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Emmanuel Tabi on fighting oppression, honouring diverse voices and fostering a courageous classroom

Being challenged is important, but being challenged in a kind, caring and also courageous way. Nelson Mandela tells us that courage is not the absence of fear, it's triumph over fear"
Neale McDevitt | 12 Oct 2022

Emmanuel Tabi is a happy man and it shows. His smile frequently lights up the recent 45-minute Teams interview with the McGill Reporter – not an easy task given the impersonal, often dreary, nature of online interaction.  

“I’m really excited and I can’t hide it,” Tabi says – with a huge smile, of course.

Tabi has every reason to be happy. He started at McGill last fall as an assistant professor in Black/African Studies in Education in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE). He is part of McGill’s recent cluster hire of Black tenure-track professors – one of the Action Items in the University’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism.

“I feel really honoured, and it’s such a privilege to be here. If you told me when I started my PhD journey that I would end up being a tenure-track faculty member at McGill doing Black studies in education, I might have fainted,” he laughs. “I never want this feeling to go away.”

Read the full article on The Reporter website (English-only)

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For more information about traditional territory and tips on how to make a land acknowledgement, visit our Land Acknowledgement webpage.

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