Courtney Betty, centre, receives the Hubbard Award for Race Relations from Councillor Michael Thompson and former Mayor David Miller. toronto.ca

By Samuel Getachew

“Toronto is a city founded in the principle of inclusion,”Courtney Betty explains in his maiden speech at the 2010 Supplier Diversity Business Conference in Toronto.

The head of the Diversity Business Network gives the examples of his hero, William Hubbard, who was a product of American slaves yet became a city councillor and (acting) deputy mayor of Toronto. Mr. Hubbard was the first Black Torontonian elected to City Council. This is part of the rich diverse history of Toronto begun more than a century ago.

A well known lawyer with an outlet office in Jamaica as well as in Canada, Courtney Betty is making an impression on influential groups of people from government, business and the diplomatic world.

Diversity Business Network’s (DBN) primary role is to lead in the “development of diversity in the supply chain in Canada.” DBN’s membership is made up of companies owned by women, visible minorities and aboriginals and people with disabilities: groups that make up the majority population of modern day Canada. However, according to Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census, these groups make up a small fraction in the supply chain in Canada. In the most diverse province within the confederation, Ontario, only 23 percent of the businesses are managed by minority business owners. In Toronto, it is only 43 percent.

In the last couple of months, DBN has signed a contract with one of the largest hospitality agencies in North America. Centerplate, Inc., a hospitality services company, does business with the largest sports stadiums, convention and entertainment venues both in Canada and in the United States. Centerplate served at the Presidential Inaugural Ball in the United States, the Olympics in Canada and also serves at the Allstream Center at the Exhibition Place and the Scotiabank Convention Center in Niagara. DBN members will have access to these high profile venues.

At the annual Honda Indy Toronto 2011, an event with thousands of visitors, I witnessed the work of the Diversity Business Network in action. In a large section of the food area at the Exhibition Place, and competing with fast foods such as cheap hot dogs and fries, there are many dishes from members of the Diversity Business Network and its new partnership with many mainstream groups. Business seems to be brisk.

Betty went around to the food vendors servicing dishes from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, asking them how they were doing and complimenting them on their determination and efforts. The vendors willingly participated in interviews and photos for DBN’s website. They were thrilled with the experience being part of such a signature event.

One vendor explained that it felt like being a great ambassador of his heritage. Another vendor, whose entire family came out to support her business, explained how excited she was to have this opportunity and how much she wanted to continue providing diverse meals at these kinds of events.

Courtney Betty, with the support of an equally impressive star Toronto activist Wangari Muriuki, look ahead, discussing how to make the experience even bigger and better for the years to come. As these amazing leaders look ahead, I could not help but look back at the many achievements and destinations of Betty. He has had a long journey in public service , both in Canada and Jamaica. He has worked for the Department of Justice on over 200 cases before the Federal Court of Appeal and also worked as Senior Legal Counsel for the Jamaican Fair Trade Commission. In recent years, he has focused much of his energy in helping bring equity and fairness to groups who are marginalized by the legal system as well as in business.

William Hubbard often fought for justice and fair representation both as a citizen and as a public servant a century ago. He also passionately fought for the public ownership of public energy as well as for Chinese owners of small family owned laundries. When Betty opened his law firm in one of the most marginalized neighbourhoods in Toronto, he was asked the reasons why he chose the area when he could have chosen to have it on Bay street. He explained, what has “drawn me here was as a direct result of seeing a number of high-profile cases he felt left certain communities and individuals marginalized.” He continued by saying that he “saw a lack of legal representation for minority groups, in particular the Caribbean and Chinese communities.”

As a former winner of the William Peyton Hubbard Race relations awards from the City of Toronto, Courtney Betty is living the dream and principle of his hero, Former Acting Deputy Mayor William Hubbard.

Sarah Onyango

By Samuel Getachew

Ottawa-based Sarah Onyango’s favourite quote is Mahatma Gandhi’s, “You must be the change you want to see in the world”. In deeds and words, she is a reflection of this famous quote as well as being a great advocate for her community.

Onyango reflects with Sway about what Obama’s success has meant for her, the current state of Ottawa’s black community, and pays tribute to the elders in the community.

