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Hello, everyone, today we're

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gonna be talking about visual culture and

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the Black protest. So this is our agenda,

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we will be starting off by talking about

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who we are, what we're talking about,

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we're going to detail three case studies,

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and leave you with some takeaways for

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further research and calls to action.

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Okay, so who are we? Hello, I'm Prakash

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Krishnan. I make unsteady media at

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Concordia University. I am a master's

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student in media studies within the

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Communication Studies Department. And my

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thesis focuses on the transnational

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movement of South Asian art and visual

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culture through community Instagram

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archives. In terms of how my identity

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relates to the anti-racist project, I am a

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allegedly queer, non Black person of

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color. And as such, I've had to deal with

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a lot of both internalized and

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externalized racism and xenophobia that

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took a long time to unlearn and work

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through. At the same time, while I was

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dealing with these systems and

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microaggressions, I was witnessing the

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ways in which these structures that were

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harming me emotionally, mentally and

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spiritually, and more acute physical

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consequences for my Black and Indigenous

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friends and community members. Whether

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that be through racial profiling,

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violence, disregard for bodily autonomy,

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in the stereotyping, etc. I realized it

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wasn't enough to sadly support my more

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marginalized community, but that it was my

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responsibility to utilize the access and

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platforms, I had to advocate for

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Indigenous and Black liberation, because

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without it, none of us will be free from

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the racist, hierarchical and systemic and

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white supremacist structures that govern

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us here in this place called Canada.

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Okay, and I am Kristen Youngg. I'm an

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archivist and records manager who

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specializes in working with community

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archives. So through my studies and my

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work, I delve into the idea of archives

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for those within the Black, specifically

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Caribbean, diaspora. And I look at ways we

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can use archives to tell stories of

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displacement, home, and the home away from

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home that alters our perceptions as a

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community. So my identity as a femme

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Black Jamaican woman of color means that

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the anti-racist project helps me push for

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change that drives me every day. As

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someone with multiple intersections who

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has to live in an attempt to thrive in the

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colonialist white supremacy structures of

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our society, I find it extremely important

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to help others understand the ways our

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society and our structures are inherently

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broken. So that we can all do the work of

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rebuilding in ways that remove

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marginalization, remove imbalances of

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power, and treat every person with the

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dignity and respect that they deserve.

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So what are we talking about? Seeing is

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how every day all around us and all around

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the world, people are protesting against

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corporations, governments, and other

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institutions for the rights and freedoms

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of marginalized people. Whether that

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marginalization as a result of gender

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identity or expression, race, class,

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citizenship, citizenship status, lack of

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sovereignty and autonomy. Today, we're

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talking about the relationship between the

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visual culture and protest, and how iconic

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moment of visuality inform a cultural

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understanding of the historical moment,

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thereby canonizing a moment of protest or

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rebellion in the historical imaginary. So

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we're going to do this by looking at three

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examples of how this has worked in moments

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of protest in Montreal, that were

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initiated by or that involve Black

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liberation, and confronting anti-Black

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institutions. The first case study

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involves the events surrounding the arrest

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and hanging of the enslaved Black woman,

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Marie-Joseph Angélique in 1734.

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The second is what is referred to as the

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Sir George Williams Affair that took place

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at was now called Concord University in

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1969. And the final and most recent

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example, is a toppling of the John

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A. McDonald statue, at the Place du Canada in

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downtown Montreal. With the power of

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virality and intense image sharing via the

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internet, the goal of today's lecture will

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be to give people an idea how to possibly

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be strategic in the way they organize and

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protest when it comes to supporting anti-

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racism efforts. And to think about how to

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use visuality in terms of either

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images design, aesthetics or performance

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to boost the strength of a protest

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message. This is our first case study. To

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give a brief synopsis adapted from the

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Canadian encyclopedia. Angélique was an

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enslaved Black woman owned by Thérèse de Couagne

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de Franchevilla in Montreal. In 1734,

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she was charged with arson after a fire

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fire leveled Montreal's merchants quarter.

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It was alleged that Angélique committed

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the act while attempting to flee her

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bondage. She was convicted, tortured and

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hanged. While there remains unknown

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whether or not she set the fire, Angélique's

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story has come to symbolize a Black

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resistance and freedom. The burning of

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Montreal as well as the arrest and

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subsequent trial of Angélique reveals much about

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the nature of enslavement in Canada; the

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legal institution that existed for over

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200 years. It is possible that Angelique did

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not set the fire, but she made the ideal

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scapegoat for the crime; she was Black and

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enslaved, poor and a foreigner and so, in

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every respect, every aspect, was a social

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outcast. As a slave, Angélique had no

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rights that New France or white society

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would respect. It is possible however, that

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Angélique did indeed set the fire. She had

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many grievances against the white society

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and Montreal. Whites had enslaved her

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stripped, stripped her of her freedoms and

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human rights and had taken her

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from a homeland that she clearly loved. In

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Montreal, she had attempted at least once

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to escape from enslavement, but was

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thwarted. Arson had played 

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a role in that earlier escape.

