Just announced this past Friday, the theme for this year´s Black History Month is February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and everyday.
Honoured by the Government of Canada since 1996, Black History Month is an important opportunity to educate yourself and actively support the Black community in our city. Here are 4 things to do this month to educate yourself on Black History here in Canada and support the community.
1. Participate in Ottawa´s Black History events through the month
- February 3rd 2022 Afro Caribbean Business Network: register online by Feb 1 to ensure a spot. The event will feature ACBN’s UBUNTU Virtual Reality Platform and showcase Francis Jeffers and The Canadian Multicultural Inventors Museum
- February 8th 2022 In Our Tongues Reading and Art Series: A virtual event featuring poetry, prose and musical performances at 7pm
- February 13th 2022 Children Stories in the Diaspora: Listen to readers from the Black community share children’s stories written by Black authors from the diaspora at 2pm on the Black History Month Ottawa Youtube page
- February 17th 2022 An evening with Perdita Felicien: Presented by the Canadian Museum of History at 7pm
2. Donate to a local Black-owned organization
Canadian-based Black owned organizations and non-profits can use your support year-round, but now is an opportunity to raise awareness for their important work.
- Black Mental Health Promotion Toolkit is a wonderful resource that promotes mental health and wellbeing for Black Canadians
- Black History Month Ottawa runs all the above events listed and is a major leader in increasing public knowledge and carrying out research in the history, culture, traditions and achievements of Canadians of African descent
- Black Ottawa Connect is a wonderful space that enables people to come together, share resources, educate and empower one another for full participation in all aspects of Canadian society
3. Shop at one of these fantastic Black-owned businesses
- Wazobia has a huge comprehensive list of Black businesses and a large selection dedicated to resources and Black History
- Afro-Biz offers another directory for Black-owned businesses (in nearby every category of services/work imaginable) in Ottawa and the rest of the province.
- The team at Black Owned Ottawa (IG) also does amazing work featuring Black and BIPOC businesses in the city
- Black Ottawa Connect has this incredible spread-sheet, Build Out Loud that features tons of Black owned businesses and entrepreneurs
- By Blacks is another good resources for a directory of more nation-wide Black owned businesses
4. Educate yourself on the important legacy of the Black community in Canada´s history
The Government of Canada website offers an abundance of resources to educate yourself on noteworthy historical figures and Black Canadian communities that you might have otherwise not known.