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The Congress of Black Writers at McGill University in Montréal
The Congress of Black Writers was a four-day event held from October 11 to 14, 1968, at McGill University in Montréal. Held just six months after the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this marked a significant event in the civil rights movement. An influential international collective of writers and leaders of African descent gathered to address racism based on colonialism and imperialism. Followers of the liberation, Black Power, and Black nationalist movements included Rosie Douglas, C.L.R. James, Rocky Jones, Stokely Carmichael (a.k.a. Kwame Ture), Walter Rodney, and Miriam Makeba. Students and people from various social backgrounds questioned society’s exclusive and oppressive practices in the justice system, employment, hospitals, and the broader Canadian society. The congress highlighted the writings and ideologies of African scholars throughout the diaspora (world), while exposing a global awareness of the inhumane treatment and traumatic experiences endured by people because of their ethnicity.
This topic explores:
• Students at the Congress of Black Writers
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination
• Stokely Carmichael (a.k.a. Kwame Ture)
• The protest march in Montréal, Canada
• Rocky Jones
