Social Justice Days

SOCIAL JUSTICE DAYS ARE FINALLY HERE!

Join us from February 13^th – February 17^th, 2012

http://www.facebook.com/events/265454920187864/

Intended to stimulate an alternative political culture in the McGill University community and beyond, Social Justice Days is about to mark its seventh year with a week of workshops, discussions, film screenings, and speakers engaging local and global issues. This year we have an international speaker and hip-hop artist from Haiti (Doc Filah), American activist, writer and legal rights advocate Dean Spade, and much more! Social Justice Days testifies to the diversity of critical political engagement on McGill campus, and offers students concrete opportunities to get active in their global community.

Social Justice Days is an annual event series co-organized by the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at McGill and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU).

This year’s co-sponsors include QPIRG McGill, SSMU, CKUT Radio, Solid’Ayiti, and QPIRG Concordia.

All venues on campus are wheelchair accessible. The venue for the hip-hop show is accessible for non-electric wheelchairs only. The venue for the closing event is not fully wheelchair accessible ~ we apologize for this, and are working to make sure that all of our events are as accessible as possible. If you have any other accessibility needs, please contact us.

All events are free of charge except for the hip-hop show.

For childcare or translation, please reserve 48 hours in advance at 514-398-7432 or qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca.

Check our website for full schedule, updates and room changes:

http://qpirgmcgill.org

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KEYNOTE PANEL:

Wednesday February 15^th 6pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Haiti: struggles for access to public health and education today

With presentations by celebrated Haiti hip-hop artist Doc Filah and investigative journalist Isabel Macdonald

Haitian born artist and activist Doc Filah and Montreal-based investigative journalist Isabel Macdonald will discuss issues of access to public institutions in Haiti, both prior to and since the earthquake in 2010. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions around these issues, with the aim of further understanding both Canada’s role in Haiti and the issues on the ground today.

Bios:

Doc Filah, born in 1976 as Pierre Harry Dumorney, is a Haitian Hip Hop artist with the celebrated Rap Kreyòl group Majik Click as well as a solo artist. Filah is a medical doctor who graduated from the University of Havana, Cuba and now works in Port-au-Prince.

Isabel Macdonald is a journalist and media scholar. Her investigative journalism covering foreign policy and migration issues has been published by the Nation magazine, theGuardian and El Diario, amongst other publications, and it has also been featured on ABC Good Morning America, MSNBC, CNN, Radio-Canada and Democracy Now!. She writes about issues of media and democracy, and is currently completing a PhD at Concordia University in Montreal.

This event is co-organized with Solid’Ayiti, an initiative of artists and activists in Montreal working to build long-term solidarity between people in Montreal and movements for social justice in Haiti. Solid’Ayiti works to promote self-sufficiency, independence, social justice and peace in Haiti. For more information, see http://www.solidayiti.ca/.

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FULL SCHEDULE: FEBRUARY 13^th – 17^th 2012

Monday February 13^th 1pm-3pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Workshop: Building a people of colour centred student movement

What would the student movement at McGill look like if our analysis and actions centred the experiences of students of colour? This workshop aims to explore the ways in which varying forms of racism are embedded within student movements in Montreal. By drawing from key principles of community-based anti-racist activism and organizing, this workshop aims to develop strategies for racialized students and allies to build a more inclusive student movement at McGill and in the broader Montreal community.

Bio: Edward Ou Jin Lee is presently a doctoral student at McGill and is on the coordination team for GCARE (Graduate Students Against Racism and for Equity). His research interests include exploring the relationship between migration and sexuality, especially with respect to queer/trans migrants. Ed is involved in a number of community-based initiatives, including Ethnoculture (an annual event to raise awareness about LGBTQ racialized communities) and AGIR (an LGBTQ newcomer support and advocacy organisation).

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Tuesday February 14^th1pm-3pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Dignidad Migrante presents: Como se llama la obra? A film screening and discussion

Como se llama la obra? explores the trajectory of Dignidad Migrante as an activist collective dedicated to community organizing among Spanish-speaking immigrant workers. It also chronicles the individual experiences of members of Dignidad Migrante, focusing specifically on peoples’ experiences in the “informal” job sector, namely working for recruitment agencies. The documentary situates these problems in a larger context of Canada’s immigration system.

Members of Dignidad Migrante will facilitate a discussion following the screening. The documentary is in Spanish with English subtitles.

About Dignidad Migrante:

Dignidad Migrante is a group of Spanish-speaking immigrant workers and their allies. Our goals are to: 1) bring together people of this community in Montreal who face injustice and exploitation in their workplaces and beyond, whether they have working papers or not; 2) create a space where people of this community feel safe to express their anger, frustration, or any feelings at all about their situation; and 3) work together to think of ways to fight the exploitation and injustice faced by many immigrant workers, both in the workplace and in society at large, while making sure that everyone in the group feels safe and comfortable with the actions we take. Dignidad Migrante is also a Working Group at QPIRG McGill.

