For Black History Month this year, introduce yourself and your students to four Black Canadians who have put their names on the ballot in recent elections at all levels across the country.
Black on the Ballot is a new podcast from Operation Black Vote Canada and in collaboration with political science researcher, Dr. Erin Tolley at Carleton University. Hosted by Nanava Duncan, the four episodes follow the stories of four Black Canadians in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Alberta and Quebec who share the good, the bad and the ugly about running for office at all levels. Win or lose, partisan or non-partisan, backbencher or leader, Liberal or Conservative, these candidates share their personal stories that connect to wider themes in many of our school subject areas.
The podcast also weaves in finding from the in-depth report by the same team: Black on the Ballot: What Black Canadians told us about running for and serving in elected office.The report used archival research, a national survey and in-depth interviews to provide a picture of what it is like to run for and serve in elected office as a Black Canadian.
Some of the key findings include:
- Most Black Canadians run for office at the local level – few run provincially or federally
- There is little evidence for a gender gap in Black Canadian candidacy
- A lack of financial resources and a shortage of volunteers are key barriers to political success.
- Despite the challenges, a wide majority of Black Canadians say they would run for office again.
The report also makes recommendations for communities, political parties, advocacy organizations, election administration agencies, media and prospective candidates. These recommendations can be a strong basis for student reflection, discussion and even civic action. I would recommend starting your new Civics class in February with these first-person stories that humanize and celebrate Black Canadian candidates. The podcast and report could also be used in a Politics or Law class, or a Social Science class looking to understand systemic discrimination.
The Social Science Educators Network of Canada will be producing classroom resources to accompany the podcast and the report. If you are interested in other political podcast lessons for the classroom, you can check out Humans of the House or the French version, Les personnages de la chambre. Another new podcast and lesson from Samara and SSENC is the Group Chat podcast that discusses topics from technology and innovation to the Notwithstanding Clause and local politics