SG : You have used the power of the media to tell everyday black stories for many years. You have been involved with CHUO 89.1 FM campus community radio, Rogers TV and Ottawa’s The Spectrum for a very long time in addition to creating your online “community hub” BlackOttawa411. Please share with us your experience so far.

Sarah: In my 15 years or so of involvement with community media, I am pleased to see how much of an impact I have been able to make in terms of helping increase the visibility of our black success stories in the mainstream.

I have been very lucky to have so many elements of this black community entrust me with their stories, encourage and support me in such a steadfast manner. I’m glad to have been able to use my media access and influence to help “build community” by connecting groups and people who otherwise would be operating in silos, completely oblivious to each other’s existence.

SG: Your favourite quote is Mahatma Gandhi’s “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Please explain.

Sarah: Yes, and you should add “Actions speak louder than words.” In our black community, many of us bemoan our lack of advancement in “Mainstream Canada”, our lack of economic clout, the way our achievements and those of other blacks are overlooked or minimised, the over-representation of our men in prisons, etc.

Do the same number of complainers actually take concrete action to improve our lot and that of our fellow blacks? What made me decide to work in community media was the fact that I wanted to be a part of the solution. So I set about seeking opportunities to do that.

SG : You have been a resident of Ottawa-Gatineau for a very long time. You have observed the state of the black community through your many roles including as a activist and a community builder. What are some of the positive changes you have been observing recently?

Sarah: I like the energy and enthusiasm of our young black people, that “can do” attitude that seems to be spreading. An increasing number of them are present in our universities and colleges and there seems to be a new generation of black leaders emerging. Technology has helped these young people network and organize, in ways unheard of even in my day.  And the mainstream media have taken notice. In our local papers and TV news programs you hear more of those “good news” stories than you did even a decade ago.

I’m also pleased that the divide between continental Africans and Caribbeans that may have been more prevalent in the previous generations seems to be lessening tremendously with this new, more open-minded generation of blacks.

SG: As a Kenyan-born Canadian, you must have been proud of Barack Obama’s success in the United States. Do you think that might be possible in Canada, a country that prides itself on being an open and progressive society?

Sarah with Susan L.Taylor, former editor-in-chief of Essence magazine at the 2010 Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Convention in Washington, DC.

Sarah: Well how can a Kenyan not be proud of President Obama’s astounding political career and his worldwide impact?! His campaign and subsequent election galvanized our black community back here and motivated many of us to take a greater interest in civic engagement and politics. However, I’m not convinced [black Canadians]would be that passionate about a black Prime Minister of Canada at this point.

Unlike the United States, we do not have that critical mass of “indigenous” Canadian blacks that would greatly facilitate political mobilization on a massive national scale. Black Canada is a product of numerous waves of immigration, under many different circumstances. Then you throw in the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity and the whole “mosaic” versus “melting pot model of integration, and you get an idea of the complex setup we’re dealing with.

I think that our community leaders, churches, community organizations etc. need to do a better job of promoting “active citizenship” in our black community and work together to help us become a more informed and engaged black electorate.

SG : What are some of the projects you are involved in?

Sarah: I volunteer for Black History Ottawa, promoting our Canadian black history and the contribution of blacks to Canada’s development. I am also a member of the Black Women’s Civic Engagement network, which shines a spotlight on black women’s contributions to political and civic life in Canada. I unofficially support many other programs and groups focused on empowering our black youth and New Canadians, including OCISO, the Black Canadian Scholarship Fund, Jaku Konbit. I also volunteer with the United Way as a presenter of the Community Builder Awards.

SG: Any parting words?

Sarah: To our elders: our young people need you, your mentorship, encouragement, and especially your stories of how you have built your lives in Canada. Why should they look only to remote figures in books and archival footage for inspiration when you are right there to inspire them in person?

Young people: your elders are an infinitely valuable source of useful information and inspiration You have much to gain from their lives. I encourage you to take the time to document their stories using all that fancy technology we now have so that they can be include in the larger Canadian story.

Lastly, it’s time to stop hyphenating ourselves and segregating ourselves even within our own black community by nationality of origin. Many of us have been in Canada for decades. We have built families, homes and businesses here. Canada can’t just be a “second passport” or a convenient address. We are here to stay and we must claim our Canadian identity fully (when we’ve figured out what that is!).

