A Living Legacy:  Canadian Anti-Blackness and the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved Persons

  A Living Legacy:  Canadian Anti-Blackness and the Transatlantic Trade of Enslaved Persons  with Laurelle Harris

In this keynote address, Laurelle Harris of Equitable Solutions Consulting will explore the involvement of what is now Canada in the commercial trade of enslaved persons and the ways in which the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade has shaped Canadian society as we observe the United Nations’
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Bio:

Laurelle Harris has academic training in Women’s Studies from the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba and has undertaken graduate studies in Women’s Studies and Black Studies at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She earned her law degree in 2001 from the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba and is an experienced litigator with formal training in mediation, arbitration and conflict resolution undertaken locally and at York University in Toronto, Ontario.

For most of her career, Ms. Harris practiced law in a mid-sized firm in Winnipeg, where she was the first racialized person to be invited into the partnership. In 2018, she founded Harris Law Solutions to pursue other professional interests including mediation, arbitration, and consulting on issues of equity and inclusion. Ms. Harris founded Equitable Solutions Consulting in 2020 through she offers services which include evaluating organizations’ strengths and weaknesses in the areas of anti-racism, equity and inclusion, and helping organizations to meet their goals to be more equitable and inclusive.

Coming from a family of educators, Ms. Harris finds teaching to be a rewarding way to contribute to effecting change in our communities. Ms Harris teaches and practices using an anti-racist, intersectional feminist analysis to better understand, dismantle, and counter structural oppressions. She has taught Women’s Studies at the undergraduate level and also at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Law. Ms. Harris conducts educational workshops and speaks publicly in the areas of anti-racism, equity and inclusion.

Ms. Harris has served on local and national boards and committee and has volunteered extensively in the area of community health. In 2019 Ms. Harris was awarded an Honourary Lifetime Membership by Women’s Health Clinic in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the organization where she had served for many years as a volunteer counsellor and as a director, chairing the Board from 2016 through 2018.

Within the legal community, Ms. Harris also serves as a director with the Manitoba Law Foundation and as a member of the Legal Aid Manitoba Advisory Committee. She also chairs the Manitoba Bar Association’s Equality Issues Section.

This event is part of the Anti-Racism Speaker Series.
Registration is not required. Click here to join the event.