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Melissa Shaw Receives Best Article Award from Ontario Historical Society

Andria Caputo | 19 Dec 2025

Melissa Shaw, Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies, was awarded the 2025 Best Article or Paper Award from the Ontario Historical Society for her article “.” 

The article, which was published in the Journal of African America History, was praised as an ‘excellent piece of scholarship that enhances [awareness] of Ontario’s diverse history’.  

An Important Academic Recognition 

The prize is a significant recognition for Shaw, who is honoured to share the knowledge of a vast constellation of Black women who contributed their time, energy, brain and heart power to be catalysts of change.  

“To me, as a scholar, a Black Canadian woman, and a human being, receiving this award was heartening as a sign that people are finally ready to hear what Black women have known and said for decades,” says Shaw. “We are, and have been, the front and backbones of families and our communities, yet often, tangible recognition, such as citing our work, publishing our achievements, or erecting plaques highlighting our contributions, is withheld, even by those who have depended on our sacrifices to survive and thrive.” 

The Ontario Historical Society, which is the province’s foremost historical organization, was founded in 1888, and was initially driven by an agenda to promote British-Canadian nationalism. 

“This agenda, and the White Canadians dedicated to pursuing it, was never intended to see, treat, or include Black people as equal citizens,” says Professor Shaw. “Over time, however, the organization evolved and expanded its mandate to preserve, interpret, and publicize Ontario’s multifaceted heritage [and] this shift in the OHS’s focus over time mirrors broader societal changes in racial and gender politics, reflecting a growing acknowledgment of the diverse narratives that constitute history.” 

The Origins of Shaw’s Research  

Shaw was led to research Toronto’s UNIA Division 21 while undertaking her doctoral project at Queen’s University on Black Canadian sociopolitical activism in Ontario during the 1920s and 1930s.  

“Utilizing a comprehensive methodological approach that included archival analysis, I examined the UNIA’s meeting minutes and financial records, augmented by oral history interviews conducted in the 1970s and 1980s with Black individuals who grew up in Toronto during this era of anti-Black segregation and marginalization,” says Professor Shaw. “Through these methods, the impact of Black women’s leadership and the ways they built up the UNIA to be a source of racial pride and a respite from the judgmental White gaze and white supremacy surveillance became quite clear to me.” 

Upon completing her PhD at Queen’s University, Professor Shaw began a postdoctoral research fellowship at 51łÔčÏÍűas one of McGill’s Provostial Research Scholars in Institutional Histories, Slavery, and Colonialism, researching the lives of the enslaved Black persons in the household of James McGill.  

Now an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies where she teaches courses on the history of Black Canada at both the undergraduate and graduate level, Shaw also recently co-edited  with Professors Don Nerbas and Brian Lewis.  

A Catalyst for Broader Discussions 

“Among my peers, this article has catalyzed deeper reflection on the neglected aspects of women’s socio-political activism, leadership, and institution-building,” says Professor Shaw.  

The article has also inspired conversations amongst Shaw’s peers about the practical strategies Black women employed when fundraising in 1920s and 1930s Toronto, a crucial yet understudied and underappreciated form of advocacy. 

“My article provides critical insight into the intersection of occupational and gender roles and their impact on this aspect of activism initiatives,” says Shaw. “My peers have noted that I have shown how Black Canadian women’s ability to navigate and leverage societal gender assumptions for constructive purposes is a testament to their ingenuity and critical role in socio-political movements.” 

Amongst Shaw’s students, many have been inspired to think more deeply about the work and dedication of these Garveyite women, many of whom dedicated a lot of time and energy to organizing social events that cultivated “Black joy amid a climate of pervasive and overt forms of violent anti-Black racism with impunity.” 

“Students have been inspired to think more deeply about what is lost or forfeited when a movement’s momentum is not generated by those directly facing the consequences of injustice, and about the pitfalls of activist work in commercialized spaces,” adds Shaw.  

Looking ahead, Shaw says 2026 will be an exciting year for her as she continues work on her current book project, Unblemished Citizenship: Black Canadian Women’s Fight for Racial Justice, 1919-1939, which will examine the overlooked community-building activism of women who used grassroots, national, continental, and global Black Diaspora networks to combat anti-Black racism and foster intra-racial solidarity and Black pride in Ontario. 

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