Research Projects

Janelle Brady (she/her/hers) is the Principal investigator in the Honouring Black Refusals project. She is an assistant professor of Black Studies in the School of Early Childhood Studies, Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her area of research explores Black mothers’ effective resistance strategies, race and racism in early years, and Black feminisms. Some of her peer-reviewed publications appear in the Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education, The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, Emerging Perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan and Myers Education Press. Her two most recent articles were published in the Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood and the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative.

 Rachel Berman is a co-investigator in the Honoring Black Refusals Project. She is an immigrant and white settler who grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which is the traditional territory of many nations including the Anishinaabe, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is covered by Treaty 13. Rachel is a Professor in the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University and an adjunct member to the graduate program in Gender, Feminist & Women's Studies at York University. Her research and teaching focus on ‘race’ in early childhood settings, theoretical frameworks, in particular critical race theory and feminist theories, and critical qualitative methods. Her research has appeared in the International Critical Childhood Policy Studies Journal, the Journal of Childhood Studies, Children & Society, and the International Journal of Qualitative Methods amongst others. 

 Paulyn Mandap (she/her) is a dedicated Research Manager for the Honouring Black Refusals project. Her passion for research has led her to work on various research projects alongside Dr. Brady, including Forgotten Voices and Black Undocumented Mothers. Presently, she is pursuing a Master of Social Work at York University. Paulyn's research interests encompass immigration, youth, mental health, and the Filipino community, striving to bring awareness and create change through her work. 

Georgiana Mathurin (she/her) is a PhD student in the Policy Studies program in the Immigration, Settlement and Diaspora stream at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). She completed her Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies in 2022 and a Master of Arts in Immigration and Settlement Studies in 2023. Georgiana received the Viola Desmond Student Award in 2023 at TMU, which acknowledges Black students’ leadership and contributions. She received the Best Major Research Paper Award in 2023 for her work titled Black Feminist Autoethnography: African/Black Women With Precarious Migration Status in Canada for the Master of Arts in Immigration and Settlement Studies. Georgiana is a Registered Early Childhood Educator passionate about Black childhood futurity in Early Childhood Education and Care settings using a Black feminist lens.

 Salado Abdulle is a Research Assistant for Dr. Janelle Brady and Rachel Berman's Honouring Black Refusals project. This project focuses on exploring and centering the narratives and experiences of Black individuals who refuse compliance with dominant systems of power, highlighting how refusal can be an act of resistance and survival. Salado is currently pursuing her bachelor of Arts in early childhood studies at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she is interested in research that intersect with issues of race, culture, and education. As part of her role in the Honouring Black Refusals project, Salado is contributing to the development of a deeper understanding of how Black communities resist and challenge systems of oppression, with a focus on amplifying the voices and experiences that have been historically marginalized.

Aruschga Mohantharajah was a Research Assistant for Drs. Janelle Brady and Rachel Berman’s  Honouring Black Refusals project. She is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. During her undergraduate studies in Child and Youth Care, her research project focused on the adversities faced by racialized youth within the school-to-prison pipeline crisis. For her Master's Research Paper, she hopes to further explore the school-to-prison phenomenon and the prejudiced pedagogies and structures within schools which impact racialized children's lives and how they perceive themselves or others.

 Nicole Agyenim Boateng is an undergraduate student in the Child and Youth Care program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Nicole has worked on various research projects, including the development of a course which focuses on Black childhood in Canada. Nicole is a current student leader involved in different aspects of undergraduate student life through her role as the Executive Director of Culture and Wellness in the Faculty of Community Services Student Society. Previously, she was a member of the Anti-Black Racism Student Advisory Committee, which works to research, identify and recommend areas of improvement for Black students within the Toronto Metropolitan University. Nicole is a site coordinator for the Toronto Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, where she builds support systems for youth and their families residing in Regent Park. After finishing her Undergraduate, Nicole’s goal will be to pursue a Master of Social Work and build off her undergraduate thesis, which identified barriers to resettlement for refugee youth migrating to Canada and ways Child and Youth Care workers could mitigate the impact of these barriers.