A warm CrimSL welcome to Anthony N. Morgan who joins us as Adjunct Professor for a two-year term starting January 1, 2024.
Anthony's general research interests include Pan-African thought and liberation movements; globalized anti-Black racism; reparatory justice; international human rights law; critical race theory; third world approaches to international law, and; critical criminal international law.
He is already familiar to us from his time as a Visiting Junior Fellow here from September 2022 to September 2023 with some time away to finish his dissertation for his Master of Science (MSc) in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford Faculty of Law. Anthony presented "Black Rights Beyond Borders" in March 2023 as a Works-in-Progress seminar for the CrimSL Research Cluster for the Study of Racism and Inequality, of which is he a member.
While an adjunct professor at CrimSL, he will continue to work with the City of Toronto as Senior Strategic Advisor, Intersectional Social Justice which, as he says, focuses on "bettering the social well-being of Toronto's most vulnerable communities — folks living in poverty, young people with criminal records, queer and trans folk, indigenous folks, some folks who are living with mental health and addiction challenges."
He continues, "It's essentially the social policy and social action arm of the City. Our division is somewhat of a catch-all to look at social vulnerabilities more generally to ensure equitable access to services, supports, spaces, and meaningful inclusion in their planning."
"I support the teams to ensure that we have a strong intersectional approach to all our work so it's not unidimensional," says Anthony. “We ask: who's not included?"
"Perhaps a way to bring it all together, how I think about it, is to ask, 'What are the social determinants of justice?'" he says. "We know that inequitable access to education, employment, housing, health care, policing, child welfare systems — if these different structures or sectors are negatively impacting you, it's almost guaranteed that you'll be interfacing with the criminal justice system. You'll be pulled into that system. And so a lot of the work that I've done and continue to do at the City is to try to address those social determinants of justice: the determinants that push people into being impacted by policing and the criminal justice system, when they don't have proper supports in society."
Anthony hopes that his adjunct faculty status at CrimSL will allow him greater opportunities to carry out research, collaborate with, and receive mentorship from CrimSL scholars. As a Visiting Junior Fellow he worked with CrimSL Professors Kamari Clarke, Scot Wortley, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Beatrice Jauregui, and Audrey Macklin, and he looks forward to expanding his network.
"Part of why I was attracted to the Centre is because it attracts really great, not just scholars, but people doing important scholarship for the betterment of our community," says Morgan.
When asked what he hopes to have accomplished by the end of his appointment as an Adjunct Professor, Morgan replies thoughtfully:
"I hope to have had many more folks within the space think about the principles of international human rights law, and how we could more deeply embed those principles into domestic policing and justice systems to realize better outcomes for Indigenous, Black and racialized folks. " - Anthony N. Morgan
Anthony has generously shared some resources related to his work:
- How Tupac inspires better policing. TEDxToronto talk by Anthony N. Morgan, October 2019.
- Confronting anti-Black racism through the courts, community activism, and government action. Maytree's Advancing justice podcast series. Audio recording and text transcript of interview with Anthony N. Morgan, January, 2022.
- Anti-Black Racism, the Criminal Justice System and Cannabis Amnesty. With Massey College Senior Fellows Annamaria Enenajor and Akwasi Owusu-Bempah and special guest Anthony N. Morgan. Video recording of March 2022 livestreamed event.
- Articles by Anthony N. Morgan in the Monitor, the policy and current affairs magazine of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
- Articles by Anthony N. Morgan in Ricochet, a Canadian independent crowdfunded public-interest journalism site.
Welcome, Anthony!
Short biography
Anthony N. Morgan is a racial justice analyst & strategist, educator, and lawyer.
He is currently a Senior Strategic Advisor with the City of Toronto, focusing on intersectional social justice. In this role, he supports City's Social Development, Finance & Administration to develop and implement strategies, policies, planning, and services that reduce intersecting inequalities faced by vulnerable Torontonians. Before this, he served as Manager of the City of Toronto’s Confronting Anti-Black Racism (CABR) Unit, which is responsible for the implementation of the Toronto Action Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism.
Prior to joining the City, Anthony was in private practice, specializing in the areas of civil, constitutional, and criminal state accountability litigation. He has a special interest in anti-racist human rights advocacy, particularly in the area of anti-Black racism. He has appeared at various levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has also represented the interests of African Canadians before United Nations human rights treaty bodies.
Anthony is a frequent legal, social, and public affairs commentator on issues concerning race and racism, critical multiculturalism, and critical race theory in Canada. He is a co-founder of the Sentencing and Parole Project, a legal services non-profit which aims to reduce the over-incarceration of Black people in Canada. He is also a member of the Steering Group for Canada’s Black Justice Strategy.
Anthony holds an MSc in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, Faculty of Law, as well as an LLB and BCL from McGill University, Faculty of Law. He also holds an Hons. BA from the University of Toronto in Ethics, Society & Law.