Funke Aladejebi, "Schooling the System: A History of Black Women Teachers" (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2021)
In post-World War II Canada, black women\u2019s positions within the teaching profession served as sites of struggle and conflict as the nation worked to address the needs of its diversifying population. From their entry into teachers\u2019 college through their careers in the classroom and administration, black women educators encountered systemic racism and gender barriers at every step. So they worked to change the system.\nUsing oral narratives to tell the story of black access and education in Ontario between the 1940s and the 1980s, Schooling the System provides textured insight into how issues of race, gender, class, geographic origin, and training shaped women\u2019s distinct experiences within the profession.\xa0\nIn\xa0Schooling the System: A History of Black Women Teachers\xa0(McGill-Queen's UP, 2021),\xa0Funk\xe9 Aladejebi illustrates that black women, as a diverse group, made vital contributions to the creation and development of anti-racist education in Canada. As cultural mediators within Ontario school systems, these women circumvented subtle and overt forms of racial and social exclusion to create resistive teaching methods that centred black knowledges and traditions. Within their wider communities and activist circles, they fought to change entrenched ideas about what Canadian citizenship should look like.\nAs schools continue to grapple with creating diverse educational programs for all Canadians, Schooling the System is a timely excavation of the meaningful contributions of black women educators who helped create equitable policies and practices in schools and communities.\nPamela Fuentes\xa0is an Assistant Professor in the Women\u2019s and Gender Studies Department at Pace University-NYC campus\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies