McMaster University holds its first ever Black graduation celebration
CBC
When walking through the halls and grounds and classrooms at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ashley Assam says, "just by being on campus, you don't see a lot of Black people."
That's one of the reasons people there organized, on Monday June 13, the school's first ever Black graduation ceremony.
"What it meant to me was just the fact that I felt like myself and a lot of other Black students who are really small in numbers unfortunately were going to be seen and celebrated," said Assam, co-president of the Black Student Association and new graduate of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program.
"To me, I felt like Black students were going to be seen, going to be heard," she said.
Faith Ogunkoya, manager of the university's Black Student Success Centre, organized the ceremony.
"It was important for me to bring the whole community together and to say, 'look around, this is your ecosystem of Black student success,'" she said.
The Black graduation ceremony was separate from the school's convocation ceremony and included students, faculty and community members to celebrate the excellence of Black McMaster graduates.
Ogunkoya hoped that students felt inspired by the support system that congregated at Monday's ceremony.
"It was very much about mitigating that social isolation that happens when you feel — in a predominately white institution — you're outnumbered, it's good for you to look around and see yourself," she said.
Ogunkoya said it took four weeks of hard work to bring the ceremony together.
"What was important was to make sure I brought together Black faculty members, Black staff members and the students themselves," she said. "I also made sure alumni voice was there."
The ceremony also included Black-owned businesses like Bliss Gelato and Afrolicious.
"The whole day was about celebrating and centering Blackness," Ogunkoya said.
Back in 1967, Dr. Gary Warner, currently professor emeritus at McMaster University, was the only Black professor on campus.
The province and district social services administration boards say plans are in place to ensure people on social assistance do not miss out on benefits as a result of the strike by Canada Post employees.
Near the exit to Truro, N.S., a cluster of colorful tents and a lone RV can be seen alongside Highway 102, some tucked under the overpass for shelter from the elements.
Police and Public Trust, a project of the CBC News Atlantic investigative unit, scrutinizes the largely off-limits police complaint and discipline systems across the region. Journalists are using access to information laws and, in some cases, court challenges to obtain discipline records and data.
Toronto police have arrested a GTA woman who they allege scammed dozens of Taylor Swift fans out of more than $70,000 by promising them tickets that never materialized.
Montreal was, in years past, considered a haven for renters. But those days are long gone.
WARNING: This story details violent events surrounding a fatal police shooting.
It took Gordon Frentz over 14 hours to drive through the snow from Grande Prairie, Alta., this past weekend to compete at this year's Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.
The coroner's inquest into the drug-related deaths of six men in custody at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre will revisit 2018 recommendations relating to eight other inmate deaths to determine what's been done to implement them, the inquest's lawyer said Monday on the first day of hearings.
Emily Walstrom was expecting to lay her father to rest this month, but instead, she says his cremated remains are stuck in a Canada Post facility in B.C., delayed by the ongoing national postal strike.
A Friday night fire hasn't caused any impact to operations at the Dryden mill, the company said.
With around 55,000 Canada Post workers on strike since Nov.15 and no deal in sight, Toronto businesses say they're gearing up for a tough holiday season.