090 --> 00:12:39,270 outside of your institution, with 199 00:12:39,270 --> 00:12:43,680 community activists, right. So that by 200 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:48,270 building, you know, like, by building some 201 00:12:48,270 --> 00:12:53,490 type of networking, you know, group 202 00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:56,400 membership, you can find support, 203 00:12:56,430 --> 00:12:58,320 obviously, but also resources that 204 00:12:59,580 --> 00:13:01,800 sometimes are not just taught to you and 205 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:04,890 shared readily with you as, as students of 206 00:13:04,890 --> 00:13:07,770 color, right? Sometimes we do have to get 207 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,020 to go out of our way to look for those 208 00:13:10,020 --> 00:13:12,180 important resources that we need to excel. 209 00:13:13,770 --> 00:13:16,710 And I think that to do it as a group, and 210 00:13:16,710 --> 00:13:21,120 to seek mentorship, to ask questions, is 211 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:23,760 one way that we can, you know, in our 212 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,450 everyday life, fight those types of 213 00:13:27,450 --> 00:13:31,350 systemic obstacles you know, to black 214 00:13:31,350 --> 00:13:31,890 excellency.