Black Studies

Dr. Laura Mae Lindo (she/her/elle) is a respected activist and educator who holds both a Masters and PhD in Education. Dr. Lindo is a knowledgeable advocate for the rights of womxn and girls, a respected ally to vulnerable communities, and, most importantly, a courageous public speaker, ready, willing, and able to speak to issues often left unaddressed. Her research includes an exploration of the use of humour to initiate discussions of race and racism in pre-service classrooms and forms the foundation of her upcoming book, Unthinkable Laugher: (Re)Imagining Anti-Racist Education (the University of Toronto Press). Dr. Lindo has worked at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Diversity Institute as well as lectured at St. Francis Xavier University (Antigonish, Nova Scotia), the University of Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island), York University (Toronto, Ontario), and Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario). A former Member of the Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre and Ontario’s Official Opposition Critic for Anti-Racism and Equity as well as Colleges and Universities, Dr. Lindo was the inaugural Chair of Ontario’s first Black Caucus. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario) and Founder and Director of the e(RACE)r Institute where she continues to put anti-racist theory into practice. 

Jermal Alleyne Jones (he/him) is an educator, advocate, and researcher dedicated to advancing Black Studies and anti-racist practice at the University of Waterloo. Currently, he serves as the Associate Director of EDIA at the University of Waterloo Libraries, leading initiatives and programs to cultivate equity, diversity, inclusion, and access across campus, both within and outside the academic environment. Mr. Jones is a co-founder of Next Gen Men, a Canadian nonprofit organization that empowers men and boys to change the way they perceive, think, and act about masculinities. His research as a second-year PhD student in the Recreation and Leisure Aging, Health, and Wellbeing program centers on the intersections between race (Black), ethnicity, gender (male-identified men and boys ), and ag(e)ing from an interdisciplinary lens. He is interested in employing fugitive methodologies and practices as both a tool and a way of life to support the well-being of Black men and boys over the life course.

Julian McCants-Turner (he\him) is a social justice educator, anti-violence advocate, and restorative and transformative justice practitioner. Since elementary school, he has been a passionate student of Black history, culture, and politics. At Wilfrid Laurier University, Julian provides equity case management and holistic support to those experiencing identity-based harms. Previously, he coordinated psychoeducation and peer support groups for people who have caused sexual harm at Community Justice Initiatives in Kitchener. As a carceral abolitionist, Julian is dedicated to fostering inclusive and accountable spaces that amplify the voices of marginalized people. Whether advocating for patients at an under-resourced hospital, camping out at the bedsides of those living with H.I.V./AIDS, or hanging out at the Kitchener community fridge, Julian has sought to create and hold space for the overlooked. He holds a non-binary view of the world that enables him to recognize a spectrum on which people exist and see the humanity that resides in all. Period. He finds hope and joy in jazz, reading, and imagining a world without systems of oppression