A Classroom Chorus: Black Feminist Offerings in a Time of Crisis

Susanne Nyaga; Sumia Ali; Simran Baadh; Magdalee Brunache; Tayah Clarke; Matthew Molinaro; abisola oni; Stephanie Sawah; Leslyn Stobbs

Authors

Susanne Nyaga
Sumia Ali
Simran Baadh
Magdalee Brunache
Tayah Clarke
Matthew Molinaro
abisola oni
Stephanie Sawah
Leslyn Stobbs

Abstract

This paper shares the experiences of diverse scholars exploring radical traditions of collective resistance in a graduate course on Black feminist thought. Nine scholars curated a polyvocal reflection navigating questions of intimacy, study, and racial capitalism, offering, in return, abolitionist pedagogies, methods of recognition, and ethics of collective care.

Cet article présente l’expérience de chercheur·e·s aux horizons divers explorant les traditions radicales de résistance collective
dans le cadre d’un cours de deuxième cycle sur la pensée féministe noire. Neuf chercheur·e·s ont élaboré une réflexion polyvocale
qui interroge les notions d’intimité, d’étude et de capitalisme racial, proposant en retour des pédagogies abolitionnistes, des méthodes de reconnaissance et une éthique du soin collectif.

Author Biographies

Susanne Nyaga

Susanne Nyaga (she/her) is a PhD student in Social Justice Education, University of Toronto. Her research explores Black feminist radicalism, examining transnational ethics of care central to collective liberation.

Sumia Ali

Sumia Ali (she/her) is a PhD student in the Geography and Planning Department and a collaborative student at the School of Environment at the University of Toronto. Her research explores environmental injustice through the lens of racial capitalism.

Simran Baadh

Simran Baadh (she/her) is a PhD student in Political Science and a collaborative student at the Women and
Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Her research explores women farmers’ resistance to neoliberal politics in India.

Magdalee Brunache

Magdalee Brunache (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Political Science and collaborative student at the Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto. She studies Caribbean grassroots self‑defense and vernacular justice.

Tayah Clarke

Tayah Clarke (she/her) is an English PhD student at McMaster University. Her research explores Black queer feminist praxes, identifying collectivities of care in past and present abolition movements

Matthew Molinaro

Matthew Molinaro (he/him) is a Toronto-born journalist and cultural worker. In his graduate studies, Matthew centres his research on the literatures and histories of the African diaspora, Caribbean, and hemispheric Americas.

abisola oni

abisola oni (she/her) is a writer, curator, and performance artist holding a Master of Visual Studies in Curatorial Studies from the University of Toronto.

Stephanie Sawah

Stephanie Sawah (she/her) holds a Master of Arts from the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Stephanie hosts an abolitionist reading group aimed at engaging the wider public on questions of abolitionist praxis.

Leslyn Stobbs

Leslyn Stobbs (she/her) is a PhD student at University of Toronto’s Women and Gender Studies Institute. Her current work is grounded in the entangled risks, vulnerabilities, and care-filled survival networks that constitute Black, queer, and crip life.

A Classroom Chorus

Black Feminist Offerings in a Time of Crisis