Laurier expert alert: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March 18, 2024
For Immediate Release

WATERLOO — Canada is among countries that observe International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination every March 21. The day marks the anniversary of a 1960 tragedy in Sharpeville, South Africa, where police opened fire and killed 69 people during a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws.” The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was declared by the United Nations in 1966.  

The following list includes Laurier experts who are available to speak about topics related to the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at this time but does not represent the full breadth of expertise that exists at the institution. For a comprehensive inventory of Laurier’s faculty researchers, please consult the Experts at Laurier database.

Ardavan Eizadirad, assistant professor in Laurier’s Faculty of Education, is an expert in areas including equity, restorative practices, anti-oppressive practices, social justice education, resistance, and decolonization. Eizadirad is a community activist and executive director of the non-profit organization Youth Association for Academics, Athletics, and Character Education in Toronto’s Jane and Finch community. He is also the author of Decolonizing Educational Assessment: Ontario Elementary Students and the EQAO (2019) and co-editor of Enacting Anti-Racist and Activist Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Canadian Perspectives (2023). Contact: aeizadirad@wlu.ca, @DrEizadirad

Xiaoran (Jason) Jia is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting at Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics whose research interests include the economics of discrimination. Contact: xjia@wlu.ca

Percy Lezard, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies, is an expert in Indigenous knowledge, Two-Spirit pedagogies, community Indigenous health, missing and murdered women and 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, and gender-based violence in 2SLGBTQ+ communities. Lezard is outma sqilxw of the Penticton Indian Band in British Columbia and centres Indigenous knowledge, teaching and research methodologies in their work. They are a survivor of the multi-generational impacts of the residential school system and the Sixties Scoop. Read more about Lezard’s work. Contact: plezard@wlu.ca

Lianne Leddy, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Histories and Historical Practice in Canada and an associate professor in the Department of History, conducts research focused on Indigenous-settler relations, particularly those framed by gender and environmental issues. Leddy is a member of Serpent River First Nation and recently published a book about the impacts of uranium mining in her home community. Contact: lleddy@wlu.ca

Magnus Mfoafo-M’Carthy, a professor in the Faculty of Social Work, examines mental illness, disability and stigma among immigrant communities, as well as African ideals of family. He is also interested in postcolonial and critical race theories, social justice, and anti-oppressive practice. Mfoafo-M’Carthy is a research fellow with Laurier’s Tshepo Institute for the Study of Contemporary Africa and Centre for Leading Research in Education. Contact: mmfoafomcarthy@wlu.ca

Dalon P. Taylor is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work. Her areas of expertise include migration, immigration, skilled migration, race, racism, anti-Black racism, community engagement, health inequities and social justice. Contact: dptaylor@wlu.ca

Darren Thomas is Laurier’s associate vice-president: Indigenous Initiatives. The most senior Indigenous leader at Laurier, Thomas provides strategic advice, support and expertise to academic and administrative units across the institution to achieve goals related to Indigeneity. As a researcher, he focuses on Indigenous rights, resource governance and self-determination. Thomas has worked in the educational, health care and child welfare sectors to support efforts to improve services as the sectors work toward reconciliation and Indigenization. Recently, he authored and launched Laurier’s Indigenous Strategic Plan. Contact: dthomas@wlu.ca

Eleanor Ty, a professor in Laurier’s Department of English and Film Studies, is an expert on the ways novels, films, graphic narratives and memoirs represent the diasporic identities of Asian Americans and Asian Canadians. Ty’s research interests include memory, globalization, second-generation immigrants and failure. Contact: ety@wlu.ca

Ciann L. Wilson, associate professor in Laurier’s Department of Psychology, centres her work within intersectional and anti-colonial theories. Wilson engages in community-based health and well-being research with Black, Indigenous and racialized communities around topics including education, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, social determinants of health, and well-being. Her areas of expertise also include equity in the education and health sectors. In 2021, Wilson was honoured with the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations’ Status of Women and Equity Award of Distinction for her dedication to community transformation and racial justice. Since 2016, she has been a part of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association’s Diversity and Equity Committee. Contact: ciwilson@wlu.ca