KITCHENER -- Students at the University of Guelph will soon be able to have a minor degree in Black Canadian studies.

In a Tuesday news release, the school announced the program focusing on histories, experiences, cultural identities and communities, and contemporary concerns of Black people in Canada will be launched in fall of 2022.

“It is critical that the University of Guelph’s academic programming represents the diverse lived experiences and needs of the university community and the broader communities we serve,” said U of G president Dr. Charlotte Yates in the release. “I am grateful to the students, faculty and staff whose hard work and advocacy has resulted in an intersectional and interdisciplinary program that reflects the important histories, realities and futures of Black Canadian communities.”

The creation of the new minor studies program was led by Dr. Jade Fergusson, an English professor in the School of English and Theatre studies, in collaboration with the Guelph Black Students Association (GBSA).

"The multi-disciplinary program offers a wide range of courses, including community-engaged and experiential learning opportunities with the Guelph Black Heritage Society, courses that attend to the past, present and future of Black lives in Guelph and beyond,” said Fergusson in the release.

She adds that Guelph’s history as a terminus for the Underground Railroad, “sets the stage for thinking not only about the ways local histories, political and other forces shape the everyday lives of Black diasporic communities, but also about the ways these communities are shaped by transnational connections and global circulations.”

Angel Culmer, the president of the GBSA, hopes the program provides academic offerings of the "relatively unheard of history of the Black community in Canada" and offer an alternative to "whitewashed" history books for non-Black Canadians in the program.

"A lot of people are unaware of this aspect of history, many of whom are of the community themselves. So, this new program would give them the opportunity to know their history; something which is pivotal in establishing self-identity,” she said. "This is essential to addressing and uprooting the biased prejudices surrounding the Canadian Black community."

The school says the program grew out of Dr. Yates' anti-racism action plan.