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Centuries later, Marie-Joseph Angélique

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has become a symbol of Black resistance

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and freedom. The image of the burning Old

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Port and the resilience of this most

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precarious of people, a Black enslaved woman,

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has stayed with us and continues to be

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reproduced in art almost 300 years later,

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in paintings, murals, mixed media arts,

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stage plays and poetry. When you image

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search Marie-Joseph Angélique, this

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portrait is most frequent to appear. I

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personally love this image. This showcases

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her defiance towards the structures that

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enslaved her, and highlights her strength

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and agency instead of repeating the slave

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narrative, and the astonishization of Black

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death that non-Black people have become

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much too comfortable with witnessing.

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So our second case study is the Sir George

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Williams affair. So six Black Caribbean

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students of Sir George Williams, now

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Concordia, accused Professor Perry Anderson

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in April of 1968 of racially motivated

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grading, he was giving Black students

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lower grades than whites and of course

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required in order to pursue a medical

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degree. In the following academic year,

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the University convened a committee to

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gather evidence, reach conclusions and

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make a decision on whether Anderson's

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actions were a) provable and b) racist. The

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original committee fell apart because the

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two Black professors that had been brought on

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to show Sir George was diverse, backed out.

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The university finally did create a

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committee and convened a hearing, but

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there had been a stipulation that

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committee members had to be approved by

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Anderson and the students and that wasn't

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done. So the students entered into the

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hearing already with raised tensions. And

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after hours of speaking back and forth

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with no progress, led by one of the

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original complainants, the students moved to

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occupy the computer room until their

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demands were met. For almost two weeks,

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the protest was peaceful. There was no

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damage. Then students received word from

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university lawyers that an agreement had

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been made and that their demands were being

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met. They celebrated. Some students went

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home, others began to clean. But, within a

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day, they learned that the agreement

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hadn't fully passed and was being held up

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by the Faculty Association. In, I think

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justifiable anger the students began

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throwing things out the windows, namely

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computer cards, as you can see in the

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picture on the right. They also broke

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windows, and there was general damage to

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the computers and equipment in the room as

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they barricaded themselves into the

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computer center.

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The university responded to

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these actions with threats, intimidation

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and violence when they called the police

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to intervene. Because the students had

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barricaded themselves into the computer

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room, there was no way in for the police

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and things were at an impasse until a

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fire was started that put the lives of the

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protesters in jeopardy. A door had to be

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broken with an axe in order for them to

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escape. At which point, they were met with

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intimidation, beatings and violence at the

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hands of the riot police who freed them,

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as seen in the image on the left. While

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this was happening upstairs, there were

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also disturbances on the street. Protesters

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in support of the students and counter-protesteers

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chatting obscene things like:

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''Let the n** burn!'' were clashing and

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police were actively attempting to keep

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the peace downstairs, while actively

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breaking the peace upstairs by beating and

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arresting students. In all 97 people were

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arrested and 42 of them were Black. Now

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when you search the Sir George

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Williams affair, there are a wealth of

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images to choose from. So I'm going to

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explain why I chose these specific images.

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The photo to the left is striking to me,

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because there have been calls to send the

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Caribbean students back home before the

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peaceful protest even began, and calls

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from counter-protesters in the street

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while the computer lab was on fire. So

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this photo for me shows that they couldn't

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send them home. And they didn't let them

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burn. But they did use violence and force

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and intimidation to reinforce

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that trying to fight for justice wasn't

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welcome. And there's the double disservice

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done to these protesters, because the

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university that they placed their faith in,

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most of them as immigrants, called the

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police on them. When all they wanted was to

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be fairly heard and taken seriously

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because Professor Anderson was racially

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motivated to give Black students lower

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grades in a required class. The photo on

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the right is striking to me, because it

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shows the results of protests that are

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brought to a boiling point. These students

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believed that their protests had made a

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difference only for the resolution they

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had long hoped for to be taken away. I

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think it's important, also as a reminder,

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that the action that led to beatings, and

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to great violence was to throw paper up a

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window. Yes, it was destructive. But the

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actions of the protesters did not endanger

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anyone or put anyone's life at risk. 

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The actions that they were met with in

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response

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did.

