{"id":13482,"date":"2020-01-17T09:25:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-17T14:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/?post_type=cu-events&p=13482"},"modified":"2020-01-17T09:25:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-17T14:25:04","slug":"challenging-the-white-mans-country-narrative-how-black-railway-porters-fought-for-civil-rights-equality-and-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"cu-events","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/africanstudies\/cu-events\/challenging-the-white-mans-country-narrative-how-black-railway-porters-fought-for-civil-rights-equality-and-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cChallenging the \u2018White Man\u2019s Country\u2019 Narrative: How Black railway porters fought for civil rights, equality and inclusion.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
Abstract 杏吧原创 the Guest Speaker
\n<\/strong>The experience of Black Canadians is largely absent from Canadian history books. One of the few employment options open to Black men in the last century was to work as sleeping car porters on Canada\u2019s transcontinental railroads, often for no wages other than tips.\u00a0Dr. Foster has done extensive research on the harsh lives of these men, and their determination to win respect for their labour. He will explore how their story, which was invisible for too long,\u00a0forces us to re-examine many underlying assumptions about what constitutes this country\u2019s history. He argues that Canada\u2019s reputation for diversity rests on the shoulders of the porters\u2019 struggles.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Cecil Foster is an acclaimed author, academic and public intellectual.\u00a0Professor of Transnational Studies at the University of Buffalo,\u00a0he is a leading authority on social justice and multiculturalism. His latest book is\u00a0<\/em>They Call Me George: the Untold Story of Black Train Porters and the Birth of Canada.<\/em><\/p>\n