Black Queer & Trans Migrants and Racism in Windsor Essex County Conference

Co-organized by the Black Scholars Institute, the Department of Sociology and Criminology, and Queer and Trans Migrant Advocacy Alliance of Windsor-Essex, and held in recognition of the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, this conference brings together scholars, community organizers, artists, advocates, and the broader public to foster dialogue across academic and community spaces, highlight emerging research and lived expertise, and build locally grounded yet transnational conversations on queer migration justice.

 Registration is free, but required:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/black-queer-trans-migrants-and-racism-in-windsor-essex-county-tickets-1982899925054?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

The featured research panel will take place at the University of Windsor Leonard and Dorothy Neal Education Building (Room 1101) from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., following welcoming remarks at 9:30 a.m. The conversation is designed as a layered dialogue moving from conceptual framing to empirical and community-based insights, with presentations followed by public discussion.

Confirmed panellists include:
• Dr. Cornel Grey (Western University): “LGBTQ+, Race, and the Pursuit of Social Equity,” 
• Chelle Jones (University of Michigan): “Balancing Safety and Visibility: Lesbian Community-Building Strategies in South Korea,”
• Tasha Stansbury (University of Ottawa): “‘I Want to Feel Safe’: Social Service Experiences of LGBTQ+ Newcomers in Windsor–Essex, Ontario,”
• Dr. Carlo Charles (University of Windsor): "The community-building experiences of Black queer and trans migrants and refugees in Windsor–Essex."

The afternoon portion of the event will take place in person at the Black Scholars Institute (Lower Level, CAW Student Centre, University of Windsor main campus) and will feature two interactive workshops led by Dr. Camisha Sibblis and Anold Mulaisho, alongside Black queer and trans migrants as well as community panelists, such as:

• Irene Moore Davis 
• Christie Nelson 
• Rev Joseph Livingston

Brief Agenda Overview:
• 9:00–9:30 — Registration & networking
• 9:30–10:00 — Welcome remarks & land acknowledgement
• 10:00–12:00 — Research panel on queer migration, queer/trans lives, and racial justice (hybrid option available)
• 12:00–1:00 — Lunch (Black Scholars Institute, CAW Student Centre)
• 1:00–2:00 — Testimonial-based workshop on queer migration & racism in Windsor (Led by the University of Windsor's Black Scholars Institute)
• 2:10–3:40 — Community roundtable & skills-based workshop (QTMAAWE-led)
• 3:40–4:00 — Closing remarks
• 4:00–4:30 — Drag performance (Baddie Brooks & Valentina Rosé)
• 4:30–5:00 — Networking & goodbye

We hope the day will feel collaborative, generative, and attentive to how theory, transnational research, artistic practice, and local community knowledge speak to one another. It would be wonderful to have members of the broader university community present — their perspectives always enrich these conversations.

‹ › ×