Laura Mae Lindo: Uncovering the Racial Contract: A story of Bill 67 in Ontario
In December 2021, Bill 67, the Racial Equity in the Education System Act, was tabled to ensure educators in Ontario were provided with the tools that they need to uphold their legal obligation as laid out through Ontario's Education Act: to build inclusive classrooms. While tabling the Bill was a response to community advocacy demanding that schools become anti-racist spaces - spaces that encourage and support racial equity qua praxis - what ensued raised questions as to the role, purpose, and vision not only for education in Ontario but also for the type of advocacy expected from public officials. This is that story.
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.