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Episode 74: Building a Black (Canadian) Law Journal

Access to Justice – Feb 2024

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Episode 74: Building a Black (Canadian) Law Journal
Broadcast Date: February 22, 2024

Summary

In this episode, CIAJ’s host Nathan Afilalo is welcoming the founding editor of the Black (Canadian) Law Journal Mohammed Odusanya and acting editor-in-chief Dana-Kaye Matthews to learn more about this academic, peer-reviewed, bilingual journal founded in 2021. 

About the B(C) LJ

The aim of the B(C) LJ/RD(C)N is to bring into focus legal issues pertaining to the communities of Black people within Canada, and the communities of Black people, globally, that are subject to the laws and judicial power of the Canadian State. As such, how the intersection of law and race relates to issues of migration, Indigeneity, sexuality, gender, imperialism, incarceration, labor, citizenship, etc., along with “traditional” areas of legal study, is necessarily the focus of the B(C) LR/RD(C)N. The Black (Canadian) Law Journal is a publication that operates independently of external editorial influence. It is published by the Black Law Students’ Association of Canada.

Guests

Dana-Kaye is a third year at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. Her interest in institutionalized oppression gained during her undergraduate degree in Public Administration and Political Science at the University of Ottawa has helped her apply a critical lens to her legal education. Currently, she has the distinct honour of serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the newly established Black (Canadian) Legal Journal. She has been busy while at law school. She volunteers as a student clerk at the Tribunal Administratif du Québec and is competing in the Julius Alexander Isaac Moot. During the summer, she will return as a summer student at Conway Litigation, immersing herself in constitutional litigation and research. In her free time, Dana-Kaye likes musical theatre, video essays about pop culture phenomena, and creative writing.

Mohammed, a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of Law (BCL/JD 2024), currently serves as a research assistant for Professor Adelle Blackett at the Labour Law Development and Research Laboratory. Before embarking on his legal studies, Mohammed earned a B.A. in Art History and Gender, Sexuality, Feminist & Social Justice Studies from McGill University. He is the founder of the Black (Canadian) Law Journal and has previously volunteered at the Legal Information Clinic at McGill University. Mohammed’s accolades include receiving the Spirit of the Moot award at the 2023 Julius Alexander Isaac Moot competition.  Additionally, he was honoured with the Black Students’ Association of Canada “Excellence Award” in 2023. Mohammed is set to commence a clerkship at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in August 2024.

Host

Nathan is a graduate of McGill’s BCL/LLB program and was CIAJ’s first articling student. Trained in both Civil and Common Law, he has been called to the Ontario Bar in 2020 and is now preparing for the Quebec Bar exam. He has clerked at the Montreal Municipal Court, as well as involved himself in Montreal-based access to justice organizations such as The Mile End Legal Clinic and the Centre for Research-Action and Race Relations. At CIAJ Nathan conducts legal research on our national discussions on key issues, pens reports and helps develop CIAJ initiatives.

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