Jasmine Mahoro

U of T prof explores experiences of Canadian-born youth of Somali descent

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:09:40 +0000

U of T prof explores experiences of Canadian-born youth of Somali descent

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 03/05/2024 - 12:09

Cutline

As part of a two-year research project, Ahmed Ilmi interviewed a group of Canadian-born youth of Somali descent living in Toronto’s Rexdale neighbourhood (photo by Don Campbell)

Jasmine Mahoro

Topic

Our Community

Africa

Black

Cities

Muslims

U of T Scarborough

Subheadline

"I started looking at questions of being Black, Muslim and African – and being a member of this diaspora within a broader Canadian identity"

Ahmed Ilmi has witnessed firsthand the lack of inclusion and support for Black Muslim youth in the classroom – a topic he’s now exploring as a scholar at the University of Toronto.

An assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of global development studies at U of T Scarborough, Ilmi’s work looks at the ways early educational experiences can be linked to social exclusion and identity formation among Black Canadian youth in Greater Toronto.

For two years he conducted interviews with Canadian-born youth of Somali descent living in the Toronto neighbourhood of Rexdale, which is home to a large and vibrant Somali diaspora community. Ilmi says the interviews he conducted highlight the anti-Black racism and Islamophobia experienced in the community – and reveals how this group has built their own unique identity that differs from previous generations.

He adds that the neighbourhood’s youth have coined the unique term Say-Walahi, a fusion of English and Somali that loosely translates to “swear to God” – a term that hints at multiple identities as Canadian and Muslim of Somali descent.

Writer Jasmine Mahoro spoke to Ilmi about the project and what educators can do to better support Black youth.

What inspired you to take on this project?

My goal is to study how colonial education manifests itself within the classroom, in community settings and across society. I look at marginalized Black students and the influences on Black boys, especially, in the classroom. For my current work, there is a known concentration of Black Muslim youth of Somali descent in Rexdale and the community has had low education outcomes due to systemic challenges with white, Eurocentric education.

I was also thinking about who I am – in terms of belonging, exile, diaspora and identity. I came across this unique cultural location that is very fluid and dynamic, referred to as Say-Walahi. I started looking at questions of being Black, Muslim and African – and being a member of this diaspora within a broader Canadian identity.

What did you learn about the experiences of this community?

These youth are not sitting idly and waiting for their lives to pass them by. They are incredibly brilliant. They are resisting both racism and Islamophobia by building community and proudly expressing their identity. For example, it’s common to see them use Say-Walahi memes on social media, so they are proudly owning this.

My generation and previous generations didn’t share a similar experience. It's something very profound. This is where I argue this youth group is very creative. Not only did they navigate the multiple identities that they have in the world, but they were able to connect the dots to create a new way of speaking, articulating and being that is uniquely theirs.

What were your early experiences with education like in Canada?

We don’t push Black students to achieve their full potential through education. For me, I was lucky enough to have some educators and professors that would eventually inspire me. Early on, so many told me “No” – that it wasn’t going to happen. All it took was that one “Yes” for me to move forward and keep going. Unfortunately, being the only Somali-Canadian in the classroom is something that I had to live with for most of my academic career.

How can educators and the school system better understand and address the complex challenges faced by Black Muslim youth?

Although the youth I interviewed were all born here in Ontario, their identities are seen as foreign. It's not even a question of where you were born or where are you from, it's that their identities are not seen as Canadian.

At the moment, the school system we have is molded around a particular kind of identity that is white and European. When you don't fit into that mold, it's as if your identity is an afterthought. That doesn't give you much inspiration to become productive members of society. There are also low expectations of Black students. If the beginning of the conversation comes from a place of Black brilliance, then we can think about creating and constructing classroom spaces that foster Black excellence.

What impact do you hope your current research will have?

I hope this will inspire people to think about their own identity. I want educators to think about how they can reach and inspire these youth and believe in their potential.

There are also policy implications, such as creating more inclusive classrooms built around a multiplicity of identities. It also goes beyond how we fit in the overall Black Muslim African experience that is expressed only during specific times such as Black History Month. It includes looking at ways to validate and uplift these voices consistently and how we can work with that knowledge to transform society.

