Race relations in Canada will be the focus of a public lecture and film screening being  hosted by the Department of History next week, as part of Queen’s University’s Visiting Scholar Program. Michele Johnson, associate professor of history and Director of the Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas at York University, will be visiting campus on March 2 and 3 respectively.

“Professor Michele Johnson is a highly respected scholar of the experiences of blacks in the African diaspora, and we are excited to have here visit Queen’s to share her work with our students,” says Barrington Walker, an associate professor in the Department of History and organizer of the event.

“Queen's University's Visiting Professor Program has enabled us to bring Professor Johnson to our campus where she will explore the theme of race relations in multicultural Canada, through the lens of 'black' bodies in 'white' spaces.”

On March 2, Dr. Johnson will deliver a public lecture, titled, “’Black’ bodies in ‘White’ Spaces: Disrupting the Discourse of Tolerance in Multicultural Canada.” The lecture will take place 5:30-7 pm in the Biosciences Complex, Room 1102. In her lecture, Dr. Johnson will discuss her research on the history of Canada’s Caribbean domestic scheme.

On March 3, Dr. Johnson will lead a film screening and discussion on “Crisis at Sir George.” The film analyses the 1969 Sir George Williams University student protests in Montreal, in which over 400 students occupied a campus computer lab, to protest the way the university handled allegations of racism against a professor. The screening is set for 1-3 pm in MacDonald Hall, Room 002.

Both events are free to attend and open to the public. For more information on Dr. Johnson’s visit, or to learn more about future guest lectures, visit the Department of History’s website.