Yes, I am a proud Maple-leaf-waving patriotic Canadian of Kenyan ancestry. This country has provided opportunities I could only dream of “back home” and I intend to “give back” for as long as I’m able.

By Karen Welcome

Maya Angelou once said “courage can give a voice to those who are voiceless” and courage has done just that for Kay Morris and the lives that she has touched.

Kay Morris wears many hats: queen, church minister, motivational speaker, musical artist, fashion designer, as well as many others, but her most important hat is that of a humanitarian. Kay Morris started her foundation to become “the voice of the voiceless” in November 2003 and since then has touched lives worldwide with a focus on HIV/AIDS, malaria, poverty and maternal mortality afflicting persons in Ghana as well as other countries within Africa and the Caribbean.

Morris’ humanitarian work stems from her musical journey. As an internationally-acclaimed reggae gospel artist, Kay Morris traveled throughout Africa and was determined to make a difference upon witnessing the plight and obstacles people were facing.

The Kay Morris Foundation (KMF) was registered as a non-profit, non-governmental organization in Ghana carrrying out annual missions donating medicines and medical supplies as well as insecticide treated malaria nets to communities in Africa. In 2004 KMF partnered with Health Partner’s International of Canada and together they support the Ghana AIDS Commission, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Liberian Refugee Camp, Korle Bu Hospital-HIV Fever’s Unit.

The work of KMF has also spanned to donate thousands of educational and athletic materials to elementary schools and high schools in Ghana as well as living necessities for children residing within the Human Service Trust Orphanage in Cape Coast and the Village of Hope Orphanage in Central Region.

In 2006, the foundation garnered a $1.5 million donation of anti-retroviral HIV/AIDS drugs for the Ghana Ministry of Health and Morris was crowned Queen Nana Sika I of the Royal House of Berekuso, Ghana. An award for her humanitarian efforts.

Morris visited her native country Jamaica the following year to offer support to the United Nations (UNAIDS & UNDP) through KMF and made a donation to the Father Ho Lung AIDS Hospice. She also teamed up with reggae artist Luciano creating the single When You Cry in support of her humanitarian projects/initiatives.

And in 2008, she paid a visit to Barbados during “Child Month” where she presented the Barbados Child Care Board with a donation of clothing and toiletries for children residing in orphanages. That same year Morris received special acknowledgement for her humanitarian work at the Millenium Development Goal Awards by way of invitation from the United Nations and was invited by the Aburi King to celebrate his 20-year reign as part of the festivities honouring great kings and queens in Africa.

The Kay Morris Foundation has no plans of slowing down this year. This summer they will be apart of the Change Africa Summit in Kenya and the African Youth and Governance Conference in Ghana. They are also looking forward to the groundbreaking of their Maternal Health Centre in Ghana this August as apart of Kay Morris’ “Women Shed No More Tears” campaign.

She is strong-willed in her efforts to reduce cases of maternal mortality and increase accessibility of health care for women. ‘Per Ghana Health Service stats: From 2008 – 953 women have died during pregnancy, while giving birth to a child, and from lack of follow-up care…Per UN, it occurs 900 times every day.’ (www.kaymorrisfoundation.com). She deems this epidemic as one of the “great shames of our time.”

Those interested in getting involved can make a donation or volunteer at www.kaymorrisfoundation.com. As the Kay Morris Foundation continues to be the “voice of the voiceless” people world wide will be watching Kay Morris’ influential steps and listening for her visionary sound.

By Patrick Dennis Jr.

Happy Feet Ent. These five young men from Scarborough are ready to set the world of dance on fire with their unique style and flare.

The young dance crew takes their name from the animated film about a penguin with a passion to dance but is not accepted by society– something that happens to many of our youth. Happy Feet consists of self-taught dancers, all coming from various backgrounds to create a crew with mind blowing performances.

Happy Feet offers a refreshing vibe and style. Being from an area of Toronto that only seems to get attention when bad things happen, the dance crew are poised to show that Scarborough teens have a lot to offer.

“Youth today are perceived as lazy, uninspired, rebellious immature kids that have no backbone or mindset in what we want to do in our lives,” Crew leader Slim aka John said. “When actually we are very ambitious, determined and passionate artist that aren’t afraid to take risk that generations before us would never dare.”