Black Health Equity Lab launches at U of T Scarborough to address health disparities in Black communities

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 19:41:30 +0000

Black Health Equity Lab launches at U of T Scarborough to address health disparities in Black communities

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 09/15/2022 - 15:41

Cutline

Notisha Massaquoi, an assistant professor in the department of health and society at U of T Scarborough, is the director of a new lab dedicated to tackling health disparities in Black communities (submitted photo)

Topic

A new lab at the University of Toronto Scarborough will tackle health disparities faced by the Black community in Toronto, with a particular focus on access to primary health care.

Directed by Notisha Massaquoi, assistant professor in the department of health and society at U of T Scarborough, the Black Health Equity Lab (BHEL) will go beyond research to include designing solutions to address health disparities and includes a partnership with Scarborough’s TAIBU Community Health Centre.

The lab’s first research project involves developing a case management HIV program for the Black community in Scarborough in the hopes of reducing transmission rates and improving health outcomes through early detection, treatment and support. The project will place a new case management team at TAIBU that includes a nurse practitioner, social worker and two community outreach workers to ensure immediate support for members of the Black community diagnosed with HIV.

Massaquoi has been advocating for greater access to health-care services in Black communities for more than 30 years. Migrating from Sierra Leone in the 1960s, and with both of her parents employed as health-care professionals, she experienced first-hand the lack of support services and resources available to help families get settled in Canada.

“When we're talking about health equity and the need for health equity, we're talking about the survival of Black people,” says Massaquoi.

“It's not as simple as everybody receiving the same care regardless of race. When I'm talking about health equity, I'm talking about a system that responds and wants Black people and Black communities to survive.”

Writer Jasmine Mahoro recently spoke to Massaquoi about what inspired her to create the lab and the importance of the type of research it will undertake.

What inspired you to launch the Black Health Equity Lab?

I came up with the concept of the Black Health Equity Lab to look at ways that we can create more effective health services for Black communities and increase access to primary health care for our communities.

What I'm trying to understand is not why we're experiencing health disparities, because we know they're directly related to social and economic marginalization and anti-Black racism. What I'm trying to do is understand how we alleviate these disparities. I truly believe that this lab could only exist at UTSC because of the community-based focus that this space has.

What type of research will the lab focus on?

The lab is launching with a major project where we're developing what is going to be the first clinical program for Black people living with HIV in the province. It's going to be located at TAIBU Community Health Centre. We don't have specialized HIV services for Black communities in Scarborough, so this is a really important project.

We're also working on looking at the impact of violence and the services needed by Black people who have lost a loved one to homicide. We're looking at improving maternal health and Black women’s birthing experiences with projects looking at improving access to midwifery care. The lab is also looking at COVID-19 and how we can improve pandemic responses, supports and services for Black and racialized communities.

What are your hopes and goals for the lab?

My hope and goals are for it to become a place where students and community members can work collaboratively to address the issues that Black communities are experiencing in our health-care system. I'm very much focused on it being community-based and collaborative. I want students to get real-life experience working with Black communities to develop solutions for the problems that we're having in terms of our poor health outcomes.

What impact do you hope this research will have?

The biggest impact we're hoping for is that Black people can access health care and be as healthy as the average Canadian. We have universal health care and we shouldn't have these health disparities – we shouldn't have different health outcomes.

The lab is also working collaboratively with Indigenous researchers and communities. Black people aren't the only people that have these kinds of health disparities. In fact, no matter what our health disparities are, they will be greater in Indigenous populations. So, we're not doing this work at the expense or the exclusion of other groups. I really think if we find solutions for our Black communities, it's only going to help make our health-care system better for everybody.

What excites you the most about the launch of the lab?

The students. I'm so excited to give the students an opportunity to do this work and to do it with community. I want to demystify the research process for students, especially when you're working with marginalized populations. I want them to see first-hand what it means to actually do this work as a Black researcher for the Black community.