Differences, Contradictions and Racial Reckoning in Higher Education in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States

Following the mass demonstrations and calls for action in response to George Floyd’s murder, universities and colleges across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States released statements avowing support for Black students, staff, and scholars, and expressing general concern about anti-Black racism. With a focus on the UK, Canada, and the US, this paper uses the lens of neoliberalism, anti-racism, racial capitalism, and interest convergence to discuss the social, political, and educational contexts in higher education (HE) in the three societies in the wake of Floyd’s death. Focusing on key issues pertaining to universities’ responses to claims of inequities and racism—unconscious bias training; the hiring of Black faculty; and the securitization and policing of university campuses—this paper raises concerns about the various approaches of some HE institutions that do not address systemic change; as well, the paper offers some reflections from each of the authors’ based on their contextual positions.