“Where are you from?” might seem like a harmless question but for black Canadians living in Vancouver, it can bring a wide variety of responses and feelings. Art gallery owner Anthonia Ogundele wanted to explore that question, and the way black Canadians feel about it in a new art project titled, appropriately, “Where Are You From?” at her gallery, The Cheeky Proletariat. The project compiles photos of black Vancouverites and
Salt Spring Island’s black settlers set stage for today’s community
February 4, 2016
Former Salt Spring resident Evelyn C. White explores the island’s black history in a photography book By On The Coast, CBC News It may be caricatured as a top destination for hippies and retirees in B.C., but author Evelyn C. White says Salt Spring Island was home to one of B.C.’s most important black communities in the late 1800s and early 1900s. White explores Salt Spring’s black roots in her book
Hidden history of African American settlers in Wellington, B.C. uncovered
February 4, 2016
Archivist Christine Meutzner found at least 70 black settlers were living in the old mining town in 1890s By On The Island, CBC News Jimmy Claxton, the first black man to play organized baseball in the 20th century, is one of the most well-known black Canadians in history. But Nanaimo Community Archives manager Christine Meutzner has always believed Claxton’s couldn’t have been the only black family living in Wellington, B.C., where
Is Black History Month limiting the teaching of black history?
February 4, 2016
Educators questioning how to broaden black history teaching year-round By Joseph Quigley, CBC News Natasha Henry, an educator and historian in Mississauga, Ont., has worked for years developing programs and workshops aimed at getting more teachers to add black history to their curriculum. As February is Black History Month in Canada and the U.S., teachers across the country will be injecting more of the subject into their classrooms. But Henry wants people to
Ban blackface in Quebec, online petition by ‘mosquitoes’ pleads
February 3, 2016
‘Blackface is the caricature of a black person,’ says head of advocacy group CBC News A group of Quebec artists calling themselves “Les Moustiques” (the mosquitoes) launched an online petition calling for the end of blackface in Quebec. “Blackface is the caricature of a black person,” said Emilie Nicolas, president of advocacy group Québec inclusif, and one of the petition’s authors. “It’s rooted in slavery here in Quebec…Using a white
Filmmaker Barbara Chirinos celebrates black history month with VIFF film series
February 3, 2016
When filmmaker Barbara Chirinos moved to Vancouver from New York City, she found a gap in the city’s film festivals: there was no celebration of black history.
So she started a series of her own, and VIFF Celebrates Black History Month in now in its fifth year.
This year, the festival explores issues around race, roots, and relocation, from the 1967 race riots in Montreal, to the African roots of tango, to the migrant crisis in Europe.
Montrealers shovel to the beat of African drums
February 2, 2016
3 men show off their dance moves while shovelling snow in Montreal, get global attention “Ask three Africans living in Canada to shovel and this is what you get.” That was the caption that accompanied Richard Laubonet’s video he posted last weekend onto his Facebook page. ‘Everyone hates shovelling, and I think the fact of seeing people doing it while dancing and having fun resonated with people.’ – Richard Laubonet
New historical video for Black History Month
February 2, 2016
Viola Desmond challenged segregation in the eastern province of Nova Scotia in the 1940s. And while she did not win her case, her story became a catalyst for change. And the story will now be brought to the Canadian public in a one-minute video prepared especially for Black History Month which is in February. Desmond was an entrepreneur who went to the movies and sat in the downstairs section reserved
PK Subban’s mother speaks at Blaxpo, inspires young Montreal professionals
February 1, 2016
Daybreak’s Shari Okeke speaks with PK Subban’s mother, Maria Subban, at Blaxpo, a Montreal exposition of entrepreneurs and guest speakers from the city’s black communities.
Faith and laughs keep Cicilia Laurent going at 120
February 1, 2016
Cicilia Laurent has just one birthday wish. The Haitian-born resident of Laval, Quebec, who turned 120 years old on Sunday, wants to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ask him a special favour. She wants Trudeau to allow her two great-grandsons in Haiti to visit her in Canada so she can see them again. Laurent, who celebrated her birthday at festive ceremony at the Haitian consulate in downtown Montreal
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