We asked Slim what he and his crew members would like to see from the media, “They [media] should rather uplift what youth are involved in today promoting the positive stories that youth in Scarborough are engaged in. This will only expose and inspire different age groups and hopefully will change the repulsive perceptions people have over Scarborough youth.”

This summer the crew has been chosen to dance at the Taste of Lawrence Festival July 8-10  on Lawrence Ave. East (Between Warden Avenue and Birchmount road). The crew has set out to reach the people and make others feel comfortable in their own skin.

What started as a jerkin’ crew has now become a well rounded dance group. While still a young crew there is no doubt these talented men from Scarborough are well on their way to being a force in the dance scene.

Look for Happy Feet Entertainment this summer as they try to change people’s lives once dance at a time. Watch the video below to see Happy Feet in action.

Patrick Dennis Jr. is a media studies student at University of Guelph-Humber and editorial intern for swaymag.ca.

Ibrahim Adan

By Samuel Getachew

The Canada – Kenya Chamber of Commerce is the newest addition to a family of multicultural organizations born in Toronto. Its primary goal is to ensure the most basic principle of globalization is also extended in the relationship between Canada and Kenya. Ibrahim Adan, president of the group, explains to Sway what could possibly be achieved in such a group.

SG: Ibrahim Adan – Tell us about the group.

IA: The Canada Kenya Chamber of Commerce is a not-for-profit business organization that promotes trade and investment opportunities between Canada and Kenya. It was created in 2005 to provide a platform for business networking and trade delegations to exchange information and visits.

The Kenya Chamber of Commerce is perhaps the first Afro-Canadian chamber in Toronto. Why the need for such a group?

IA: We wish to facilitate business transactions and promote great business opportunities. We will also try to provide up-to-date information and data and advocate for favourable legislations on trade and investment between Canada and Kenya.

Why is it important for Canada and Kenyan Canadians to foster such a relationship to the homeland and what positive impact can we possibly expect?

IA: At best, we would foster and sustain business opportunities, wealth creation, transfer of know-how technology, and potential employment growth throughout East Africa but specially in Kenya. The aim would be to assist companies’ access to corporations and influence their directions. Also, we would like to play a role in the assistance of companies’ understanding of how to do business between the two countries and undercut the bureaucracy.

What is the short and long term plan of the group?

IA: The short term plan is to expose its existence and increase membership. Engage the members by holding more events, co-host if necessary with other chambers and liaise with governments trade offices to meet our objective. We would also build a vibrant chamber with the goal of it becoming a source for information in all aspects of trade partnerships in Kenya and Canada and eventually a good part of Eastern Africa. Also, become a knowledge based institution that contributes policies that will impact the development of trade between these two regions and beyond. The long term plan is to cover the entire Eastern Africa regions once we create the chamber with solid foundations.

What kinds of partnerships are important to help your organization grow and prosper?

True Daley

By True Daley

Most of us have finally warmed up to the fact that summer has arrived. However, if you’re afraid to shed layers of clothing because you haven’t shed those last few pounds, Ayanna Lee-Rivears has the solution. After losing interest and motivation from boring, methodical exercise classes, the fitness instructor decided to stick to her roots and shake up the Canadian fitness industry by creating the Socacize brand.

“This is not just an aerobics class where you incorporate Soca or Reggae music.

We have specifically choreographed routines for each dance. It kind of guides you.

It goes from the Bacchanal Warm Up, to the Cardio Soca Jam,  the Wine and Stay and the Groovy Stretch.”

Adding to the excitement, are live DJ’s, drummers, and surprise guest performers, who keep the momentum going, transforming the exercise class to a carnival atmosphere. Instead of pop or dance music, you’re guaranteed to be moving to African and Caribbean rhythms such as Soca, Reggae, Calypso, Zouk, and Chutney music. Lee-Rivears says by keeping her classes fun and familiar, her clients are able to commit to their fitness goals and burn up to 1000 calories per session.

“I know for myself that I cannot go to a gym and go to a step class, I have to keep moving and I have to be dancing.  I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way. This is not something where we meet, workout and go home. We had a bootcamp in Brampton recently where the DJ just kept playing the music. They all came back and kept on dancing, and no one wanted to go home. They were having such a good time.”

