Writer. Scholar. Researcher. Creative
Credit: Calla Evans
I am a Canada Research Chair in Black Expressive Culture and Creativity, and an Associate Professor of Performance. I have published four books, and my most recent, Staging Blackface in Canada: Public Amusements, Variety Shows, and Racial Acts in an Age of Imitation, 1898–1919 was published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press in April, 2026. In 2021, I was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists for her contributions to Black Canadian studies. My writing has appeared in the Toronto Star, New York Times, Canadian Theatre Review, Geist, Canada’s History, Literary Hub, and The Conversation. My academic works have appeared in the Journal of Canadian Studies, Theatre Research in Canada/Recherches théâtrales au Canada, Canadian Journal of Communication, Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, African and Black Diaspora: An international Journal, Canadian Review of American Studies, and Canadian Journal of History.
All books are available for purchase at
Wilfrid Laurier University Press and Coach House Books.
Here’s What the Reviewers Think
““What if Canada’s national anthem were shaped by blackface? In Canada and the Blackface Atlantic, Cheryl Thompson uncovers a story most Canadians have forgotten (or never knew): Calixa Lavallée, composer of “O Canada,” once toured in the United States as a blackface minstrel with the Union Army as it fought in the Civil War. Thompson’s book makes clear that blackface was never just an American pastime; in the 19th century, it was a staple of Canadian popular culture. In a country that celebrated the Underground Railroad, Canadians romanticized the plantation South.””
““In Uncle, Thompson gamely traces the evolution of the term ‘Uncle Tom’ from its origins ... to an invective that has become synonymous with betrayal.””
““With Canada and the Blackface Atlantic, Thompson tracks the origins and progression of minstrelsy through to the end of the nineteenth century. At the same time, she details the growth of Black choral groups and concert singers, whose music espoused their right to civil liberties.... I wish I’d had a book like this one assigned to me during university. It would have broadened my knowledge of Canadian theatre, while raising my awareness of other consequential misrepresentations in literature, film, and television.””
““[Thompson’s] research into [Uncle Tom’s] evolution is exhaustive.””
““Dr. Cheryl Thompson ... has put
together an in-depth and important body of research, one that concerns the history and evolution of the Canadian beauty industry.””
““Thompson’s work is inspiring and it should, as she calls for in the conclusion, produce more work on Black Canadian beauty culture.””
Podcasts
Dr. Cheryl frequently appears on podcasts in Canada and the US, engaging in discussions on race, culture, history, and representation in the present and historically.
Research
Dr. Cheryl engages in the intersectional study of race, media culture, visual culture, performance, and celebrity as they intertwine with archives and historical records.
Creativity
Dr. Cheryl has authored multiple books, curated events, performed as part of Nuit Blanche 2018, and is executive producer on a forthcoming feature length documentary film.
Community Practice
I am Founder and Director of Mapping Ontario’s Black Archives, a platform that is reimagining digital curation, storytelling and the living archive as a source of knowledge production and cultural memory.
Creative Practice
Black Creative Lab produces video content that educates, celebrates, and informs audiences about the depth, breadth, and expressive history of Black people across sites of Diaspora.
Dr. Cheryl is on Substack! She posts her insights, thoughts, and opinions on matters related to history, culture, and education. Subscriptions are free! Sign up to receive 3 to 4 short reads per week.