These videos highlight the contradictions implicit in Canadian multiculturalism, a discourse which Professor Saney describes, in his introduction, as a 'profoundly Eurocentric conception', ‘riddled and poisoned with white man's concepts, white man's burden...'. Indeed it becomes clear from these five women that visible differences are a barrier to equal rights, access to services, and acceptance in Canadian society. The five women all answered a question: 'What does Canadian identity mean to you?'

The result is five personal interpretations of the question of identity. These heartfelt responses address issues of a 400 year heritage of African Canadian identity; the struggle for civil rights, and the value of community in affirming identity in the face of exclusion and discrimination. These videos are a valuable tool for discussion of the complex strands of identity, strength of traditions and heritage, divergent notions of knowledge and history and the affirming power of oral traditions (this relates well to trends in Critical Race Theory) and to the dilemmas and value of visual ethnography in research.

 Prof Isaac Saney
Canadian identity - a profoundly eurocentric concept

European standards and keeping 400 years of black heritage alive

Canadian identity - 'just words' unless it recognises community needs

  The power of black oral traditions in affirming identity

     Embracing complex identities and drawing upon experience of struggle

  Experiencing the racialised 'glass ceiling' 

   Conclusion