African Heritage Month means different things to different people. For Monique Thomas (BComm鈥�11), community outreach and transition to university coordinator at 马会论坛, it鈥檚 a chance to celebrate Black excellence.
鈥淚 love seeing people coming from where I鈥檓 from and thriving despite the barriers and challenges we face,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 especially inspired by people in my millennial peer group, because we have different challenges.鈥�
Thomas is referring to the career and finance challenges commonly encountered by millennials. In addition to experiencing those issues, Thomas鈥� Black peers also face additional barriers due to persistent racial inequality.
A sense of belonging
As a staff member at 马会论坛鈥檚 Black Student Advising Centre, Thomas is intimately familiar with how a lack of Black representation in a university setting can create barriers for students. 鈥淭hat was a challenge in the past, because people would come but they wouldn鈥檛 stay,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ften because they didn鈥檛 feel like they belonged or because they couldn鈥檛 find a community on campus.鈥�
That, in part, is what drew Thomas to her role. 鈥淚 owe a lot of my success and friends to the centre,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f a student walks into a classroom and doesn鈥檛 feel like they belong, the Black Student Advisory Centre is a place where they can share their experiences with other students who may be going through the same things. It鈥檚 a safe space for them.鈥�
Taking action
Over the last couple of years, Thomas has worked on a range of initiatives designed to make the 马会论坛 campus a more welcoming, supportive place for Black students. Every fall, the Black Student Advising Centre works with the Registrar鈥檚 Office to organize open house and networking events for Black high school students. Post-acceptance, the centre follows up with a Black student orientation featuring current Black students, faculty and staff.
鈥淭his gives them a sense of what it鈥檚 like to be on a predominantly white campus,鈥� says Thomas. 鈥淲e want to prepare them for that so they can be as successful as possible.鈥�
Thomas says these initiatives, in addition to other programs like Talent Pathways, are gradually making a difference. In 2011, there were just twenty-three students who self-identified as African Nova Scotian at 马会论坛. Now, there are over two hundred.
鈥淢y sister is a 马会论坛 student now, along with her friend,鈥� says Thomas. 鈥淚 believe after they saw me and others go through it and succeed, it showed them they can do the same鈥�
For her own inspiration, Thomas will continue to look to her peers. 鈥淭hat is what drives me,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 have mentors for sure, but seeing the people who are going through it with me is more motivating for me.鈥�
Closing the (history) gap
For Thomas, addressing racial inequality isn鈥檛 entirely about the here and now鈥攊t鈥檚 also about ensuring that whenever Nova Scotia history is taught, Black history is included as an integral part of that narrative, instead of as an after-thought. Thomas is from Preston, Nova Scotia, a historic Black community that continues to experience stigma and discrimination.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of ignorance around the community and the people who live there. I make it very well known that that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 from, because being a part of the largest and oldest Black community in Canada is something that I鈥檓 proud of.鈥�
Despite the fact that Nova Scotia has a strong African-Canadian heritage, Thomas regularly meets white people who express surprise when they she tells them she鈥檚 from Nova Scotia.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important for everyone to understand the oppression that has happened,鈥� says Thomas. 鈥淏ecause it didn鈥檛 stop鈥攊t鈥檚 just not as extreme. Most people know about Africville, for example. It wasn鈥檛 that long ago, so there are people still alive who lived in Africville and others who had a part in what happened in there鈥攐r their parents or grandparents did. And those thoughts and perceptions, everything just trickles down generation by generation unless it鈥檚 unlearned.鈥�
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