Distinguished Visitor
Women's Studies
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Akua Benjamin
Akua Benjamin


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Biography

It has been said that some are born leaders, some achieve leadership, and some have leadership thrust upon them. Place Dr. Akua Benjamin in group three.

A Black activist and feminist committed to fighting racism, sexism and poverty, Benjamin says leaders like herself are those who are identified by a community. They're not self-made.

She says it is through their skills, knowledge, competence, and capacities that leaders find themselves "being called upon" to take on key responsible roles or new projects. In her case, you can add moral courage to the mix, whether it's battling racial profiling, defending a charge of racism against June Callwood, or leading anti-racist rallies against police killings of unarmed Blacks in Toronto.

Born Lorna Benjamin in Trinidad to working class parents, the young Benjamin was involved in church and community organizations and volunteered to help women in prison and children with physical and emotional disabilities. She immigrated to Canada in 1969, studied Sociology at York University,and received both her Master of Social Work and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. As a young woman, she adopted the name Akua, given her by a friend. It was a time of the civil rights movement, she recalls, and Blacks were reclaiming their identity so she took on the continental African name, which means girl born on Wednesday. She is currently director of the School of Social Work at Ryerson University, where she has been a staff member since 1988.

Benjamin has lived the life of a feminist activist. She has been committed to both the process and goals of the movement during the last 30 years.

Soft-spoken, wise, and courageous in her convictions, she has been at the forefront of the women's movement and initiatives like the Racism, Violence and Health Project, which is studying the impact of violence and racism on the health and well-being of African-Canadians.

She has helped establish policies supporting ethnocultural services for new immigrants and refugees, fought for equitable access to public services, and against racial discrimination in the workplace. She has also trained private and public sector clients on issues like human rights, anti-oppression, and anti-discrimination.

Benjamin has dedicated herself to building coalitions within the feminist movement, even if it means taking on unpopular issues. In the National Film Board documentary Sisters in the Struggle, she called the women's movement a "white ideology," saying the thrust of the struggle at the time represented white, middle-class women and left out the issue of race. During the blowup at the Toronto women's hostel Nellie's in 1993, she joined ranks with Amy Go and Judy Rebick to draw attention to systemic racism in the organization. "Racism, like sexism," they wrote in a Toronto Star opinion piece, "is an integral part of our society and must be challenged at every level."

Although a critic of the tendency in the women's movement to overlook visible and invisible minorities, she also recognizes her own role in ignoring the needs of lesbians and Native women. She's learned the hard way that organizations have to deal with painful differences among members within the movement and documented the "process of healing" that individuals and organizations must undertake in Rebick's new book Ten Thousand Roses: The Making of a Feminist Revolution.

Benjamin has received numerous accolades including the prestigious Constance E. Hamilton Award in 1986 for her work in establishing equitable treatment for women in Toronto. However, she has no qualms about sharing the spotlight. A few years ago, at a Black Action Defence Committee awards dinner honouring her community advocacy work, Benjamin lamented that her colleague Margaret Gittens had never received an award for her own outstanding work.

Her approach to activism, Benjamin says, it to "start with a sense of goodwill" in people. She recognizes that those who join the feminist movement share a common motive in improving the lives of the marginalized and oppressed in society. She knows that they must speak for themselves out of their own experiences.

That common motive among sisters also gives her the "latitude and ground" to be able to take risks, even if it creates rifts within a group. If there's one lesson she'd like to pass on to the next generation of women it is this: while struggling for social change, take a look at the people you're working with and don't be afraid to change your won outlook.

"The process can be very stormy where marginalized voices challenge the dominant voices in a group," she says. "To make inclusiveness work, you have to deal with that and not be defensive. You need to get past that and see the larger picture: how to bring those voices forward. In all movements, I see that as a critical issue. It happens on micro levels and in major structures."