Ayanna Lee-Rivears

The Socacize phenomenon is now five years strong and has expanded to include a seven-week Toronto Carnival Boot-camp, and the Socacize Lifestyle Challenge, which provides healthier alternatives to traditional Caribbean meals. Lee-Rivears says her main focus is teaching people how to have healthy minds, bodies, and spirits. She is passionate about improving their self-confidence and motivating them to increase their quality of life.

“I sincerely enjoy seeing women have fun with their bodies and bringing it out in their personalities. After every boot-camp we have a boat-cruise party called F.L.A.U.N.T., which is based on the Socacize philosophy: feel good, look good, attitude (sexy), unleash, nice-up yourself, and take time in enjoying you!”

With diseases such as diabetes and high-blood pressure affecting the black community at alarming rates, Socacize has African-Canadians wining down their waistlines, palancing off the pounds, and jumping up until nothing jiggles.

Classes are available in Brampton, Scarborough, downtown Toronto, and Durham region. Lee-Rivears’ ground-breaking approach is proving to be a long-standing fitness craze which encapsulates Caribbean culture while changing lives.

See the video below for a sample of a Socacize class.

For more info on Socacize and the F.L.A.U.N.T. boat-cruise visit : www.socacize.com

On Saturday, June 11, 2011, a group calling themselves The Friends of Randal Dooley held a short service commemorating his equally short and tragic life.

The service was held around a tree planted, through the City of Toronto ’s commemorative tree planting program, at the Glamorgan Park next to his former elementary school— Glamorgan Junior Public School, 51 Antrim Cres. in Toronto.

At the base of the tree is a memorial plaque, which reads “Randal Kadeem Dooley. August 12, 1991 – September 25, 1998. Gone but not forgotten.”The tree is located in the park directly across from the school – beside the parking lot.

Horrific details surrounding the boy’s death left a community devastated. The 2002 trial revealed the 42-pound, 7-year-old had endured constant abuse after arriving from Jamaica in November 1997 to live with his father and step-mother.

Alicia Gordon-Fagan, who organized and arranged for this memorial stated: “The tree will serve as a constant reminder to our collective conscience of a life tragically cut short by those who should have protected him; and will also serve as a renewing promise to do everything in our power to ensure that no other child suffers Randal’s fate.”

Each member of the group committed themselves to be ever vigilant and look for signs of risk of abuse or actual abuse in the children around them.  The Friends of Randal Dooley would encourage the community at large to do the same.

The tree is a Red Maple, which will change colours in the fall – at time of his death.

Randal Dooley was born on August 12, 1991 and passed away, all too soon on September 25, 1998.

Kashedance in rehearsals

By Anya Wassenberg

recalcitrare from Latin, to kick back, from re- + calcitrare to kick, from calc-, calx heel

Toronto company Kashedance held a private preview of Recalcitrare, a new piece by founder/choreographer Kevin A. Ormsby last weekend, just before they took it on the road to the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The piece will be performed June 16 at the Canada Dance Festival, and as Kevin explains it, it’s the result of a number of ideas and influences that came together since the beginning of this year.

First, the name itself.  “It means to kick back from the heels,” Kevin explains, “because we don’t walk around en pointe.”  There are many such “heel first” movements in the four parts that make up Recalcitrare, in opposition to traditional norms of classical ballet.

The piece plays with the notions of classical music as well. It uses string music that comes from a variety of traditions, including Chinese instruments as well as a number of pieces from the CD Chamber Music by Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko and French cellist Vincent Ségal. The CD, with its seamless marriage of those two traditions of string virtuosity, was an inspiration in itself. “The music chose me,” Kevin says simply. “It’s the marriage of the classical instrument with the kora that appealed to me. I saw different possibilities.”

With the music in mind, he worked on the choreography during a residency University of the West Indies, at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts in Mona, Jamaica. Some of the movements and postures in Recalcitrare are drawn from Edna Manley sculptures he found at the National Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston. “Some of the things that I’m doing come from Edna Manley. I wanted to explore stillness with them. I wanted to be more understated.”

Even the costumes, which combine loose West African style pants and fabric patterns with the classic tutu (for both male and female dancers,) reflect the piece’s dual nature. “It’s about being as formal as the classic forms of ballet – and also about letting go.”

