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Jane and Finch dared to dream. Now Metrolinx dares to double-cross

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How do we stick it to the poor, the unconnected, the voiceless, the weak and powerless among us? Count the ways — ending, today, with the stomach-turning abandonment of plans to deliver a desperately needed cultural and community hub project to Jane-Finch.

The weasels are the double-dealers at Metrolinx, builders of the Finch West LRT; they are never to be trusted again.

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Source: TheStar.com

Intimations by Zadie Smith review – a wonderful essayist on the lockdown

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Pandemic reflections and street encounters from a writer whose self-doubt is central to her talent.

Smith is a wonderful essayist; she’s a natural. She writes as she thinks, and she thinks crisply and exactly, not in abstractions, but through the thick specificity of people and places, fragments of story.

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Source: The Guardian

George Elroy Boyd, Canada's first Black national news anchor, dies at 68

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Canada's first Black national news anchor, George Elroy Boyd, has died at age 68 at a hospice in Montreal.

Boyd, who was born in Halifax, was one of the original anchors on CBC Newsworld, a 24-hour news channel that launched in 1989.

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Source: CBC.ca

Black artists come first: Lessons from Philip Akin after 20 revolutionary years at Obsidian Theatre

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The acclaimed artistic director talks to Amanda Parris. Watch their conversation. 

After co-founding the organization in 2000 and taking over as AD in 2006, Akin is stepping down from the position after nearly 15 years. Many have and will continue to sing his praises, and Mr. Akin undoubtedly deserves all of the flowers. Under his tenure, Obsidian has nurtured, developed and supported thousands of Black theatre artists across the country.

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Source: CBC.ca

As the theatre world scrambles to 'do better,' it's time these Black trailblazers get their due

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The last month has felt like a gruelling journey, as George Floyd's murder at the hands of police sent a ripple across the world that turned into a tidal wave. Outside of the Black community, I have never in my lifetime seen this kind of response to the unjust killing of a Black person or to anti-Black racism. Every industry began to scramble to make statements and respond to the protests and outpouring of awareness. The Canadian art world also joined in, posting statements and Black squares — some less successfully than others.

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Source: CBC.ca

Canada, COVID, and Police Brutality: The Experience of the Black Community

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Protests are sweeping across the United Sates due to the public murder of African American George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Cities have risen up in response. The federal government and US states and municipalities have responded with tremendous use of force to shut down demonstrations and silence protestors thereby, denying them their First Amendment rights. In my country, one response to the “Floyd Rebellion” is to ask “Could it happen here in Canada?” This question not only underlines Canada’s feigned innocence and ignorance but also its hypocrisy. Police brutality against Blacks happens here—over and over again.

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Source: Moore Institute

Adrian Harewood on three decades of fighting systemic racism in media

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Adrian Harewood is the co-anchor of CBC Ottawa’s 6:00 news and host of the network’s Our Ottawa newsmagazine. He is also one of the few on-air journalists to have been consistently outspoken about the public broadcaster’s deep-rooted deficiencies with regard to race and representation, well prior to this month.

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Source: Canadaland

Dancing around the white saviour complex

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An interview with South African-born professional ballet dancer Siphesihle November. The young Second Soloist from the National Ballet of Canada discusses his amazing journey from the Zolani township to inspiring a new generation on a global stage.

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OCAD U hires five new permanent faculty in recognition of the international decade for people of African descent

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OCAD University’s Faculty of Design is pleased to announce the hiring of five new tenure-track faculty members who self-identify as Black peoples of African Descent (including Africans and African heritage people from the Caribbean, North America and Latin America), as a special program under the Ontario Human Rights Code.

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Source: OCAD University

Johny Pitts wins Jhalak prize for 'beautiful' history of black Europe

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Johny Pitts has won the Jhalak prize for his debut book Afropean, an examination of life in black communities across Europe.

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Source: The Guardian