Robert Sutherland Prize recognizes Black grads

A prize named after Canada’s first Black university graduate will be awarded to two students.

Since 2019, the AMS Social Issues Commission (SIC) has presented the Robert Sutherland Prize, a $5,000 award, to two self-identifying students of colour who’ve advanced anti-racism and anti-oppression work at Queen’s.

Named after Robert Sutherland, a Queen’s alumnus and the first Black graduate of a Canadian university, Social Issues Commissioners Khadija Farooq and Ruth Osunde are working to make the award exclusively for Black students in the future.

“We recognize the AMS has a very interesting relationship with Black students, and even with the Blackface scandal last year, I think, unfortunately, that was the first introduction to a lot of students with the AMS,” said SIC Ruth Osunde, referencing the Team ERA scandal in last year’s AMS executive election, in an interview with The Journal.

Black History Month isn’t only a reflective time, but one to look forward.

“We want to celebrate the work of Black individuals and groups in the past, but we want to empower the network to continue in the future,” Farooq said.

The Social Issues Commissioners hope the policy amendments will in the next AMS Assembly. Robert Sutherland Prize winners must be nominated, and then selected by a committee led by the SIC.

Awarded to graduating students, Osunde and Farooq believe it’s a way to honour equity-deserving students who have made it through their degree. Graduation marks the end of an important chapter.

“It works to tell students the amount of time they spent here didn’t go unnoticed; the amount of emotional labour they spent was not unnoticed. People are watching, and they’re proud,” Osunde said.

Other equity awards are open to all students, Farooq said. The SIC offers bursaries and grants for anti-racism work, including a $10,000 Black Histories and Futures Month grant.

Farooq and Osunde are proud to have created more s for Black students, believing the commission evolves alongside students’ needs. They’ve established a new role in the SIC for next year: the Black Initiatives Coordinator.

The Black Initiatives Coordinator will coordinate events and programs with Black clubs across campus. Starting as a volunteer position, the SIC hope it will evolve into an hourly waged role.

Making the Queen’s community more inclusive involves a lot of emotional labour, Osunde said. Students, especially at the SIC, must educate themselves on many systems of oppression, it’s part of the job.

“We’re not experts, we don’t know best, but we try our very best to represent all people equally with every single thing that we do in our position,” Osunde said.

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