Black and African Diaspora degree program at Dalhousie may be first in Canada, professor says

Isaac Saney, chair of the Black and African Diaspora Studies Degree Major Committee at Dalhousie University

A Black history professor at Dalhousie University says a proposal to expand the university’s Black and African Diaspora studies minor program into a full degree could make it the first program of its kind in Canada.

The current minor program started online in 2017 within the faculty of arts and social sciences. Isaac Saney, chair of the Black and African Diaspora Studies Degree Major Committee, is now working with other Black professors at Dalhousie on the final proposal for the full degree program.

“Then the idea came out,” Saney said. “Why don’t we have a major where somebody can come in and graduate with a degree in Black and African Diaspora Studies?”

Black community reacts to the appointment of a white Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs

PC MLA for Pictou Centre Pat Dunn is the newly appointed Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs and the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives. Photo: Pat Dunn / Facebook.

In the days following the Nova Scotia provincial election last month, where the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) won a majority government but failed to elect any Black MLAs, the Halifax Examiner was the first to pose the question: Who will be the next minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs?

On Tuesday, that question was answered when Pat Dunn, PC MLA for Pictou Centre, who is white, was announced as the new minister for both African Nova Scotian Affairs and the brand-new Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives. Dunn replaces Liberal MLA for Cole Harbour, Tony Ince, who is Black.