Celebrating Black History Month Behind the Headlines
Kinana Issa: Syrian refugee screenwriter, playwright, journalist, and essayist. She’s also a mental health advocate who’s involved in multiple community-oriented initiatives. An honorary fellow of the International Writing Program in IOWA university.
In 1946 Viola Desmond was injured as she was forcibly removed and arrested in a Nova Scotia movie theatre for refusing to leave the “whites-only” section. She was convicted of tax evasion even though she offered to pay the difference. After spending a night in jail, she hired legal counsel and appealed the charge in court. She lost that fight but her case led to the eventual abolishment of the segregation laws in the province in 1954.
In December 1995, the Honourable Jean Augustine, the first African Canadian woman elected to Parliament, introduced a motion to recognize February as Black History Month. In February 2008, Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, introduced the Motion to Recognize Contributions of Black Canadians and February as Black History Month to the House of Senates. It was formally adopted on March 4, 2008.
Viola Desmond was granted a free pardon and apology in 2010, 45 years after her death in the United States. Eight years later, her face appeared on the Canadian 10 dollar bill. In the United States, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Alabama. These heroes, alongside Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and numerous others, did not only contribute to the North American liberation history, but also to the evolution of human consciousness. While Black heroes’ lights continue to shine, fighting racism shouldn’t fall on their shoulders. It’s the responsibility of the hateful and the racists to learn to stop producing darkness and blaming it on a person’s skin colour.
As a platform, Henna aims to create a deeper knowledge about Canada and the Arabic-speaking community in it. Henna was founded by refugees and newcomers who are still trying to grasp the complex identities of this new place. Black History Month is an opportunity for all us to stop, listen, reflect and increase our awareness of each other. Our understanding of the past and contemporary histories of racialized Canadians beyond the headlines is crucial. It’s also pivotal to finding a sense of community and belonging amongst the entirety of the Canadian mosaic. There’s a long journey ahead to comprehend racialized identities in the North American cultural-political map. Despite the growing discussion during the last decades, racism, anti-immigration rhetorics, and discrimination are still part of today’s reality. We reached out to a few of our Black friends to share their stories and experiences with our readers.
Henna will be featuring some articles by black Canadian artists and activists: Mathew Mullone, a writer, researcher, activist and artist will be discussing historical truths; Powys Dewhurst, a media stakeholder who has worked as a producer of TV industry events in collaboration with film organizations, schools, TV broadcasters, film festivals, and media entities in North America and the UK, in addition to working with underrepresented, creative youth; and Ebti Nabbag, a visual artist, analogue photography instructor who teams up with galleries and community centres to develop art programs that provide opportunities for creative self-expression and aid in the development of identity, will join us in a separate interview.
