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Last month, the Federal University of Par谩 awarded School of Communication graduate student Mamadou Ba the title of Doctor of Notable Knowledge. This title recognizes Ba鈥檚 contributions to anti-racist and human rights activism, as well as his academic career.

Ba has dedicated his life to anti-racist activism and has been involved in and founded several human rights organizations which defend the rights of migrants and racialized people. He has notably been a member of SOS Racismo, the oldest anti-racist organization in Portugal, since 1997. This, combined with his academic contributions, led the largest university in the Brazilian Amazon to award him with this honorary title.

鈥淚 believe that I, modestly, have contributed to an epistemological perspective that strengthens the production of knowledge in the field of critical race theory, and that I have been able to create a space for dialogue between academia and activism,鈥� says Ba.

鈥淭his recognition strengthens the dialogue between academia and activism, contributing to a more democratic and horizontal production of knowledge.鈥�

His academic path, in his own words, has been non-linear. Born and raised in Senegal, Ba completed his undergraduate degree in literature in Portuguese language and culture from Cheikh Ana Diop University of Daka. He then emigrated to Portugal to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in the same field, before switching into a Portuguese-French translation course. He then did activism work in the public sector while maintaining close links to academia, including teaching seminars and summer schools at University of Coimbra. In 2019, he was admitted to a PhD program at UBC, which he had to suspend, but continued participating in research projects and publishing texts on issue related to racism, colonialism and migration. In 2020, Ba had to return to Portugal to filed against him for his anti-racist activism work as a leader in SOS Racismo. For his activism work, he received the Frontline Defenders at Risk Award in 2021.

Ba left Portugal in 2022 to continue his academic and activism path in Vancouver, joining the Communication Research for Social Change MA program in the School of Communication at SFU. An important factor for Ba to come to SFU was his admiration for the work of School of Communication professors Adel Iskandar and Alberto Toscano. He also considers communication a crucial issue that is, 鈥渙ne of the greatest political challenges of our time,鈥� and believes that this program will help prepare him to face this challenge. 

鈥淚 firmly believe that there will be no viable democratic project without communication that is itself democratic and healthy,鈥� says Ba.

His MA project, entitled "The Racial Question Must be Answered" retraces and portrays anti-racist struggles in Portugal and in the post-colonial "Western" context. For this project, Ba will be reviewing anti-racist archives from Portugal and translating them to English in the form of a book, with the aim of creating dialogue between anti-racist movements across the world.

Long term, he hopes to bridge the gap between activism and academia, acknowledging that there is still a lot of work to be done. The honorary degree from the Federal University of Par谩, however, acknowledges Ba鈥檚 contributions to these areas and the wider interest in bridging this gap.