DIVERSIFYING BLACKNESS IN THE AGE OF EDIA

Abstract

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA), has become a strategic priority for academic institutions in the Canadian Maritimes and beyond, as through them, universities hope to be seen as progressive. Race, gender and sexuality are just a few factors that can be addressed in EDIA initiatives, goals and objectives, usually implemented for a set time period. Intersectional identities such as race, class, sex, gender and citizenship status all play a role in informing the experience of being specifically a Black student in Canada, shaped by broader social understandings of race. This can result in the homogenization of differences within Blackness with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Considering the nuances of identity politics that surround the experience of being a student, but also a racialized student within Canada, creates unique experiences and barriers that manifest when these and other identities overlap.