Montreal Thematics (EN)

MONTREAL THEMATIC ANALYSIS

The themes represented below are those drawn from an initial constant comparison analysis of the interviews we conducted with members of Black Community Supplementary Education initiatives and organizations (BCSEs) in Montreal.

They represent the major themes that emerged across interviews. Within each theme there are sub-themes further specifying the themes we identified. Click on these for more information.

Government funding as harmful

Participants characterized government funding as necessary yet restrictive, noting that competitive grant structures and changing political agendas often led BCSEs to shift their priorities and compete rather than collaborate.

Participants described competitive grant structures as fostering fragmentation rather than collaboration among Black community organizations.
Limited funding pools positioned organizations against one another, undermining collective strategy-building and contributing to mistrust, animosity, and weakened solidarity within the community. (Claude, Malachi, Monica)
Intergenerational memory is treated as a core asset. Several interviewees emphasize that current programming draws on elders’ knowledge, previous organizing strategies, and a long lineage of community education, even when those histories are not widely documented (Edna, Kevin, Patrick, Tania). Alongside this, speakers note risks when succession planning is weak: organizations can drift, fracture, or lose relevance if younger people are not prepared to lead (Reena, Donna). Documentation, archiving, and intentional mentorship are framed as ways to prevent communities from having to reinvent the same work every generation (Jamaal).
Participants indicated that shifting political priorities and funder-driven metrics were frequently misaligned with BCSE-defined community needs. Government accountability frameworks and evaluation practices often prioritized political deliverables over culturally grounded, community-responsive programming, constraining organizational autonomy. (Godfrey, Malachi, Monica, Nirva, Wilma)
Participants described pressure to dilute explicit Black-centered mandates in order to secure or maintain funding. Organizations often broadened their target populations, modified their public identity, or framed programming as universally inclusive, reflecting structural constraints that made explicitly Black-serving initiatives more difficult to fund. (Giselle, Monica, Nirva, Yodi)
Despite the constraints, some participants described strategic efforts to preserve organizational integrity, including selective engagement with funding streams, hybrid volunteer models, and deliberate planning processes. These approaches reflect attempts to balance financial survival with community-defined priorities and self-determination. (Claude, Frank C., Giselle, Monica)
Participants consistently linked project-based funding models to mission drift, explaining that organizations often reoriented programming to align with grant criteria rather than original advocacy or policy goals. This shift contributed to the depoliticization of educational issues and narrowed broader structural critiques into individualized academic support interventions. (Godfrey, Malachi, Monica)

Gender Dynamics of BCSE work

Participants described gendered dynamics within BCSE organizations. While men often occupied formal leadership roles or were associated with authority and decision‑making positions, women were frequently described as the backbone of organizations, sustaining programs and performing much of the day‑to‑day work necessary for their success. At the same time, women who took leadership position, spoke up, challenged authority, or took strong positions sometimes faced criticism or were labelled aggressive, which could discourage leadership participation and shape how gender operated within BCSE organizing.

Participants suggested that a focus on formal authority among some male leaders sometimes overshadowed the collective work needed to sustain BCSE organizations. (Giselle, Grace, Maureen)
Participants repeatedly described women as central to the functioning of BCSE organizations, carrying out much of the labor that kept programs and institutions operating. (Fred, Giselle, Godfrey, Ivyn, Judith, Maureen, Monica)
Participants indicated that although women contributed significantly to BCSE work, their roles were often less visible and less formally recognized. (Grace, Godfrey, Winston)
Participants suggested that potential reputational or professional consequences sometimes discouraged women from speaking up or taking visible leadership roles. (Atheline, Judith, Maureen)

Unpaid Labour

Participants describe performing extreme amounts of unpaid volunteer labour as a routine part of their BCSE work, which included, but was not limited to founding organizations, starting programs, organizing interventions, fundraising, and tutoring. This work, usually done over and above their paid jobs (usually outside of but also within BCSEs) was necessary to both start and sustain BCSEs. They describe this work as related to their commitment to community as well as to the ways in which their work is chronically underfunded—a structural feature of BCSE work. This labour was complemented by covering some of the costs of their work from personal funds. Though all BCSE workers are involved in volunteering, several participants indicate that gendered expectations shape this unpaid labour such that it falls more heavily on Black women.

