Members of the Black Law Students’ Association - Queen’s Chapter are shining a spotlight on key historical Black artists and moments, attending Justice Donald McLeod’s critical race theory lecture, and participating in the BLSA-Canada conference.
Members of the Black Law Students’ Association - Queen’s Chapter – Jodeen Williams, Micah Zierer-Clyke, Anna Ndegwa, Dainelle Barham, and Caroline Marful – are shining a spotlight on key historical Black artists and moments, attending Justice Donald McLeod’s critical race lecture, and participating in the BLSA-Canada conference.

In addition to participating in a national conference and attending a class on critical race theory, members of the Black Law Students’ Association – Queen’s Chapter are celebrating Black pop-culture this month. They are shining a spotlight on key artists and moments over the past 100-plus years. “We want to emphasize how much Black creators have contributed to how society as a whole experiences music, film and art,” says Jodeen Williams, Law’24, BLSA-Queen's President/Mentorship Coordinator. 

The club is also hosting a Movie Night and a Music Block Party, two virtual events that anyone who is interested can attend. 

First up is Movie Night on February 18. People can start voting on what they want to watch from several options of films that star Black actors or were made by Black directors or producers. Preferred movies can be selected on the BLSA-Queen’s Instagram stories until February 17. The most popular choice will be the Movie Night feature. To share the experience with other movie-goers, the film will be played via Zoom or a movie app that has a “watch-party” option. The platform will be confirmed on Instagram.  

“It will be a fun way to enjoy a movie you may have never seen or to re-watch a movie you haven’t seen in a while,” explains Dainelle Barham, Law’23, BLSA-Queen’s Events Coordinator. “Also, Black films and the need for Black representation in film has been a talking point in the last few years because of continuous Oscar snubs of critically acclaimed Black films. Highlighting Black movies and film-makers that have added to our overall pop-culture – not just Black-pop culture – is important to do.”

At the Block Party being held over Zoom on February 28, people can bust a move in their own homes or just sit back and listen to songs performed by Black artists from different decades. “Our listening party will give people a great way to discover new (or old) music and learn about music that they may have not known was created by a Black musician,” says Micah Zierer-Clyke, Law’23, BLSA-Queen’s Finance Secretary.    

BLSA-Queen’s members are also encouraging students and faculty alike to attend the Trial Advocacy class taught by Justice Donald McLeod, Law ’95, on February 14, when he will be discussing critical race theory. “Justice McLeod’s approach to teaching trial advocacy is both exciting and challenging,” says Anna Ndegwa, Law’23, BLSA-Queen’s Social Media Coordinator. “He pushes his students to find their voice in advocacy. His approach to learning is very practical and he provides immense insight into how students can become skilled advocates once we enter practice. As a very successful Queen’s Law alumnus and a past President of the Black Law Students’ Association at Queen’s, we thought it was important to spotlight him and the important topic he’ll be covering this Black History Month.”

In the class, which is open to the Queen’s University community, McLeod will be offering tools and strategies for the navigation, interpretation, and analysis of critical race theory within the Canadian legal system while unveiling the intersections between race, social science, and the law.  

From February 17 to 20, BLSA-Queen’s members will be virtually attending the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada’s national conference. “We are excited to be participating in the different panels and career fair,” says Caroline Marful, Law’23, BLSA-Queen’s Partnership Coordinator. They’ll be sharing their key takeaways from the event titled “In Excellence, We Stand; In Power, We Rise.”

To follow BLSA-Queen’s, vote on movies, and attend Justice McLeod’s class, check out BLSA-Queen’s on Instagram.