Black Student Advisor Akua Amankwah-Poku (right) and Black Student Centre Manager Lorraine Reddick unveil the Black Student Success Centre's official name: the Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre.
The joy of being part of something larger, something powerful, and having a place to call home all resonated Nov. 4th as StFX's new Black Student Success Centre opened in a poignant ceremony where Black Student Advisor Akua Amankwah-Poku and Black Student Centre Manager Lorraine Reddick unveiled the centre's official name: the Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre.
The centre, in Mount Saint Bernard, Room 225, is named in honour of the late Dr. Agnes Calliste, a mentor, trailblazer, teacher, and unwavering social activist. During her nearly 30 year tenure on faculty in the Sociology Department, Dr. Calliste greatly impacted StFX, in the classroom, in her groundbreaking scholarship, and in deep, lasting contributions to the community.
As StFX's Black Student Advisor. Dr. Calliste tirelessly provided academic support to individual students and advised the Brothers and Sisters of the African Diaspora student society. Dr. Calliste initiated and organized events like Kwanzaa celebrations, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and African Heritage Month activities. She supported and organized initiatives that sought to counter racism and recognize the achievements of African-Canadians. Her academic scholarship focused on the complex interaction of work, race, ethnicity, and gender in Canada. Her research with African-Canadian railway porters and Caribbean-Canadian nurses explored previously unexamined dimensions of our social history.
MILESTONE DAY
"What a special day. Sometimes you can feel the energy, like something good is happening," StFX President & Vice-Chancellor Dr. Andy Hakin said as he opened remarks.
As you stepped into this room, you could feel the energy, he said. "You know you are on the right path.
"Today is a milestone It's a step forward. It's progress."
Dr. Hakin paid tribute to all those in the generations before who helped build the foundation and to all those today who helped launch this new centre, an inclusive, supportive environment, that will have an impact on the future.
Education, he said, is about opening doors, but once through those doors, students need to have barriers removed to be successful and to all feel like we belong.
StFX President Dr. Andy Hakin
"This is for our students because if we can remove barriers, they're going to do great things.
"This is, and will, make a difference."
A PLACE TO TRULY BELONG
Fourth year accounting student Dana Morrison of the Bahamas, a Schwartz National Scholar, said the centre ensures that Black students at StFX have a space where they don't just fit in, but truly belong.
"It is a home for our voices, our culture, our growth, and our journey. A place where we're celebrated, not for conforming, but for being ourselves. And I am honoured to be part of a university that has created a place like this for us. The sense of belonging it fosters is powerful; it's motivating. It reminds each of us that we are not alone, and that we are part of something greater a legacy of students who came before us, and for students who are yet to come," said Ms. Morrison, who is also the co-president of the BLACC Society, is the Students of African Descent representative on the Students' Union, and a Community Advisor. She is also a recipient of a Racial Justice Leadership Grant from the McKenna Center to help improve the university experience of Black students at a predominantly white institution.
Ms. Morrison said she already feels the centre's impact, through its physical space and through the belonging, support, and connection it brings.
Before the centre existed, there were individuals who laid the groundwork, who uplifted, and created community. "The centre has amplified this community, turning the mentorship, guidance, and encouragement that many of us experienced informally into something tangible and enduring."
The centre gives all Black students access to a space dedicated to success, growth, and empowerment, while also offering invaluable support through its peer mentors. "These mentors are more than just guides they're role models who demonstrate what's possible, and their advice is crucial in navigating the challenges and aggressions Black students face daily."
Having a dedicated Black Student Advisor who understands unique challenges, who listens, and who advocates is transformative, she says. "Akua's presence as the Black Student Advisor is a constant reminder that our voices matter."
Ms. Morrison says one of the centre's most special offerings is its connection to African culture through events like drumming sessions, experiences that remind of heritage, resilience, and shared history.
"Above all, the Black Student Success Center brings together a community a community that has always existed but now has a place to call home. This is a place where we can come as we are, a space where we're understood without explanation, and where we're celebrated. I am deeply grateful for what it represents and how it can evolve in the future."
StFX Vice-President Students Elizabeth Yeo addresses those gathered
HONOURS RICHNESS AND RESILIENCY
Sara Saidi brought video greetings from Toronto from the office of the McCall MacBain Foundation, one of the centre's major funders, together with the Jeannine Deveau Educational Equity Endowment. "We are so excited to see everything come together," Ms. Saidi said as she noted how critical it is to provide such spaces.
StFX Vice-President Students, and ceremony host, Elizabeth Yeo thanked the McCall MacBain Foundation for its generosity and vision. "Your commitment allows us to honour the richness and resilience of Black heritage on our campus, creating a space that uplifts and empowers our students. This investment reflects the McCall MacBain Foundation's dedication to education and fostering healthy communities a mission we're proud to carry forward here at StFX."
Ms. Yeo says at StFX we are fortunate to have the support of the Jeannine Deveau Educational Equity Endowment, established to help remove barriers to postsecondary educating facing Indigenous students and African Nova Scotian students. The centre has also benefited from the Deveau family's generosity.
IMPORTANT PIECE
Bill Gunn, speaking on behalf of the Jeannine Deveau Educational Equity Endowment, told how the late Jeannine Deveau, Auntie Jay,' as a child played with both African Nova Scotian and Mi'kmaw children. She noticed how they didn't have the same educational opportunities as she did. Through the educational equity endowment, she hoped to address educational equity and outcomes. Opening the Black Student Success Centre, a welcoming, safe, and inclusive space, is another important piece of this puzzle, he said.
Ms. Yeo also thanked Akua Amankwah-Poku, Lorraine Reddick, and StFX Director, Human Rights & Equity Megan Fogarty, for their support in launching the centre.
L-r, Robert Leek, counsellor at the Dr. Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre; Robert Upshaw, co-chair of the President's Action Committee on Anti-Racism and StFX's first Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism; Black Student Advisor Akua Amankwah-Poku; Bill Gunn, representing the Jeannine Deveau Educational Equity Endowment; Black Student Centre Manager Lorraine Reddick; StFX VP Students Elizabeth Yeo; StFX Director, Human Rights & Equity Megan Fogarty; StFX student Dana Morrison; and StFX President Dr. Andy Hakin.
In introducing Robert Upshaw, co-chair of the President's Action Committee on Anti-Racism and StFX's first Special Advisor to the President on Anti-Racism, Ms. Yeo said Mr. Upshaw has been an advocate for meaningful change and has helped create a more inclusive, respectful community at StFX.
Mr. Upshaw gave those gathered a glimpse into the life and legacy of Dr. Calliste, a mentor and educator and "warrior," he said. "Most of all, she was a matriarch. She was a matriarch of students, to her colleagues, and staff."
He invited a couple of speakers to the podium to share remembrances of Dr. Calliste and her lasting impact.
To open the ceremony, Kenyatta Boakey sang the Black National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and Sing.
"Today has been an important day, a day where we have officially opened and launched the Agnes Calliste Academic and Cultural Centre, and I would like to thank you all for joining us on this momentous occasion," Ms. Yeo said to close the ceremony.
