Securing Black Futures
York University has received a $1.2-million donation from the RBC Foundation as part of RBC Future Launch, directly supporting the work of the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora, held by education Professor Carl James in partnership with colleagues from four universities across the country – Dalhousie University, McMaster University, University of Calgary, and University of British Columbia.
Social Capital & Social Mobility
Our work will explore how in Canada racialized peoples are working to access the necessary opportunities to realize their career ambitions. While there is not an insignificant body of research on the questions of social mobility and social capital in the United States, this work lacks precedent in Canada. Our work will include the first ever longitudinal survey to establish how social capital might be acquired and utilized towards the realization of racialized individuals' ambitions.
Black Student Transfer Experiences
Funded by Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer, this research initiative seeks to examine the experiences and plans of Black students in the selection, navigation, and completion of their selected educational pathway. This research will report on the conditions which shape their interests, plans and decisions related to their education, occupation and career ambitions.
Year 1 Transition
This project engages Black students in university spaces to inspire them to explore their interests, affirm their aspirations to pursue post-secondary education (“PSE”) and provide connection to mentorship opportunities in areas of interest.
Summer Program - Digital Media & Decision Making
We offer 15-20 high school students the the opportunity to participate in 10 weeks of activities on the campuses of York University and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). The aim of the program is to have participants reflect on the role of social media in shaping their educational and social activities, ambitions, and decision-making.
Black Internship Program (Co-op) Credit
Designed to increase Black leadership and education engagement through skills development, experiential learning, and credit accumulation. It involves the participation of students, teachers and the workplace (placement supervisors).
Day at York
The “Day at York” programming provides Black middle- and high-school students an opportunity to see and imagine themselves within a post-secondary Institution.
Race and the Ontario Courts
Funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario, the two-year project Does Race Matter? An examination of how Ontario courts consider anti-Black racism in the sentencing of African Canadians? The project is co-led by Dr. James and Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, University of Toronto. The project aims to support the development of possible frameworks and tools that the justice system can effectively use to address the overrepresentation of African Canadians in Ontario correctional facilities.
Completed Research Projects
| Black Child and Youth Studies Network This is a provincial multi-disciplinary, multi-institution research network that aims to help address issues of inequity and racism experienced by Black children and youth in systems of education and healthcare. |
| Financial Awards and Black Students’ Persistence in PSE “Are scholarships enough?” This project explores the impact of financial awards on Black students’ access to, persistence in, and completion of post-secondary education in Ontario. What we learn from this project will help us construct a useful understanding of how we can improve the outcomes for Black students in post-secondary, and other educational, institutions. |
| We Rise Together Completed a research partnership with the Peel District School Board, Ontario that examined the experiences of Black students in the school board. The research initiative is part of the school board’s We Rise Together Action Plan to address antiBlack racism and the low achievement gap among its Black students. Please see final report here. LEARN MORE |
| Towards Race Equity in Education: The Schooling of Black Students in the Greater Toronto Area This report is the result of a collaborative project between Dr. Carl James; the African Canadian Legal Clinic (ACLC); and the Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators (ONABSE). The community consultations were organized by the ACLC and ONABSE, while the research (data collection, analysis, and report writing) was led by Dr. Carl James with Tana Turner. LEARN MORE |