Minority within a minority: Black Francophones of Ontario and the dynamics of power and resistance
Année :
2004
Auteur(e) :
Maison d'édition :
, University of Toronto
Résumé
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. 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. 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.
Thème :
ImmigrationMinorités linguistiquesOntarioSociologie
Base de données : il s’agit d’une référence bibliographique. Veuillez noter que la majorité des références de notre base de données ne contient pas de textes intégraux.
- Pour consulter les références sur la santé des communautés de langue officielle en situation minoritaire (CLOSM) : cliquez ici
