Under the aegis of Harambec and in partnership with the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, we seek to organize a commemoration to honour the work and commitment of Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill, who conceptualized, developed, and taught the first ever university-accredited course on Black Women’s Studies offered in Canada, “Black Women: The Missing Pages from Canadian Women’s Studies” at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute.

The bilingual commemoration events will be held on campus in October and includes 2 round table discussions and 1 award ceremony honoring Dr. Esmeralda Thornhill and announcing the launch of the Black Speaker Series.

The first round table event seek to bring together Black organizers who were active in the Congress of Black Women of Canada(CBWC), Coloured Women’s Club and Union United Church for a discussion on past anti-Black racism initiatives. Archives will be on display on location, thanks to the work of Harambec’s in-house archivist specializing in the history of the Black Women’s Congress.

The second round table event, titled “The Black Woman and Her Family” pays homage to the 1974’s CBWC congress theme. Both the Black Women’s Congress and Harambec are dedicated to improving the well-being of Black women and their families. The event seeks to foster discussions on anti-Black racism faced by children at school by bringing together researchers, community workers, parents, and activists with various levels of experience.

To ensure the events are accessible there will be simultaneous French/English translation, sign language interpreters and childcare offered to attendees.