I am one of a dozen Black Canadians & Harry Jerome Award winners of diverse backgrounds that will be featured in this Prime Time TV documentary: Cool Black North. Pre-screening and media launch in Toronto on February 19. Live airing on Friday Feb 22 on CityTV, 8pm ET/PT. Canadian family and friends, please set your clocks and plan to watch this groundbreaking documentary.“Cool Black North explores the unique and vibrant Canadian Black Community and its role in our country’s 
contemporary identity. Through a series of intimate profiles, we are witness to a wide spectrum of life experiences, including the arts, entertainment, law, business, science and social activism. Though each person’s pathway to success is unique, they all share a common purpose and strength in overcoming often racially-based obstacles to succeed at the highest levels in their respective fields.” http://coolblacknorth.com/
contemporary identity. Through a series of intimate profiles, we are witness to a wide spectrum of life experiences, including the arts, entertainment, law, business, science and social activism. Though each person’s pathway to success is unique, they all share a common purpose and strength in overcoming often racially-based obstacles to succeed at the highest levels in their respective fields.” http://coolblacknorth.com/For more about the documentary, including the teaser and video on: Who was Harry Jerome, follow the @coolblacknorth page on facebook or see website here
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Three footnotes about this project for me.
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First, acknowledging Black History Month is a catch-22 that always gives me pause. There is a need for it today because of what has been unacknowledged, undocumented or destroyed but our peoples always have and will continue to make history. This piece for example, doesn’t even tell close to the story of Black Canadian contributions past and present…I keep learning about sooo many hidden figures whose shadows I’d have been honoured to stand in…let alone all of you out here rocking your lives and professions (and then there’s beyond Black Canada…)
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Second, I am committed to being part of telling and documenting the black and African stories that tell fuller narratives of our diverse experiences. From a social systems change lens, I understand that stories shape our worldviews and subsequently our interactions with individuals and whole people groups. The African stories that have and continue to be told are far from representative of the whole reality of the continent. That’s why I work on the We Will Lead Africa project – a movement to collect stories of everyday African leaders doing work that is impacting change and transformation on the continent. Our first volume of stories is available on Amazon and another is in the works. It is also why I write short stories about global African experiences like my Identities collection. That commitment made it easy to say yes to this. I am grateful that Rogers took on this project with the Black Business and Professional Association, but I continue to watch for the day when we own the platforms on which we tell/write our own narratives…
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Third, this project for me was less about history and much more about living legacy. The fact that this documentary will be available through school systems across the country to facilitate dialogue about Canada’s Black community today…this, after our daughter has already had to deal with unfortunate racial prejudices and explicit discrimination in school that I never had to deal with – and then she got to witness and be part of this.
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My family and I are grateful and excited to watch the documentary together next week. We hope you will watch it too.
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