Participants describe unpaid volunteer work as an integral part of BCSE work and other educational efforts to support Black students. Participants describe themselves and others as doing this work out of a sense of commitment and out of prioritizing what their communities, youth, children and families needed. Many participants mention that their BCSE organizations started out as 100% volunteer efforts, and that even after receiving funding from various sources the continued existence of the BCSEs also depended heavily on volunteer work. (Bradley, Fred, Giselle, Godfrey, Ivyn, Judith, Malachi, Marco, Winston). Nevertheless, one advantage of the volunteer aspect of the work is that it fostered collaborative forms of leadership that might sometimes be reflected in the work of those volunteers who became paid leaders of BCSEs. (Giselle)
Many participants’ narratives suggested that there is a direct relationship between the amount of unpaid volunteer labour that BCSE work involves and the chronic underfunding of BCSEs. Participants speak of writing grants judiciously yet still being asked to trim their budgets unreasonably. Since other budget items have fixed costs, this demand usually resulted in their having to budget lines related to hiring and salaries. If they wanted to see their important work go ahead, the shortfall had to be made up for by significant amounts of unpaid labour where they did not fund efforts from their own pockets, since they were often unwilling to make the services they provided become costly to community members. (Giselle, Ivyn Judith, Malachi, Nirva). In some cases, funders themselves would demand volunteer labour of program participants (for example, during the funders’ fundraising events) (Judith)
In many cases, the demand for unpaid labour fell particularly heavily upon women whose work participants describe as crucial to organizational survival, but is not as readily recognized as that of the men who occupied leadership positions. The gendering of this unpaid labour was largely related to societal expectations of women and mothers. Women would often first recognize and act on the practically meeting the needs of Black children and youth, and even when they occupied paid positions in BCSEs, they were asked to do labour that was not required of men who occupied similar positions. (Giselle, Godfrey, Judith)

Limited Cross-Language Collaboration Between

Participants described language as a significant factor shaping relationships among francophone and anglophone Black community organizations and BCSEs in Montreal. While some attempts were made to collaborate across Anglophone and Francophone communities, these efforts were often limited or unsuccessful. Differences in language, culture, organizational development, and historical experiences contributed to interests that weren't alweays easily reconcilable and made sustained collaboration difficult.

Participants often indicated that though there were some efforts, no BCSE organization in Montreal successfully worked across the diverse linguistic segments of Montreal’s Black community in a sustained way. These challenges are produced by the linguistic organization of the city, province, and its's education systems. This absence of sustained partnerships reinforced parallel organizing structures rather than collective coalition-building. and produced distinct social and organizational spaces that limited opportunities for shared strategies or joint initiatives. (Fred, Giselle, Maureen, Marco, Nirva, Winston)
Participants occasionally framed bilingual or cross-community actors as potential bridges between linguistic communities. This reflects recognition that collaboration was desirable but structurally difficult to achieve. Participants described some attempts to build cross-language collaboration: some francophone participants speak of working with anglophone BCSEs, and members of the earliest Monreal BCSEs, which are anglophone, speak of attempts to reach out to francophone communities. (Djakomo, Fred, Grace, Marco, Winston)

Language-Based Educational Marginalization

Participants described how language differences and teacher prejudices led the education system in Montreal to misclassify disproportionate numbers of Black students as having learning challenges and to assign them in special education placements. BCSE educators recognized that these outcomes reflected systemic barriers rather than student ability, and directly intervened to challenge these injustices.

Participants described how teachers’ unfamiliarity with Caribbean speech patterns, accents, linguistic styles, and cultures, along with a lack of sensitivity to the impacts of migration and settlement, led them to misinterpret students’ abilities and academic performance. This affected Anglophone, Francophone, and Creolophone students who had migrated from the Caribbean. (Atheline, Frank C., Grace, Nirva, Tony, Winston, Yannick, Yodi)
Participants described BCSE educators as actively intervening when Black students were misclassified or underestimated in the school system due to language barriers. Rather than accepting deficit assumptions about students’ abilities, BCSE educators worked directly with students and advocated within school systems. Their interventions often only invovled holding high expectations of Black students and offering them challenging curriculum. This, along with innovative teaching approaches and additional supports they created to address students' unique circumstances allowed the students to succeed and excel academically, and many succesful students returned to tell them about the positive impact they had on their trajectories. (Bradley, Grace, GIselle, Godfrey, Ivyn, Winston)

Strategic Advocacy for Black Educational Leadership

Participants described how Black communities in Montreal actively advocated for the hiring, promotion, and placement of Black educators within the school system while simultaneously facing resistance from institutional structures. Community members and organizations pushed for Black teachers, administrators, and leaders in schools in order to support Black students, influence policy decisions, and address systemic barriers that limited advancement opportunities for Black educators.

Participants described how Black educators faced institutional barriers to promotion despite their qualifications, which required persistent advocacy to secure leadership positions. Nevertheless, when difficulties arose in schools with Black children/youth or with relationships with Black communities, non-white system administrators would often be called on Black educators to problem-solve. (Bradley, Tony, Winston)
Participants described coordinated efforts by Black community organizations to increase the hiring of Black educators in response to systemic exclusion in hiring. (Atheline, Bradley, Tony). Participants further described intentional efforts by Black communities and BCSEs to place Black administrators and leaders in schools serving Black communities to better address the needs of Black students. (Bradley, Marco, Wilma, Winston)
Participants emphasized that Black educators were essential not only for student support but also for influencing policy and decision-making
within educational institutions. (Atheline, Bradley, Marco, Wilma)

Black Parental Advocacy and Engagement

Participants described the important role of Black parental advocacy, presence, and engagement in supporting Black students’ educational success. While some parents were actively involved in advocating for their children and participating in school activities, participants also noted that many parents were not always aware of how the education system functioned or how to navigate it effectively. In response, community organizations and educators worked to mobilize, inform, and involve Black parents so they could better support their children and influence educational environments.

