Frances Henry is one of Canada’s leading experts in the study of racism and anti-racism. Since the mid seventies when she published the first study of attitudes towards people of colour, she has consistently pioneered research in this field. Her books include co-authoring the third edition of The Colour of Democracy: Racism in Canadian Society. Thomson, Nelson, 2005 that is widely used in universities as a text. This work demonstrates how the ‘new racism’ here identified with the concept of ‘democratic racism’ manifests within Canadian institutions. Another recent book co-authored is Racial Profiling: Challenging The Myth Of A ‘Few Bad Apples’, U of T Press, 2006. She has also co-authored Challenging Racism in the Arts, University of Toronto Press, 1998 and her most recent work on racist discourse in the media, (Discourses of Domination: Racist in Canada’s English Language Press using critical discourse analysis was published in 2002.
As part of her specialization in Caribbean anthropology she has also published the only book on Caribbean communities in Canada entitled The Caribbean Diaspora in Toronto: Learning to Live with Racism., University of Toronto Press, 1994. She conducted a three year study of the resurgence of African religions in Trinidad and her book, Reclaiming African Religion in Trinidad: The Sociopolitcal Legitimation of the Orisha and Spiritual Baptists Faiths was published in 2004 by the University of the West Indies Press.
Henry’s most recent book in Caribbean studies deals with migration and return migration. Co-edited with Dwaine Plaza, it is titled: Return to the Source: The Final Stage of the Caribbean Migration Circuit and published by the University of the West Indies Press, 2006.
Now retired as a Professor Emerita from York University in Toronto, she continues an active research and writing career. She has been awarded several research grants in recent years. The latest is from Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada to write a biography of a famous Orisha elder, the late Ebenezer Elliott (Pa Nezer). Dr. Henry has been a member of the prestigious Royal Society of Canada since 1989.
Dr. Frances Henry is an experienced expert witness having testified and written affidavits on the subjects of racism, racial discrimination, and prejudice in Canadian society and its institutions. She has also testified on aspects of Caribbean culture such as religion, obeah and family organization on behalf of migrants who have come to Canada.
She has also published articles and reviews on racism in the justice system.
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