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I'd like to play this trailer and leave

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everyone with an amazing documentary

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called:''Ninth Floor'', directed by Mina Shum that

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uses firsthand accounts from protesters,

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and some of the original counter-protestors

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as well as archival material

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to beautifully tell the story of Black

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protest in Canada.


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Let's go everybody who believes in justice

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take a stand.

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Take a stand.

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We, as students feel that

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we have a right to be heard. 10 months ago,

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the Black students have laid some charges

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of racism against the Sir George Williams

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professor. "I suppose in in my my heart, I

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figured we'd occupy it and two days later,

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and I'll be resolved and everybody be

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happy and we'd be singing Kumbaya. Not

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exactly what happened." "It was so fast." "It

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was one of the very first times in my life

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that I was actually afraid for my life." "We

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were tricked." "It was not a victory.

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people were yelling: "Burn n** Burn"

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This chanting, of 'let the n** burn' they

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wanted us to die." "That shook me to my

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core, of course, because that means that

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there are people around who don't mind seeing

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other people perish."

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I strongly suggest everyone watch this

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film, the link to the National Film Board

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website where you can view it will be in

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the resources. I think it shows that through

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visual culture and protests through visual

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culture it is important that we share

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striking images of resilience such as

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these. They help ground us and they remind

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us of the work of protesters before us.

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visual culture shown through protests can

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help us make sure we don't lose ourselves

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and lose our goals as protests and

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movements evolve, and are met with great

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violence.

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And this is our third and final case study

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which happened very recently. This summary

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is extracted from the CBC. "A group of

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activists topple the statue of Sir John A.

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McDonald in Place du Canada in downtown

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Montreal in the aftermath of the protest

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calling for the defunding of the police

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force. The incident took place following a

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peaceful march through downtown Montreal,

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one of several demonstrations held across

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Canada, organized by a coalition

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of Black and Indigenous activists. A CBC

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journalist obtained a leaflet from a

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demonstrator who said it had been

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distributed to explain the Act. The leaflet

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points to an online petition with more

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than 46,000 signatures, asking Montreal

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Mayor Valérie Plante to take down the

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statue. It writes: Sir John A. MacDonald was a

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white supremacist who orchestrated the

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genocide of Indigenous peoples with the

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creation of the brutal residential

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school system, as well as promoting other

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measures that attacked Indigenous peoples

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and traditions." Because of the citsy'

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inaction, a diverse coalition of young

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activists desired to act according to the

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leaflet, though it does not identify the

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coalition. The statue of MacDonald, Canada's

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first prime minister has been the site of

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repeated acts of graffiti in recent years,

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and has been often covered in red paint.

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It was also decapitated by unknown vandals

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in 1992. The Montreal Gazette reported at the

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time that a fax sent to the media

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outlets claimed the act of vandalism was

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timed to commemorate the anniversary of

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the hanging of Louie Riel on November

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16 1885.

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This video, adapted from the one posted by

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@noreornot on Twitter, has been seen

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over 1.5 million times on the platform.

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Various local and national news outlets

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have shared the video on their own social

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media platform, including YouTube. Where

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this has amassed tens of thousands of

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additional views, not including the views

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and received from broadcast and cable

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news. What makes a hashtag, image meme or

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00:16:03,390 --> 00:16:06,270
video go viral? We have seen other statues

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00:16:06,270 --> 00:16:09,090
in the US and UK go down to much fanfare.

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00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,070
But now that it has happened here,

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controversy brews. The clash of the public

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opinion versus that of government

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officials is emblematic of the struggles

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between protesters and those who wield

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power. This is a stark visual and symbolic

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gesture toward the transformative power of

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the community in solidarity, to literally

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topple the systems that don't serve them.

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Which is why I think this video is so

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powerful and will be preserved in the

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cultural memory.

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00:16:41,309 --> 00:16:43,769
Okay, so now Kristen, that we have given this

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talk. How do you think that the people

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00:16:46,829 --> 00:16:50,009
listening can incorporate these principles

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into their lives, either students or

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00:16:53,699 --> 00:16:56,309
educators or community organizers.

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00:16:57,330 --> 00:17:00,930
I think they can do that by remembering

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00:17:00,930 --> 00:17:03,480
the reasons why people protest. And

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remembering the ways in which these images

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00:17:06,030 --> 00:17:10,020
of protest can be motivation, and can show

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00:17:10,020 --> 00:17:12,420
them that it has been done before. We have

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00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:15,690
made social change before and showing

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00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:17,880
previous protests while you do your own

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00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,770
protests, or while you create your own

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00:17:19,770 --> 00:17:22,560
protests can be very motivating, as I said

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00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:26,100
before, it can show you that there is a

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00:17:26,100 --> 00:17:28,200
point to what you're doing, and that even

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the smallest action can make a big

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difference.