Recalcitrare uses the choreographic vocabularies of Western contemporary dance, classical ballet and the movements of traditional African and Caribbean dance in a way that further develops Kevin’s growing and unique choreographic style. Rather than existing in opposition to each other, those multiple traditions merge into a piece that’s fresh and inspiring, and whose appeal defies categorization.

“I’m exploring what’s ‘classical’. It’s a political statement I’m making at the National Arts Centre,” he laughs.

Kevin A. Ormsby has been a dancer and choreographer for over two decades, beginning his training at the Edna Manley College.  He’s performed with Ballet Creole, Canboulay Dance Theatre, Caribbean Folk Performers, Caribbean Dance Theatre and Dance Caribe Performing Company, and from 2001 to 2006, with Garth Fagan Dance, New York, with whom he toured the world extensively. Kashedance includes Kevin along with dancers Jasmyn Fyffe, Byron M. Beckford, Kerry-Ann Wright, Gabriella Parson and Aisha Nicholson.

Photos by Christopher Cushman.

Canada Dance Festival www.canadadance.ca. Learn more about Kashedance at  kashedance.weebly.com

Anya Wassenberg is a longtime freelance writer with a specialty in arts and culture. Check out her blog www.artandculturemaven.com

L to R, Jury Martinez, Nana Aburam, Teacher Greg Birkett and Khalid Samatar

By Dayo Kefentse

The N-Word.  In spite of its controversial use and ancient roots, the word’s branches blend into present day culture with no hint to it ever being cut.

But instead of locking the N-Word in the past, Greg Birkett is using it to engage his students so they can learn more about the word, and themselves.

In a recent Sway article, political activist Gary Freeman shared a historical view of the N-word.  That piece helped spark more flames of the heated debate that already burns in Mr. Birkett’s classroom at Nelson A Boylen Collegiate.

“In my high school experience in the ‘90’s, topics such as the N-word were never discussed in classrooms.  I didn’t encounter academic exploration of the term until university. I found it fascinating and couldn’t get enough of it,” says Birkett, who teaches English and history.

“For me, teaching the N-word was a no brainer.  If its use still sparks controversy and stimulating discourse in the world of academia, in media, and on the streets, then I would be doing my students a disservice if I did not provide them with the opportunity to voice their opinions and engage in deep critical thinking.”

In his four years as a teacher at the school, Mr. Birkett who is the school’s Assistant Curriculum Leader of Student Engagement, has challenged hundreds of teenagers to explore their views about the N-word.  Despite his discomfort, Khalid Samatar believes this class has had an impact.

“As a black Canadian male, the word nigger conjures up within me hate, hostility, violence, oppression,” says Samatar, who is in Grade 12.  “I was raised around a lot of people who used the N-word.  Most of my friends would say it’s a term to call someone and greet them.  I say, it is a derogatory remark used by black people to retain and exploit their ancestors past as slaves.”

Osman Ahmed is also in Grade 12.  “I feel the N-word is a negative word because of its history; nobody should be saying it now because of the way it was used back then,” he observes.  “Think about it: someone was using a word to degrade a fellow human a few hundred years ago and now you are using it as a substitute for brother/friend?”

The students’ conversations about the N-Word are guided through discussions and activities in the classroom.  Mr. Birkett focuses on the definition and history of blackness and identity.  When he asks which word or insult is the most widespread and most controversial, the N-word takes the top vote.

Students are then challenged to gauge opinion beyond the classroom by going around the school with video cameras to record reactions of students, teachers, support staff and administration.  Although it’s a word most would rather whisper, Mr. Birkett has been complimented on the innovative way in which he tackles the N-Word in an engaging way.

Taneil Stephenson is in Grade 11 at Nelson A. Boylen Collegiate.  Although she’s not used to these kinds of discussions at her former school in Jamaica, these conversations have altered her approach to the word.

“I would probably be using it because of the lack of knowledge that I would of have had,” says the 16 year old.   “If this word was not openly discussed there would still be a form of mental slavery that would defeat the whole purpose of dark people having a right to express their feelings, thoughts.”

