Big Thinking Podcast · Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Nourishing Black scholarship, nurturing collective joy

February 27, 2026·29 min·1 clip

Whether in learning environments, workplaces, or our community, it's often clear

The episode opens with a question about what it means for a space to be built with care. That lead-in takes the conversation to the Centre for Black Studies and Education at OISE, where Black scholars and students are exploring community and care as the basis for research and teaching. Karine Marais introduces Dr. Andrew B. Campbell, Assistant Professor in Leadership for Racial Justice in Teacher Education at the University of Toronto and Director for the Centre. The discussion places his work at the University of Toronto and at OISE, where the Centre for Black Studies in Education has held its second annual Black Education Symposium. The host then asks what path led him to see himself as an educator. Campbell answers through the language of community. He uses a musical image of soprano, alto, and tenor to show what happens when many voices come together. One voice matters, but the group creates a different kind of force. He describes that force as strength, clarity, and power in numbers. He also frames community as something that can pour into a person and receive something back. That exchange matters to him because he speaks as both a scholar and a teacher. The conversation then turns to care and self-care. Campbell recalls a line he began using about six years ago: he has to be well enough to be good enough. He says he repeats that line in workshops, keynotes, lectures, and conversations. The point is practical. Black folks and Black people within these institutions are often expected to carry too much because there are too few people called on to do the work. When every question about Blackness is routed to the same one or two people, the work can become a burden and joy can disappear. Campbell responds by setting limits with intention, including respectful replies that still say no and a direct hashtag capacity. The episode closes with thanks to Campbell, to the audience, and to the organizations that support the podcast, while the monthly release schedule is named at the end.

As heard by us

Black scholarship, care, and joy are treated as daily practice, not theory.

The episode presents the Centre for Black Studies and Education at OISE as a place where Black scholarship is held together by care, community, and teaching, not just institutionally. It also gives Dr. Andrew B.

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Why you'd press play

A calm conversation for when hashtag capacity is a useful boundary.

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