From Feb. 15 to 18, the Massimadi Foundation held its annual Afro LGBTQ+ Arts and Film Festival at the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal. In honour of Black History Month, this special edition of the festival, themed “Transcendence,” highlighted Black queer stories that are not often seen or heard by[Read More…]
Tag: Black History Month
Black History Month Blood Drive calls attention to a more diverse blood supply
Every February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and festivities that celebrate the contributions and accomplishments of Black people in Canada. “It is important to acknowledge the experiences and contributions of Black people, especially considering the reality of anti-Blackness in society. So having this small opportunity in[Read More…]
Black joy: A key to Black maternal health and well-being
On Feb. 21, McGill’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Standing Committee (EDIAR-SC) and the Department of Global and Public Health co-organized an engaging Black History Month event titled “Joy, Liberation, and Vitality in Black Maternal Health.” This event was led by Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, a prominent Detroit-based physician and global[Read More…]
Black-Palestinian solidarity serves as an example of liberation for all, by all
On Nov. 4 2023, the same day as the largest pro-Palestine rally that Montreal has seen to date, Black feminist Robyn Maynard gave a speech delineating the intricate correlations between genocide and colonialism. In this same speech, Maynard turned to the parallels between the oppressions of Black and Palestinian people,[Read More…]
Black and Palestinian poets’ aesthetics of solidarity bring us to new worlds
Every February, like clockwork, literary institutions— mega-chain bookstores, Amazon, Oprah, and English departments—advertise the urgent necessity of reading a Black writer. Whether it’s Invisible Man, Omeros, or Things Fall Apart, these institutions commodify and repackage Black writers into a promise to the susceptible and well-intentioned reader. The hope? Upon turning[Read More…]
Black Theatre Workshop’s ‘Diggers’ is a tribute to essential workers
In a town, on a hill, within a graveyard, there are two gravediggers. Solomon (Christian Paul) and Abdul (Chance Jones) live, breathe, and work the graves, day in and day out, weathering torrential rains, pandemic, and death. They are overworked. They are tired. They continue to dig. Solomon and Abdul[Read More…]
Podcasting with BSN’s Soul Talks
Just over a year ago, McGill students Pamela Fankem, U2 Science, and Zoë Anum, U1 Arts, helped launch McGill’s Black Students Network’s (BSN) podcast Soul Talks. By engaging in deep chats on topics like mental health, relationships, and media, Soul Talks has become a space that centres Black discourse and[Read More…]
“Defying time and season:” Black McGill scientists through history
The history of science and technology is still reckoning with the contributions of Black researchers. White supremacy has deployed the sciences, and their ideal of objectivity, to dehumanize Black people, experiment on them, and legitimize slavery, colonialism, and dispossession. With the fights for medical and environmental justice still urgent and[Read More…]
At the Grammys, Black artists continue to go unrewarded in the major categories
Every year, the Grammy Awards accompany the periodic discussion around their failure to celebrate Black artists, and this year is no exception. Jay-Z’s acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award called out this disappointing pattern in the Grammys. He noted how, despite Beyoncé being the most awarded artist[Read More…]
Melanie J. Newton delivers annual Black History Month Keynote Lecture on reparative justice and Afro-Indigenous histories
Students, alumni, staff, and Montrealers congregated in the Elizabeth Wirth Music Building on Feb. 8 to attend McGill’s eighth annual Black History Month Keynote Lecture, featuring Melanie J. Newton, Associate Professor in the Department of History and Graduate Associate Chair at University of Toronto. The McGill alumna, Rhodes Scholar, and[Read More…]
