Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Sport Management Janelle Joseph is passionate about turning research into actionable change — centring  community, decolonization and intersectionality at the heart of everything she does.

Joseph — founder of the Indigeneity, Diaspora, Equity and Anti-racism in Sport (IDEAS) Research lab — spoke at the launch of Black History/African Heritage Month at Brock University on Monday, Feb. 2 in the Rankin Family Pavilion.

She discussed her research, leadership and the broader significance of her recent appointment as Brock’s newest Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Racial Justice, Health and Sport.

“I want the community to see that Brock has a Black CRC because it’s such a rare position, and, within the research ecosystem, such a significant responsibility,” she said. “I also want to expand people’s ideas of what kind of research is possible and what funding is available, especially in a country like Canada that invests in community-based research and prioritizes equity.”

Joseph’s research exists at the intersection of racial justice, health, and sport and movement cultures. She is passionate about the ways that physical activity can enhance personal and community health and well-being.

“It’s important to highlight the significance of community-based research as it pertains to social change and of the researchers doing work that will change the infrastructure of our nation,” Joseph said. “Universities must recruit and support racialized researchers or researchers that are 2SLGBTQIA+ or have disabilities because they are under-represented in the academy and the questions they ask are different, which will lead to different findings and different actionable changes.”

She also stressed the importance of building curriculum and research methods that aim to remove the structural, cultural and administrative barriers that can prevent Black and Indigenous students and researchers from thriving.

Alana Lowe, Associate Director of EDI Education and Outreach in Brock’s Human Rights and Equity Office, shared the University’s newly adopted African-Canadian Ancestral Acknowledgement for the first time at Monday’s event.

“When we’re learning about social issues, it’s important that we’re learning about all people or we’re only capturing a fraction of the knowledge,” she said. “It’s also absolutely critical to have mentorship opportunities and support from other researchers with shared identities.”

Brock’s newly adopted African-Canadian Ancestral Acknowledgement was also officially introduced and read for the first time at Monday’s event.

Intended to function in solidarity with the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement, it acts as both a tribute to the distinct histories and lived experiences of Black, African and Caribbean people and as a call to action to disrupt and dismantle anti-Black racism.

The formal adoption is the result of several years of cross-campus consultations.

“This Ancestral Acknowledgment is one step in our ongoing work and reminds us that Black history is not confined to the past or to a single month, it is embedded in our campus, our community and our collective future,” said Associate Vice-President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Chelsea Takalo.

A downloadable version of the African-Canadian Ancestral Acknowledgement and resources for those in the campus community interested in using it can be found on the Human Rights and Equity website.

This launch also included a preview of the events, initiatives and activities taking place throughout February that are rooted in community, scholarship and collective engagement.

Some examples include an interactive storytelling workshop featuring traditional Caribbean and African drumming and an online discussion about the ways avatar representation can shape user experience within social virtual reality. An event focused on supporting and protecting intellectual and creative labour of Black researchers and artists will also be taking place on Thursday Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. in the Rankin Family Pavilion.

A developing list of programming that will take place throughout the month can be found on Experience BU.