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00:17:32,670 --> 00:17:35,820
So in thinking of images and media be just

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saw today. Is there anything

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00:17:38,100 --> 00:17:39,630
particular about them, or maybe one in

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00:17:39,630 --> 00:17:41,610
particular that really struck you?

401
00:17:44,040 --> 00:17:47,370
I think across all of them, it goes back

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00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:50,550
to each individual action. It's like each

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00:17:50,550 --> 00:17:53,070
drop of water is part of the big, like

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00:17:53,070 --> 00:17:56,070
flood, right? So I think each of the

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00:17:56,070 --> 00:17:57,990
things that we brought up, Angélique was

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00:17:57,990 --> 00:18:00,930
one person, the student protesters, yes,

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00:18:00,930 --> 00:18:02,790
there were 200 of them. But all of them

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00:18:02,820 --> 00:18:04,830
work together in a concentrated effort,

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00:18:04,860 --> 00:18:07,080
each individual person did a thing that

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00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,880
was part of the protest. And then the

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00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,310
toppling of the statue, 46,000 people

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00:18:11,310 --> 00:18:13,320
agreed it should be toppled. And nothing

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00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,140
happened. But the few people that day took

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00:18:16,140 --> 00:18:18,150
action, individual action that led to

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00:18:18,150 --> 00:18:20,730
social change. And so I think that all of

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the images together are very striking.

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00:18:23,130 --> 00:18:24,990
Because they can be used for motivation

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00:18:24,990 --> 00:18:26,700
and they can show us that each individual

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00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:29,940
person can be shown through protest can

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00:18:29,940 --> 00:18:32,640
use protest to make collective change.

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00:18:33,810 --> 00:18:36,810
And I'm going to turn it around on you and

422
00:18:36,810 --> 00:18:40,590
ask how do we then use this culture? I've

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00:18:40,590 --> 00:18:42,810
used the word motivation a lot, but with

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00:18:42,810 --> 00:18:44,790
motivation, and with a lot of people comes

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00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:46,710
that need to strategize. So how can we

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00:18:46,710 --> 00:18:49,320
strategize and actually use visual culture

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00:18:49,410 --> 00:18:51,720
to organize and to lead protests?

428
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,310
Yeah, I think in this particular moment,

429
00:18:56,310 --> 00:18:58,410
it is extremely important to be really

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00:18:58,410 --> 00:19:02,460
strategic with how we organize, 1) because

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00:19:02,460 --> 00:19:04,680
you know, we live in such a deeply

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00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,200
capitalistic system, often we just do not

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00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,810
have the amount of leisure time required,

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00:19:10,170 --> 00:19:12,060
also, you know, that we would love to have in

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00:19:12,060 --> 00:19:15,870
order to, you know, like, get together,

436
00:19:15,930 --> 00:19:19,200
meeting groups and organize and plan these 

437
00:19:19,260 --> 00:19:22,470
like, really momentous, protesting

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00:19:22,470 --> 00:19:25,320
occasions. Also, you know, we're all

439
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,160
living in COVID-19 2020, where, you know,

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00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,040
we're most often confined to our homes,

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00:19:32,730 --> 00:19:35,100
occupying like government offices, you

442
00:19:35,100 --> 00:19:36,960
know, there's no one in them, that doesn't

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00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:40,170
really serve the same function. So it's

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00:19:40,170 --> 00:19:42,150
important to think differently about how

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00:19:42,150 --> 00:19:44,250
we get our message across how we get them,

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00:19:44,790 --> 00:19:47,010
you know, to our communities, and also how

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00:19:47,010 --> 00:19:50,610
we get the, you know, the people in power.

448
00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,220
And 2) so thinking about visual culture,

449
00:19:53,250 --> 00:19:54,990
especially in terms of like how we can

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00:19:54,990 --> 00:19:57,690
circulate media, through social media is

451
00:19:57,690 --> 00:20:01,830
really important. So let's say you know if

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00:20:02,370 --> 00:20:04,830
the most recent example, the the toppling

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00:20:04,830 --> 00:20:08,190
of statue of Sir John McDonald, if that had

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00:20:08,190 --> 00:20:09,750
happened, and maybe just you know,

455
00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:11,520
happened, it was not filmed, and people

456
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:14,100
talk about it through word of mouth. Maybe

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00:20:14,100 --> 00:20:16,350
the people who are who saw it in person

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00:20:16,350 --> 00:20:18,000
might have been like radicalized in that

