黑料正能量

The student-led club emerged from a deep-seated need felt among students to bring underrepresented perspectives into the academic conversation. 鈥淲e wanted to give center stage to voices that have historically resisted colonialism, capitalism and systemic oppression,鈥� explains聽 黑料正能量 senior and founding member of the club, Carolyn Franano.

What started as a small discussion group has now grown into a full-fledged club with bi-annual conferences that aim to challenge dominant narratives and create spaces for collective learning and solidarity.

While taking a course with Zona Zaric, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Critical Democracy Studies, Franano, a double major in Philosophy, Politics & Economics and Communication & Civil Society, began to engage with contemporary political thought, epistemic injustice and the politics of knowledge. She was quickly inspired by thinkers such as Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Audre Lorde who explored how systems of power maintain dominance by marginalizing resistance, with Lorde famously stating that 鈥渢he master鈥檚 tools will never dismantle the master鈥檚 house.鈥� Over dinner conversations with two close friends, the idea of creating Voices of the Global Majority took shape鈥攆irst as a book club to share readings and resources, then as a structured initiative to engage more students and faculty across campus.

From the outset, the club sought to challenge the Eurocentrism pervasive in Western academia. Founding members鈥擜shley O鈥橦ara, Amelia Bolaris, and Edwina Henry鈥攚orked alongside Franano to establish a space where classical philosophy could be read alongside foundational postcolonial texts, critical race theory and works by authors from the Global South.

Originally called Global Voices for Liberation and Epistemic Justice, the club was renamed as Voices of the Global Majority, borrowing the name from one of Professor Tanya Elder鈥檚 courses to highlight the perspectives of historically marginalized communities.

At its core, the club challenges the idea that education is neutral. Franano鈥檚 thesis on popular education, rooted in Paulo Freire鈥檚 Pedagogy of the Oppressed, underscores how education is inherently hierarchical and never fully objective. Through weekly readings and open-ended conversations, the club aims to create an environment where students can challenge each other, engage critically with the world and develop a deeper understanding of structural injustices related to racism, ecological imperialism and neo-colonialism.

The club also aims to prioritize emotions as well as intellect, recognizing the role played by anger and grief in social justice movements. This means that discussions are never merely theoretical; they become deeply personal, allowing students to process the emotional weight of the injustices they study while supporting each other. 鈥淥ne thing we do in the club is, you鈥檙e not allowed to say sorry; we want to allow students to feel the right to agency, and to make sure that the club meets everyone鈥檚 needs,鈥� says Franano.

In addition to the club鈥檚 regular activities, the group organizes a twice-yearly conference during which students鈥攇raduate and undergraduate鈥攑resent on topics related to the themes the club takes to heart. The first two conferences saw students present research, poetry, visual art, and perform other creative expressions of resistance. In this space, the goal is to foster agency among students and for students and professors to learn from each other, breaking down traditional academic hierarchies. 鈥淲e are pushing for creative environments on campus that are critical of the structures that reproduce injustice,鈥� she explains.

The most recent conference, held in December 2024, was attended by over 50 people, demonstrating the demand for such a space within 黑料正能量鈥檚 intimate community.

As Franano prepares to graduate, she plans to continue the work she has begun doing with the club. 聽Thanks to the experience gained in community-based initiatives such as Voices of the Global Majority, she hopes to work in the non-profit sector, grassroots organizing, advocating for economic democracy, and combining activism and education.

Daria Minhas, VGM鈥檚 vice president, will take over as club president next year. 鈥淭he club would not be what is it is today without them,鈥� says Franano. 鈥淎nd I can鈥檛 wait to see how it grows under their leadership.鈥�

Voices of the Global Majority is an example of what education can do when it goes beyond rote learning and embraces critical inquiry and participation. By creating a space where students challenge dominant ideologies, they are helping lay the groundwork to reclaim marginalized knowledge and build solidarity.

In a world where power continues to self-reinforce through ideology, such examples of community building around education remind us of the transformative potential of knowledge when it is rooted in critical inquiry, agency and collective action.