- An African Canadian Open Letter to the UN CERD (139 Ko) from Dr. Esmeralda M.A. Thornhill, First James Robinson Johnston Endowed Chair in Black Canadian Studies. Submitted to the United Nations CERD Members Examining Canada’s 13th and 14th Reports on Compliance with the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Geneva, Switzerland, June 20th 2002.
- “Equality in the Legal Profession” (218 Ko). Roads to Equality/ les voies de l’égalité. Canadian Bar Association’s National Conference (Toronto: Canadian Bar Association, August 1994).
- “Fight Racism, Starting with School!” (100 Ko) in Currents: Readings in Race Relations (1984); 5:1 The Sentinel (March,1989).
- Guest Editor’s “Introduction” (1.06 Mo) in E.M.A. Thornhill, (Editor) Blacks in Canada: Retrospects, Introspects, Prospects Special Thematic Issue, 38:3 Journal of Black Studies (January 2008).
- “Harambec! Quebec Black Women Pulling Together,” (2.49 Mo) co-authored with S. Small in E.M.A. Thornhill, (Editor), Blacks in Canada: Retrospects, Introspects, Prospects. Special Thematic Issue. 38:3 Journal of Black Studies (January 2008).
- “Multicultural and Intercultural Education: The Canadian Experience” (556 Ko) 12:1 Revue québécoise de droit international (1999). Special Issue, pp.79-89. United National Regional Seminar of Experts Panel Presentation to the UN Working Group of the Sub-Commission on the Protection of Minorities. Université du Québec à Montréal, September 29th to October 2nd 1999.
- “So Seldom For Us, So Often Against Us: Blacks and Law in Canada” (221 Ko) in E.M.A. Thornhill, (Editor) Blacks in Canada: Retrospects, Introspects, Prospects Special Thematic Issue, 38:3 Journal of Black Studies (January 208)
- “When Dissent Sounds A Clarion Call. (265 Ko) Case Commentary. 90 Canadian Bar Review (March 2012).
Author: achijoyceyahoocom
Archives
First James Robinson Johnston Endowed Chair In Black Canadian Studies – 1996-2002 Archives
The James Robinson Johnston Endowed Chair in Black Canadian Studies is an unprecedented national initiative established to “bring Black culture, reality, perspectives, experiences and concerns into the Academy. ” A truly government-public collective effort and collaborative partnership between both institutions and individuals, the Johnston Chair was set up at Dalhousie University with the support of a $2.5 million endowment.
The Johnston Chair was set up at Dalhousie University and is symbolically named for James Robinson Johnston, the first African Nova Scotian university graduate, and the first from his Community to earn a law degree from Dalhousie Law School in 1898.
Following a national recruitment campaign to find a senior scholar, in 1996 Dalhousie University invited Quebec Human Rights Educator,
Esmeralda M.A. Thornhill to inaugurate, anchor and pilot the James Robinson Johnston Endowed Chair in Black Canadian Studies. Homed in Dalhousie’s then Faculty of Law, Professor Thornhill held the Chair from 1996-2002.
- Tribute 1995: Out of the Dust and Out of the Shadows.
Poem Written by Shirley Small and Dedicated to the Endowed National James Robinson Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies - Tribute 2002: Homage to James Robinson Johnston and his Legacy.
By Dr. Esmeralda M.A. Thornhill
Expertise
Esmeralda M.A.Thornhill
LL.D., LL.D., LL.B., Dip. Int’l. & Comp. Law, M.A., Dip. Ed., B.A. Joint Honours
A rich multidisciplinary training and varied professional experience equip Esmeralda Thornhill with an Anti-racism and Human Rights expertise that well positions her as an effective Speaker, Lecturer, Researcher, Management Level Trainer, and Workshop Facilitator in such areas as, notably:
- ‘Race’, Racism and Discrimination
- Critical Race and Legal Theory
- Human Rights
- International Human Rights Law
- Black Women’s Studies/Feminism
- “Material Reality” of Racism
- Racism as a Health Hazard
- ‘Race’ Literacy: A Professional Ethical Imperative
- Legal Education and ‘Race’ Erasure
- Anti-racist Teaching Materials
- Putting ‘Race’ on the Table
- Black History/Studies
- Blacks in Canada
- ‘Race’ Awareness Training
Selected Awards, Honours and Pioneering Initiatives
The timeline
Selected Public Service and Social Involvement
The map
Anti-Apartheid Legal Education
From 1987-1988, she spent the year on secondment in Washington, D.C. as an International Fellow doing anti-apartheid Legal Education and NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Advocacy with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. During this time, she was responsible for the Red Ribbon Campaign launched to save the lives of the Sharpeville Six and her research on the use of the death penalty by South Africa is reproduced and chronicled in the U.S. Congressional Record, (“The Sharpeville Six and the Death Penalty in South Africa”. Congressional Record. Proceedings and Debates of the 100th Congress of the United States, 2 ed., 134 No. 32, March 16, 1988).
Education and Professional Training
In addition to an undergraduate Joint Honours degree in Latin and Spanish from McGill University, Professor Thornhill’s academic training includes Post Graduate Studies in Spanish,
French, and Pedagogical Sciences at the Université de Montréal, McGill, and Denver Universities. She also holds a Law degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Diploma in International and Comparative Law from the University of San Diego (Paris, France). Fluently trilingual in English, French and Spanish, this scholar has completed international internships examining ‘race’ both in England and in France at UNESCO headquarters.