We are delighted to announce the publication of “Beti’s Perspective: Using Critical Race Theory’s Composite Counterstory to Interrupt Antiracism Projects in Vancouver, BC.” in the Studies of Social Justice journal by Professor Manjeet Birk. In this paper, a profound exploration into the intricate dynamics of antiracism projects within feminist nonprofit organizations in Vancouver, British Columbia has emerged. Drawing on extensive research conducted on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, the paper delves deep into the role, relationship, and responsibility of advocating for antiracism and social justice in these critical spaces.
Read it here: Beti’s Perspective: Using Critical Race Theory’s Composite Counterstory to Interrupt Antiracism Projects in Vancouver, BC (Published 2024-04-04)
ABSTRACT:
Building on research conducted in feminist organizations in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, this paper explores the role, relationship, and responsibility of advocating for antiracism and social justice in the context of antiracism projects in feminist nonprofit organizations. In doing so this paper asks: What do antiracism projects look like in feminist organizations? And how are these projects informed or interrupted by racialized and Indigenous activists within these spaces? Using critical race theory’s composite counterstory, this paper uses storytelling methodologies to understand how racialized settlers and Indigenous folks can collaborate and thrive – as they have been doing – on occupied unceded territories in Canada. Based on a series of interviews with racialized and Indigenous activists engaging in feminist nonprofit organizations, these stories shed light on contemporary realities of colonization, including collaboration within white settler systems.
About Manjeet Birk:
Manjeet Birk (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation and an interdisciplinary scholar whose work centers the lived experience of racialized and Indigenous girls and women in Canada. Her research focuses on women’s organizing, social justice and institutional racism using critical race, intersectional and decolonizing theories and methodologies. Her interests are grounded in her community activism working with women’s organizations locally, nationally and internationally.
Dr. Birk recently returned from a year in Aotearoa, New Zealand, completing a SSHRC postdoc focused on her project Pathways to Inclusion of Indigenous and Racialized Communities: A Comparative Analysis Between Canada and New Zealand. This project involved collaborating with a team in the Department of Public Health at the Auckland University of Technology, in Auckland NZ to think through systemic and institutional racism particularly as it relates to racialized and Indigenous communities in Auckland. This will form the basis of a comparative analysis between Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. With a lifetime of experience organizing, troubling and challenging systems, Dr. Birk is always looking for new ways to re-conceptualize a more beautiful world. To learn more about Dr. Birk’s work, you can also check out this FASS interview.