Preliminary findings and recommendations
November 2021
The President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism has released its preliminary recommendations to Anne Whitelaw, Concordia’s provost and vice-president, Academic.
The 12 recommendations stem from the work of the task force’s six subcommittees to better understand the lived experiences of Black Concordians and identify solutions to the systemic issues they have faced, individually and collectively, as students, faculty and staff. The recommendations also align with Concordia’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. They are divided into institution-specific (6) and stakeholder-specific recommendations (6).
Report summary
Preliminary findings
At the mid-point of the Task Force’s mandate, the following areas emerge as requiring specific elaboration: data collection; recruitment, hiring and retention; education and training; curriculum; Black-specific space and student well-being; recognition; fundraising; and policies and protocols.
Based on the above findings, the President’s Task Force on Anti-Black Racism makes the following 12 preliminary recommendations to the university that include institution-specific recommendations and stakeholder-specific recommendations.
Institution-specific recommendations
- Develop a strategic plan for Black-specific data collection
- Increase the representation of Black faculty and staff to better reflect Concordia’s Black student population, as well as Montreal’s Black population
- Implement a mandatory and continuous university-wide training program on anti-racism that includes a specific chapter on anti-Black racism
- Create certificate and minor programs in the short term that focus on Black and African diaspora studies in the Canadian context and commit to the ultimate creation of a major program
- Establish a permanent resource on Black perspectives at the Centre for Teaching and Learning
- Establish permanent library support to highlight Black scholarship
Stakeholder-specific recommendations
- Implement training in de-escalation, anti-oppression and anti-racist practices for Campus Security personnel
- Develop a strategic plan to offer mental health services designed to meet the needs of Black Concordians
- Create a permanent student centre servicing Black students
- Implement culturally relevant mentorship programs for Black faculty and staff
- Develop a strategic plan for fundraising to finance support services for local and international Black students and to develop Black studies curricula
- Provide public recognition of the presence and contributions of Black Concordians over the course of Concordia’s history