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00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,280
moment. That is a pretty limited number of

460
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,490
people. However, you know, having millions

461
00:20:23,490 --> 00:20:26,700
of people see this video online, having it

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00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:29,610
circulate across Canada, and

463
00:20:29,610 --> 00:20:32,730
transnationally. Yeah, you know, it's

464
00:20:32,730 --> 00:20:35,370
like, really like fuels a greater fire,

465
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:37,830
it's getting more people involved. It's

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00:20:37,830 --> 00:20:39,990
like sparking more discussions, that

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00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:41,640
people are asking more questions. And I

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00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,160
think this is like a really effective way

469
00:20:44,610 --> 00:20:48,420
of mobilizing, like a smaller effort or

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00:20:48,420 --> 00:20:50,910
like an effort of like a few individuals,

471
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,400
and getting like a much greater community

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00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,700
involved in the protests, in the

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00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:59,220
discussions in these conversations, which

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00:20:59,220 --> 00:21:01,170
is how we are this is just how we like

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00:21:01,170 --> 00:21:04,230
start working towards like systemic

476
00:21:04,260 --> 00:21:06,630
change. Yeah,

477
00:21:06,810 --> 00:21:08,040
I would agree 100%.

478
00:21:09,599 --> 00:21:13,769
And so if people are interested in, you

479
00:21:13,769 --> 00:21:17,069
know, learning more about protesting, about

480
00:21:17,069 --> 00:21:21,239
Canadian media. We have some general

481
00:21:21,239 --> 00:21:24,869
resources here. So the first one, we'd like

482
00:21:24,869 --> 00:21:27,809
to plug specifically about Canadian media

483
00:21:27,809 --> 00:21:30,749
and anti-racism is a podcast called: "Do the

484
00:21:30,749 --> 00:21:33,779
kids know?" Kristen, I think you and I

485
00:21:33,779 --> 00:21:37,469
are involved. So we'll be producing this

486
00:21:37,469 --> 00:21:41,879
podcast, I highly suggest you check it

487
00:21:41,879 --> 00:21:44,789
out at dothekidsknow.ca  If

488
00:21:44,789 --> 00:21:45,869
you're interested in reading more

489
00:21:45,899 --> 00:21:47,939
specifically about the idea of protest

490
00:21:47,969 --> 00:21:51,059
aesthetics, and how do we memorialize

491
00:21:51,059 --> 00:21:54,569
protests in the age of the internet. I co-

492
00:21:54,569 --> 00:21:56,939
authored this chapter called "Art of the

493
00:21:56,939 --> 00:21:59,579
March: archiving aesthetics of the Women's

494
00:21:59,579 --> 00:22:02,039
March," which will be available in the book

495
00:22:02,099 --> 00:22:04,859
Design and Political Dissent, Spaces,

496
00:22:04,889 --> 00:22:07,379
Objects Materiality, which is coming out

497
00:22:07,619 --> 00:22:11,009
next month from Rutledge. And if you're

498
00:22:11,009 --> 00:22:13,619
interested in finding out ways to get

499
00:22:13,619 --> 00:22:16,799
involved in more local efforts, or

500
00:22:16,799 --> 00:22:19,619
national efforts, we suggest checking out

501
00:22:19,679 --> 00:22:22,439
Black Lives Matter Canada at Blacklivesmatter.ca

502
00:22:22,439 --> 00:22:28,139
We also have more resources and

503
00:22:28,139 --> 00:22:30,389
kind of like a bibliography relating to

504
00:22:30,389 --> 00:22:34,469
more media and examples for the three

505
00:22:34,889 --> 00:22:36,629
case studies we had we have things to

506
00:22:36,629 --> 00:22:40,919
read, things to watch and things to enjoy.

507
00:22:42,839 --> 00:22:45,479
Thank you so much for taking the time to

508
00:22:45,509 --> 00:22:48,509
listen to us. And we hope this has been

509
00:22:48,509 --> 00:22:54,329
insightful and motivating. And yeah, you

510
00:22:54,329 --> 00:22:58,079
know, this is a big, anti-racism it's a

511
00:22:58,079 --> 00:23:00,239
big, it's a big challenge. But I believe

512
00:23:00,239 --> 00:23:02,729
that truly like together we can work to

513
00:23:02,879 --> 00:23:05,939
overcome it and create a positive

514
00:23:05,939 --> 00:23:06,449
change.

515
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:08,400
Beautifully said. Thanks for having us.

516
00:23:11,460 --> 00:23:13,290
Thanks Jamilah and thanks Kristen.

517
00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:14,460
Thanks Prakash