LEGAL CHALLENGE

Racialized professors say they were underpaid, bullied, and ignored at one of Canada’s top law schools

- JULIE SOBOWALE

WHEN Sara Ghebremusse arrived at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia in 2017, she was the only Black female professor in the faculty. She had been working toward the position for several years. Her family is from Eritrea, where mining companies are accused of forced labour and other human rights violations, and Ghebremusse pursued law with an interest in economic and environmental justice. At Allard, one of the most prestigious law schools in Canada, she wanted to be an activist academic, researching and teaching about the devastating effects of resource extraction in African countries.

She knew she was stepping into a space that wasn't designed for Black voices. Only about 4 percent of students enrolled in the country's twenty-four law schools are Black, according to the Black Law Students' Association of Canada. Systemic, financial, and cultural hurdles can make it difficult or impossible for Black students to be accepted into these programs, let alone to pursue the profession. As part of her activism, Ghebremusse wanted to help reform the admissions process at Allard.

Between 2020 and 2021, she worked with the BLSA on a list of recommendations for how the school could recruit more Black students. The report proposed collecting race-based enrolment data, running anti-Black racism training for admissions staff, and having at least one Black professor review applications from Black students. Ghebremusse also advocated for a dedicated admissions stream for Black applicants, something other law schools, including those at the University of Victoria and Queen's University, had already instituted.