Participants described how some parents, particularly mothers, played active roles in supporting students and organizing community activities that
fostered care, encouragement, and educational support. (Bradley, Giselle, Godfrey, Lloyd, Marco, Maureen, Tony). Participants emphasized the importance of parental participation in school governance and decision-making processes to ensure that Black students’ needs were represented. (Lloyd, Marco)
Participants indicated that some parents were unfamiliar with how the education system worked, which limited their ability to be involved and effectively advocate for their children without guidance or support. (Malachi, Marco, Tony, Yannick)
Participants said that BCSEs often filled the advocacy roles that some parents could not play for lack of system knowledge. BCSEs went further to train parents to take up these roles more effectively. and they described community initiatives and organizational efforts aimed at doing so. (Lloyd, Marco, Tony)

Cross‑Class Community Inclusion

Backlash against anti-racism efforts produces rollbacks of equity staffing, resources, and curricular supports, alongside new constraints on advocacy, often justified through budgets, neutrality claims, or risk-management logics.

Backlash is described as a recurring response to equity work. Participants describe progress as reversible, with gains often followed by rollbacks in staffing, resources, and institutional willingness to address anti-Black racism (Angela, Terri). Several link rollback to budget narratives, neutrality claims, or risk-management logic, describing a pattern where institutions retreat when equity work becomes politically contentious (Faith, Gregory). This theme reinforces the sense that BCSE infrastructures cannot rely on institutional commitments alone and must be prepared for shifting climates (Donna, Anthony).

Some participants point out that the political philosophies that many of the BCSE members ascribed to motivated them to make efforts to overcome class divisions. In referring to class, some participants speak about the way that their BCSEs approach their work through a Marxist lens. (Giselle, Lloyd, Yannick)
Participants described how some community organizations intentionally tried to bridge class differences in order to foster unity and collective support
within the Black community. Participants explained that organizations intentionally avoided labeling participants as poor or vulnerable in order to maintain inclusive and dignified access to services. (Giselle, Maureen, Yodi)
Participants suggested that many BCSEs operated with a community‑based ethos focused on helping anyone in need, rather than restricting services to
specific socioeconomic groups. Participants indicated that organizations attempted to treat members as equals and create inclusive spaces that welcomed people from different socioeconomic and occupational backgrounds. (Claude, GIselle, Maureen, Yodi)

Cultural Identity and Black History Education

Participants found schools to be largely hostile to Black students, and school curricula to be limited and usually exclusive of Black experience and. Consequently, BCSEs provided both safer spaces for academic learning, and expanded education beyond academic tutoring to teach Black history, heritage, and identity and to offer culturally grounded, politically relevant education that emphasized historical awareness, cultural knowledge, belonging, and pride among Black youth.

Participants described how mainstream school curricula offered limited and often superficial engagement with Black history, frequently restricting it to
Black History Month and narrow narratives. (Bradley, Giselle, Godfrey, Malachi, Maureen, Monica, Nirva, Yodi)
Participants described how Black Community Supplemental Education (BCSE) initiatives worked to create environments where Black youth could learn without judgement and discuss social and community issues openly. These spaces were described as supportive environments of "warmth and caring” where students felt comfortable expressing themselves and engaging in dialogue about issues affecting their lives. (Godfrey, Judith, Monica)
Participants related that BCSEs went beyond tutoring academics, and that they aimed to address gaps and the exclusion of Black people from curricula and the historical recorcd and offered students an understanding of their cultural identities instilling a sense of community and “pride.” (Giselle, Grace, Ivyn, Lloyd, Marco, Wilma, Yodi)

Out-Migration from Quebec

Participants described how the political and linguistic context of Quebec, along with resulting experiences of marginalization and limited opportunities, contributed to an out-migration of Black individuals from Montreal and Quebec to other provinces (especially Ontario), where they perceived greater belonging and opportunity. The decline in the Black population in Quebec affected the work and porograms of BCSEs.

Participants linked Quebec’s political and linguistic shifts to an increasingly antiblack climate that particularly, but not solely, affected Anglophone Black communities, causing members from Montreal, and Black youth to entertain futures outside of Quebec. Some participants described other cities, particularly Toronto, as spaces where Black individuals experienced a stronger sense of belonging. (Djakomo, Godfrey, Marco, Ivyn)
Participants explained that the departure of Black Anglophone community members weakened Black community organizing and mobilization, and also influenced the programming offered by BCSEs as there were fewer Black students as clientele and because the educational needs of the Black students who remained shifted. (Djakomo, Fred, Ivyn)