Queen’s Law’s plans for Black Histories and Futures Month 2024 include sending a team to compete in the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot, hosting a talk and workshop with Annamaria Enenajor, interviewing Ontario Court Justice Donald McLeod, Law’95, and supporting 23 BLSA-Queen’s students to participate in the BLSA Canada conference.
Queen’s Law’s plans for Black Histories and Futures Month 2024 include sending a team to compete in the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot, hosting a talk and workshop with Annamaria Enenajor, interviewing Ontario Court Justice Donald McLeod, Law’95, and supporting 23 BLSA-Queen’s students to participate in the BLSA Canada conference.
January 31, 2024: The Queen’s Isaac Moot team – oralists Kyra Devonish, Meena Durrani, Thomas Goetz, and Jessica Krueger, and coaches Professor Lisa Kelly and Jodeen Williams – meet for a final practice before advisors Dhaman Kissoon, Law’89, a criminal lawyer and Adjunct Professor at Queen’s Law, and Shalini Gunawardhane, Law’17, an Assistant Crown Attorney. In addition, Professors Sharry Aiken and Colin Grey (not shown) helped the team understand the issues and legislation.
January 31, 2024: The Queen’s Isaac Moot team – oralists Kyra Devonish, Meena Durrani, Thomas Goetz, and Jessica Krueger, and coaches Professor Lisa Kelly and Jodeen Williams – meet for a final practice before advisors Dhaman Kissoon, Law’89, a criminal lawyer and Adjunct Professor at Queen’s Law, and Shalini Gunawardhane, Law’17, an Assistant Crown Attorney. In addition, Professors Sharry Aiken and Colin Grey (not shown) helped the team understand the issues and legislation.
This month, Queen's Law Library is featuring a new display dedicated to celebrating Black excellence, remembering Black histories, and showcasing the work of present-day activists.
This month, Queen's Law Library is featuring a new display dedicated to celebrating Black excellence, remembering Black histories, and showcasing the work of present-day activists.

“Black Histories and Futures Month has great significance for Queen’s Law,” says Dean Colleen M. Flood. “As an institution, we are committed to combating racism and building a more diverse and inclusive legal profession that is informed by the history, voices, expertise, and lived experiences of Black Canadians.”   

In recognition of this year’s Black Histories and Futures Month, Queen’s Law is hosting and participating in a range of academic events and networking opportunities throughout February. 

Starting today, a four-student team will be competing in the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot on a topic exploring racial discrimination and international borders. Oralists Kyra Devonish, Law’25, and Meena (Zermeena) Durrani, Thomas Goetz, and Jessica Krueger, all Law’24, are expected to debate both sides of a fictional appeal concerning the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on the Safe Third Country Agreement in Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) to the Diversity High Court of Canada. The Queen’s team is coached by Professor Lisa Kelly and Jodeen Williams, Law’24, who competed in last year’s moot. 

Named after the first Black judge to sit on the Federal Court of Canada and go on to become its Chief Justice, the Isaac Moot is organized by the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada (BLSA Canada) and held at the Ontario Court of Appeal in Toronto. Judging the final round of this year’s moot will be Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin of the Supreme Court of Canada, Chief Justice of Ontario Michael Tulloch, and Justice Donald McLeod of the Ontario Court of Justice. 

Annamaria Enenajor, a partner with Ruby Shiller Enenajor and Visiting Professor at Osgoode, will present a talk titled “Anti-Black Racism in the Criminal Justice System” on Feb. 5 at 1:00 pm. Following her talk, she will engage student attendees to build a toolkit for resistance and reform. This one-hour session, held in room 201 of the Law Building, will also be live-streamed on Zoom. (Please register to attend this event online or in person.) Later that afternoon, Enenajor will meet privately with members of BLSA-Queen’s. 

Previously at Queen’s, Enenajor designed and taught Bias and Criminal Justice System Outcomes and has coached the Gale Moot team in criminal law.

On Feb. 13, Justice Donald McLeod, Law’95, will speak about his career path to the Ontario Court of Justice on a QLAW POD episode of “What’s Next with Afsheen.” Tune in to CFRC Radio (101.9FM), from 2 pm to 3 pm. The next day, the interview with McLeod – who also teaches Critical Race Theory at Queen’s Law – will be available on the Queen’s Law Soundcloud page, as well as on all podcast providers.  

Twenty-three students will be travelling to Toronto on Feb. 15, where they will be spending four days participating in BLSA’s national conference themed “As We Rise; We Lift.” At this 33rd edition of the annual conference, renowned civil rights activist and scholar Angela Davis will deliver the keynote address. 

“The BLSA national conference is a good investment for my career,” says BLSA-Queen’s Vice-President Brianna Fable-Watson, Law’25, also Co-Commissioner of Queen’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigeneity Committee.  

Fable-Watson expects to build on connections she made with BLSA students and legal professionals across the country at last year’s event. “Attending the conference as a 1L student was an amazing networking opportunity where I got to interact with and learn about the firms that I would later apply to during the recruit,” she recalls. “I was also able to go to resume and cover letter workshops, as well as participate in a photoshoot for LinkedIn headshots – all of which aided me in the job recruitment process.” 

Follow Queen’s Law social channels for photos from each of these events throughout February. 

In addition to these events, the Law Library is featuring a new display dedicated to celebrating Black excellence, remembering Black histories, and showcasing the work of present-day activists. Texts include biographies and memoirs from famous Black Canadians and lawyers, legal texts on race and racism in Canada, and scholarly works on the Black Lives Matter movement.

By Lisa Graham