Minority within a minority
Subtitle: black Francophones of Ontario and the dynamics of power and resistance
By: by Amal Ibrahim Madibbo.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 280
Subjects: French-Canadians -- Ontario -- Social conditions.; Blacks -- Ontario -- Social conditions.; Haitians -- Ontario -- Social conditions.; Racism -- Ontario.
Description: This study examines the dynamics of power and resistance within Francophone communities in Ontario/Canada. It investigates the situation of Black Francophone Africans and Haitians who constitute a racial minority situated within the official linguistic minority, in the distribution of economic and political resources that are attributed by the Canadian State to Francophones as one of its two official linguistic minorities. It also identifies various resistance strategies Black Francophones invent in order to enter power structures.An ethnographic approach conducted through qualitative methods enabled me to capture the connectedness between discourse and social action. I was also able to conceptualize how power relations are performed by examining them across the lenses of race, gender and language. This work is situated in the history of slavery and colonialism, in the migration of Africans and Haitians within Francophone space, and in the contribution of immigrants to Canadian society. My study affirms the reproduction of dominance by white Francophones towards Black Francophones. It also reveals that these Blacks endure forms of racism that other racialized groups encounter in Canada. These practices unveil connections and similarities between the State and Francophone institutions. My work stresses the contradiction represented by the existence of racism in Western societies like Canada that are guided by the liberal democracy principles. The Black Francophone struggle informs us that the Canadian project of official bilingualism, that is based on the myth of the two founding peoples and its protection for linguistic minorities, continues to support ideologies of a predominantly white national project. The vigorous activism of Black Francophones reinforces the urgency of establishing a more inclusive  Francophonie within a more equitable society.Drawing on Antiracism, Black Feminism and Discourse Analysis, my thesis pinpoints the racism that Black Francophones face coming from the Canadian State and Francophone mainstream institutions. I name State racism as a factor that resolves in disrupting the economic development of the Black Francophone community. I portray specific practices that explain Francophone mainstream institutional racism. I also show that the actions and counter-hegemonic discourses taken by Black Francophones are situated in the discourse of resistance and hold specific significance in terms of the development of the Black Francophone community.
Notes: Adviser:  Normand Labrie.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-10, Section: A, page: 3890.