Poetry and Praxis: Lessons From an Activist Educator

Drawing on data from a narrative multi-case study based in Toronto, Canada, this article discusses the lived experiences of one Black activist. Utilizing critical race theory, new literacy studies and the rhetoric of cultural production as theoretical frameworks, the article foregrounds the work of Ebele, a Toronto activist whose work supported the educational trajectories and emotional well-being of Black students, many of whom reported being marginalized in school. Through his creative labor, Ebele directly addressed the sociology of anti-Black racism that deeply influences the lives of Afrodiasporic people in Canada. This article continues the conversation about what it means to be Black in Canada, providing a counter-narrative that stands against the hegemonic and often racist ways Black people and communities are imagined and educated in Canada