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Wednesday February 15^th 1pm-3pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Spittin’ Mad – A Workshop on art and resistance

An explosive performance art medium with historic roots in communities of colour and resistance, spoken word is the rebel love child of the page and the stage. Spanning such diverse forms as rap, slam, monologue, and choreopoem, spoken word is poetry that sings across barriers, seeks connection between people, and tells truths that are too often ignored. This workshop examines the revolutionary work of poets and writers such as Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Eve

Ensler, and Ntozake Shange, and provides participants with writing and performance exercises designed to increase self-knowledge, confidence, and writing technique. We will explore issues of accessibility, representation, and safety onstage. Active participation is encouraged – attendees are encouraged to bring their writing, experiment, and push their comfort zones, but personal limits will always be respected.

Bio:

Ryan Kai Cheng Thom is a Chinese Canadian, queer femme facilitator, writer, and spoken word artist. He has been published in The Tyee, What If? Magazine, ditch: the poetry that matters, and Intersections Journal. He has also performed and featured in various Montreal venues, and at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word 2011 in Toronto.

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KEYNOTE PANEL: Wednesday February 15^th 6pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Haiti: struggles for access to public health and education today

With presentations by celebrated Haiti hip-hop artist Doc Filah and Montreal-based investigative journalist Isabel Macdonald.

Bios:

This event is co-organized by Solid’Ayiti, an initiative of artists and activists in Montreal working to build long-term solidarity between people in Montreal and movements for social justice in Haiti. Solid’Ayiti works to promote self-sufficiency, independence, social justice and peace in Haiti.

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Thursday, February 16^th - 1pm-3pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Workshop: Situating the Filipino-Canadian community within the global economy

Presented by the Filipino Solidarity Collective

Processes of neo-liberalism and globalization have dramatically altered the ways in which migration and labour is structured. This new arrangement, which valorizes global capital, has profound implications for the transnational Filipino community in Canada. Our migration is now structured by labour brokerage between the Philippine and Canadian government – where recent Filipino im/migrants come in as lone temporary, ‘low-skilled’ workers despite having families and professional degrees in the Philippines. This workshop examines the role of Filipino Canadian workers as it relates to globalization and neoliberalism.

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Thursday, February 16^th, Doors 9pm, Les Bobards, 4328 boul. St. Laurent (corner Marie-Anne)

Artists for Haiti III: live show featuring performances by Doc Filah direct from Haiti and Paul Cargnello/Karma Atchykah duo

Tickets $8 at the door (no advance tickets)

Organized by Solid’Ayiti, co-sponsored by QPIRG McGill, CKUT and the SSMU

This venue is wheelchair accessible for non-electric wheelchairs. For more information, please contact info@solidayiti.ca.

This event organized by Solid’Ayiti, with co-sponsorship from QPIRG McGill, the SSMU and CKUT Radio.

Doc Filah:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Fqk7yLHd6w

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Friday, February 17^th 1pm-3pm – 3480 McTavish – Rm. 203 (Lev Bukhman)

Midnight Kitchen film screening of If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Following The Midnight Kitchen’s daily food serving starting at noon, the film If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front will be screened. This documentary explores the history of the radical environmental group, ELF, and the massive FBI operation to track down and arrest their members. Events covered include tree sitting and blockades in Oregon, the WTO protests in Seattle, as well as the various acts of sabotage carried out by the group.

The screening will be followed by a discussion, facilitated by members of The Midnight Kitchen. This will provide an opportunity to consider the complex issues raised in the film, especially the escalation of police repression and its relationship to protest tactics.

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CLOSING EVENT:

Friday, February 17^th, 6:30pm – Café l’Artère, 7000 avenue du Parc (Metro Parc or #80 bus)

Book launch: Dean Spade’s Normal Life

Co-presented with QPIRG Concordia

To mark the launch of his highly anticipated full-length book debut, writer, attorney, educator and activist Dean Spade will join QPIRG McGill and QPIRG Concordia for the launch of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law. This launch is part of a tour of Canadian cities to launch his new book.

After the launch, which will include a presentation by Dean Spade and questions, you are invited to stick around to chat and buy snacks and drinks from Café l’Artère, an amazing cooperatively run café and arts space.

Bio:

Dean Spade is an Assistant Professor at Seattle University School of Law. He teaches Administrative Law, Poverty Law, Law and Social Movements and Critical Perspectives on Transgender Law. Prior to joining the faculty of Seattle University, Dean was a Williams Institute Law Teaching Fellow at UCLA Law School and Harvard Law School, teaching classes related to sexual orientation and gender identity law and law and social movements.

In 2002, Dean founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a non-profit law collective that provides free legal services to transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming people who are low-income and/or people of color. SRLP also engages in litigation, policy reform and public education on issues affecting these communities and operates on a collective governance model, prioritizing the governance and leadership of trans, intersex, and gender non-conforming people of color. While working at SRLP, Dean taught classes focusing on sexual orientation, gender identity and law at Columbia and Harvard Law Schools.

This event is a co-presentation by QPIRG Concordia and QPIRG McGill, and is co-sponsored by Queer McGill and RadLaw at McGill.

*Please note that this venue is not fully wheelchair accessible. Please contact us for more details: qpirg@ssmu.mcgill.ca