June Francis | Becoming an Anti-Racist, Decolonized University: What Does It Mean and What Will It Take?

Decolonization must begin at the level of university leadership. "This is where the money gets moved around; this is where policies are made. And this is where the operational direction comes from,” June notes. The continued underrepresentation of visible minorities at the leadership level across universities points to a broader problem of systematic exclusion. It excludes not only people but also diversity of thought and perspective.

However, June further explains that solutions to this problem must go beyond hiring visible minorities. The university's overall agenda must reflect its commitments to equity and antiracism. It is essential to acknowledge, June posits, that for marginalized groups of people, every aspect of a university might seem to be built for somebody else. From food to space, is the totality of the university experience viewed from an equity lens? She admonishes leadership to substantially demonstrate how their commitments affect objectives, decisions, resources and accountability at university and departmental levels.

Decolonization means seriously examining existing epistemic cultures. The university promotes epistemic violence, June notes. "It is a narrative that supports the idea that all things civilized, enlightened and innovative must come from European sources," she further explains. It is a narrative that has been used to invalidate the Haitian revolution while celebrating the French, to erase the Benin kingdom and similar afro-civilizations after pillaging their art.

As sites of knowledge production, universities dictate what knowledge systems and traditions count as valid and real. As the philosophical basis on which universities rest, Eurocentrism erases other ways of knowing by presenting itself as singular, objective, disembodied and universal. Its prioritization as an institution has produced hierarchies that contribute to the exclusion of Black and Indigenous narratives and histories. 

As an academic, June’s own “redemption song” came through her anti-racist and decolonial research journey. By highlighting some of  her publications, she illustrates how research can be used to challenge “epistemologies of white ignorance,” by disrupting and upending racist and colonial narratives of knowledge production, employing anti-racist and decolonized methodologies, and illuminating the colonial and racist roots of one’s discipline. She recounts feeling true academic freedom when her research aligned with her praxis.

To decolonize our universities, June posits, we need to bring in other worldviews, intellectual traditions and knowledge systems. Teaching business courses at Beedie and employing this praxis, she revealed that her students were initially resistant to learning about business practices from Rwanda. "Here is a discipline that has taught us that a person's value is their market worth. The first thing they want to know is the size of Rwanda's GDP. How much are they worth? Why are we learning anything about people who aren't worth anything, right?" she reflects.

She posits that this initial resistance is the product of a system that denies students the privilege of understanding so much about the world. In addition, it significantly narrows the scope of research that gets rewarded via tenure. "We have so deeply invested only in one set of ideas and one group of people,” she notes. Disciplines need to interrogate the value systems embedded in their pedagogy and academic practices.

Decolonization also means moving beyond academic disciplinary silos to create different learning styles. "This notion of these silos … might not be appropriate in knowledge systems that see things as more interconnected,” June observes. 

Can the university be saved? "Only if we are prepared to topple and to reimagine," June answers. It will take more than signatures and hiring practices to decolonize our universities. It would mean challenging deeply held institutional norms, exploring alternative paradigms and pedagogical approaches, rethinking accountability and, overall, reimagining the university.

Decolonization is only possible if viewed as a collective goal. As June concludes, "I invite all of us because the songs of freedom can only be sung when we bring the entire community into the space of innovation … so that the university can thrive for all of us."