Did you know that Toronto officially recognizes January 21st as Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
And did you know that February 6th, next Thursday, is the day to celebrate Bob Marley, as proclaimed by Mayor Miller?
I didn't. Until now! The whole of February is marked as the month to celebrate Black History in Canada. It seems fitting that just recently the Toronto District School Board has decided to open an Afrocentric school. Did they do that on purpose? Probably not. Sometimes fate sticks its chin in, though.
Black History Month started out as just a week back in 1926, when African American scholar Dr. Carter G. Woodson added it to his school's curriculum. In the 60s, the time period was extended to a month, and the hope was to commemorate a "more balanced and accurate picture" of Black history. There are 662,200 Canadians that consider themselves black (according to the 2001 census), and 47% of them live in our fair city. Seven percent of all Toronto's population is black. I imagine the numbers are higher now, and they'll only go up from there.
So, if you're a fan of Black History, or even just Canadian history in general, you should check out these events:
Launch for Black History Month with Dr. Karolyn Smardz-Frost (winner of the 2007 Governor General Award for Non-Fiction for I've Got a Home in Gloryland: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad). Tuesday, February 5, 7-9 pm at the City of Toronto Archives. Free. Call 416-392-0558 to reserve a ticket.
Steve Pitt, author of To Stand and Fight Together: Richard Pierpont and the Coloured Corps of Upper Canada, will give an illustrated presentation based on his newly-published book. Sunday, February 10, 1 pm at Fort York. Free with regular admission to the Fort. Call 416-392-6907 for more information.
The Toronto Public Library, together with Toronto Museums, Culture and Heritage Services has two exhibits running at the Toronto Reference Library. A Glimpse of Black Life in Victorian Toronto, 1850-1860, and The Black Press in Canada West, will run until March 2nd. For more information, please call 416-395-5577.
Discover Black history in Toronto by walking through parts of Old York where African-Canadians carved a community through struggle and triumph. Saturday, February 16, 1-3 pm at Mackenzie House. For more detailed information about this tour visit Toronto Historical Sites' events page.
Explore downtown Toronto while listening to the stories of some of our earliest Black settlers. Sunday, February 17, 1-3 pm at Mackenzie House.
Explore the domestic efforts necessary in busy middle-class households, including those of affluent Black families of the Victorian period. Sunday, February 24, 12-5 pm at Mackenzie House.
A Glimpse of Black Life in Victorian Toronto brings to life a dynamic decade in the history of Toronto's Black citizens and offers a glimpse of a fascinating story of their participation in the city's development. Saturdays and Sundays, 12-5 pm at Mackenzie House.
Photo of Martin Luther King Jr. street art by blogTO flickrite sthursby.
Discussion
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Gimme a break.
Why not: "I've been to Jamaica"...or "I have black friends".
I find that little addition to the title condescending and offensive.
I did know that February was Black History month. I did not know that Toronto officially proclaimed Feb. 6th as Bob Marley Day.
1. All black people have a jamaican accent.
2. This year, black history month will be held in Februrary.
3. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was held 2 weeks ago. Hope you didn't miss it.
Things I hope to learn from Blogto.com tomorrow.
1. The Ides of March will be held in.... wait for it... MARCH
Kari is obviously here to spread information on the great events associated with BHM in Toronto. Save the race card for when it's actually deserving, please.
*allllllllright!*
These are things that embarrass me as a white person, when I have to be present when white people try to be "down" with black people.
How about just being yourself?
How about that?
if (more) black people actually read or cared about blogto, she would be getting hundreds of letters educating her on racial sensitivity. disappointing
But how can you comment, with any confidence whatsoever, on the ethnic makeup of our reader demographic, let alone <b>speak for them</b>? (You can't)
[Race Card: media strategy for relieving itself of guilt and blaming victims. Watch your use of the phrase. It's an identifier!]
I looked at the title before it had been removed and wondered why "Ya mon" was there. Then I saw the Bob Marley event and realised it was a reference to that because clearly that term is associated with him. How politically correct do you guys want to be?
"Ya mon" is the stereotypical equivalent of the drunken Irishman to Jamaicans, of which descent I happen to be.
it's not racist but it is stereotypical. there are so many negative connotations in Canadian society against Jamaicans and Jamaican-Canadians and you might have to understand why a lot of us and a lot of black people in general would get their backs up.
and if you don't understand or are just dismissive then you have no knowledge of our personal experiences.
don't assume that a lot of black people aren't reading blogTO. we're just as tuned in as anyone else.
unapologetic, traces on white guilt, not offering up any real remedy for this, wanting a quick return back to the indie rock world (where black faces are few, for a good reason), quickly turning the spotlight on other irrelevant bits of info (black folk reading blogTO), etc.,
as somebody who is black, and who is actually invested in my community, i can honestly tell you that BlogTO is not on the Top 10 list of sites viewed by our community (you don't need a community spokesperson or quantitative study to speculate on that, that's for sure...and why should it be, with posts like Kari's that expose her ignorance of black people ...again, she probably has no clue as to why her statement is racist capital R
and why BlogTo would employ such a racially insensitive columnist to pen such hurtful words is beyond me
For the record, I have discussed this with Kari and have full confidence that the title she originally posted was supposed to be a reference to the mention of Bob Marley day. While I completely understand and recognize that a title like this could be open to interpretation (and justifiably be seen as racially insensitive) it is my belief that Kari meant no harm or disrespect and certainly didn't mean to do anything other than raise awareness about some of the events taking place during Black History Month.
For those wondering whether this title was cleared/approved by myself or the editorial team, it wasn't. Our editorial process empowers our trusted contributors to post to the site without their posts being first edited by the editorial team or anyone else. We then rely on the editorial team, myself, other contributors and our readers to then correct or edit posts after the fact if a problem with the post is identified. Obviously this process isn't fool-proof which is why something like this might get posted; but generally speaking, having published this site for three years now we feel that overall this process tends to work well.
Kari used a playful reference to Bob Marley in her title and as soon as it was seen as potentially offensive, it was edited immediately.
Kari has apologized (see above) and the publisher has spoken to her to confirm that her intentions were not malicious or racist (see above).
I would like to apologize for my snappy, defensive responses. I know Kari well enough, and reading these sweeping generalizations about her integrity upset me greatly.
Anywaysz Black History Month is fun its a time for us blacks to celebrate but not only blacks anyone can celebrate it.Bye