CHRLP Forum Reading Group: Le mot en N... "Honorer la vérité, réconcilier pour l'avenir"

Inspired by the fabled meeting place in ancient Rome, the CHRLP Forum Reading Group on Power, Mobilization, and Change is founded on the principles of inclusive citizenship and deliberative democracy. 

This conversation with Me Tamara Thermitus, Ad. E, LLM'13, will cover academic freedom, which – like freedom of expression – is not absolute. Universities, as bastions of knowledge, value diversity, particularly in light of the principles of anti-racism and the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. In this context, we will focus on the N-word, an example of words that hurt.

Below are the writings that will be discussed in this session:

1. Tamara Thermitus, "Au-delà des débats : réfléchissons à la dignité des enfants, notre avenir à tous: Réflexions sur un mot qui blesse". À bâbord, No 85 - automne 2020.
2. German Lopez, "Ta-Nehisi Coates has an incredibly clear explanation for why white people shouldn’t use the n-word", Vox, Nov 9, 2017
3. Francine Pelletier, "«Il faut se tenir debout»", Le Devoir, 17 février 2021
4. Christopher Curtis, "La face cachée de la censure : des étudiant·e·s se confient au sujet de la violence raciale sur les campus", Ricochet, 17 février 2021
5. Mari J. Matsuda, "Public Response to Racist Speech: Considering the Victim's Story," [.pdf] Michigan Law Review, Vol. 87, No. 8, Legal Storytelling (Aug., 1989), pp. 2320-2381
6. Richard Delgado, "Words That Wound: A Tort Action for Racial Insults, Epithets, and Name-Calling", 17 Harv.C. R.-C. L. L. Rev. 133 (1982).