Black History Month starts today and the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I. has a month of programming planned to engage and educate about the many cultures which make up the Island’s Black community.
This year’s theme is "celebrating our heritage for the culture", and the month will feature in-person and online events for Islanders to participate in.
Tamara Steele, executive director of the Black Cultural Society (BCS), is giddy about their plans.
“I’m so excited. It’s going to be such a great month.”
The theme
After the massive turnout at the Black Lives Matter march in the summer, the BCS was inspired, said Steele.
“We didn’t realize there were that many Black people here, so our constant question since then was how do we engage them. How do we find them outside of that day?”
The phrase "for the culture" is common in the Black community, said Steele.
“Any time Black people are being seen to be very successful or to be doing something that’s really awesome we will often say ‘for the culture’, and we all laugh about it, but we thought we would take that and use it and repurpose it.”
The BCS decided to focus on trying to celebrate the various cultures making up the Island’s Black community, while engaging in discussions to determine what their shared culture here is.
While she doesn’t expect to end the month with a definitive answer, she does think it is a great time to devote thought to the idea, she said.
“And how do we continue to think about the fact and make other people aware that we say the Black community, but we are not a Black culture, we are many.”
Kick off
On Jan. 29, Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly travelled to a few schools, engaging kids in 20 minutes of physical activity as part of the first Winter Wellness Day.
He also took the opportunity to get kids thinking about Black History Month after the exercising was over.
Talking to students at Birchwood Intermediate School, he told them about having a white mother and Black father and how that experience shaped him.
“Growing up like that was very difficult because I didn’t know where I fit in.”
He encouraged students to connect with people outside of their group of friends to learn about the experiences of different cultures as a way to grow.
“I can see it in your eyes. You want to be that change and you are that change.”
Year round
Steele encourages people to learn about Black history on their own throughout the month by researching or asking someone they know in the Black community if it’s OK to have a discussion with them.
“There’s the classic phrase ‘educate yourself,’ and that’s an easy thing to do these days,” she said. “You can start with things that are easy like who is that Black woman that made it onto the $10 bill and look up Viola Desmond.”
It’s also important to recognize Black history as Canada’s history and not something that only happens a month every year, she said.
“Canada has a rich, a rich Black history and I think that’s the primary lesson. Canada and P.E.I. both have Black history you can just look (online or in a library) for.”
The BCS is releasing its full calendar of events this morning and starting at noon will be announcing surprise programming every two hours until 6 p.m.
A look at the activities the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I. (BCS) has planned for Black History Month.
Signature events
- Two panel discussions. One discussing the month’s theme will be held at the Confederation Centre while another will take place at UPEI with the theme to be announced.
- Two luncheons. One for women of colour and another for men of colour.
- Gala event at Delta to close out the month.
Other events
- Feb. 3: Black History Month trivia at the Fox & Crow at UPEI.
- Feb. 21: A lecture at the Carriage House with Kendi Tarichia and Linda Hennesey on P.E.I.’s Black history with slavery.
- Feb. 23: International?WTF (Wisdom, Truth and Failure), an intimate storytelling session for people to share their experience based on an unannounced theme.
- Feb. 28: A screening at City Cinema of films from the National Film Board about Canadian Black history.
- Every Wednesday after the Feb. 3, the BCS will host IG Live at Night, which will feature a small group discussion hosted on Instagram, with audience participation.
- Online library events, including craft-to-go kits for families to do at home, events on social media feature dance and musical performances and storytime sessions with board members of the Black Cultural Society.
For more information, visit bcspei.ca.
Michael Robar is The Guardian's diversity reporter.