Mr. Birkett, who is also a published author and poet, is glad that his students feel free to share their feelings about the N-Word.

“I do not believe that it is my job to impose my thoughts and opinions about the N- word on them, nor do I believe that I should be constructing lessons, activities or exposing them to resources that present only one side of the issue or argument,” he says. “I want to equip my students to participate in those discourses creatively, intellectually, and honestly.”

Birkett started this exercise because he wanted to hear from black Canadian youth, hoping they may think a bit more critically about the N-Word once they had more background and education about its roots.   If his student Nana Aburam’s take away is any indication, it looks like Birkett’s goals were met.

“Black people cannot let the actions of the past dictate their future,’ says the teen and upcoming York University student, “I believe if lessons are taught in schools about the history of the word, most people will think twice before using it.”

A poem by Greg Birkett

What’s In A Word?

N-I-G-G-E-R, N-I-G-G-A

Nigger, Nigga, Nigger, Nigga – Nigger, Nigga

An opprobrium by any other name is still the same proclaims the old school

Young fools goin’ around talking ‘bout “Nigger this” and “Nigga’ that”

The same word that was used to verbally break their ancestors’ backs, – the

Grey ones sigh, seething as they watch them go by,

Every time the word is heard it starts to water their eyes, surprised that their progeny don’t know any better,

Standing firm that the term has been changed by changing a few letters,

Nigga, Nigger – NEVER!! I mean, they’re wrong, right?

Or might – we be making much ado about nothing?

Maybe these babies are crazy enough to be on to somethin’?

Runnin’ their mouths about empowerment and reclamation

Maybe making this word our own is the ultimate reparation

Sayin’ it time and again, orally or written by pen

The Neo-Negro nonchalantly now negates ‘nigger’s’ venom

Welcome to the new millennium my friend, or should I say “my Nigga”?

I figured you’d come around eventually

‘Bout time you join your brothers and sisters, oops,

I mean your ‘niggas’ in the 21^st century

Let it be- known that slavery is now a distant memory

Abolition, then civil rights fights like bus boycotts over where we could be seated defeated the enemy,

Now men, women, and children whose hues reflect the melanin in their skin can be

Actors, ballers, golfers, rappers, comedians, and other forms of celebrity

Essentially – what I’m sayin is, seein’ as we dominate the entertainment biz, the consensus is

we can shape and control social trends

Exploit’em to make amends for what we were denied

Now the power is ours to take a word like ‘Nigger’ and turn it into a symbol of pride

Upside down like bad used to mean bad but now means good,

This is the way we say N-I-G-G-A should be understood

But cats who feel arthritic pains and walk with canes, and live in nursing homes rub balding domes in exasperation

Would these young ones even care if we shared experiences from segregation? When-

We were called ‘Nigger’ more often in a day than the names our mammas gave us

‘Nigger you can’t drink from there!’ ‘Nigger keep your eyes down, don’t stare!’ ‘Nigger get to the back of the bus!’ Plus,

this may seem absurd but back then the word was viewed as verbal violence

violating victims who suffered in silence

Semantical slaps sent to serve the purpose of keeping us in check

‘Uppity Nigger!’ was the moniker bestowed on those who objec-ted against being incessantly humbled, and mumbled plans of revolutionary activity under their breath

But those were the ones often found days later with ropes around their necks

And next- to their limp lifeless bodies

the Grand Wizard and his band of sheet-headed soldiers would set the poor soul ablaze and repeat the phrase; ‘Burn Nigger Burn, Burn Nigger Burn, Burn Nigger Burn!’–

Are you willing to learn the word’s entire etymology?

Think that it might change or re-arrange your philosophy?

Honestly Young World, y’all seem to have all this knowledge,

Primary and secondary sources and courses in college

And although we acknowledge that this is your time,

we proudly decline your invitation, to partake in the re-creation of a word that currently bifurcates the Black nation

In this age of information, ignorance still reigns supreme

The phenomenon of this word in the lexicon of those who it defames can in no ways be esteemed

So now the iced out team in –sagging pants advance their argument by asserting explicitly,

That when the word is heard in the suburbs and ghettos attached to “good-byes” and “hellos”, it’s a symbol of street authenticity

Afrocentricity is by no means threatened or lessened, see,

If you’re – really down enough to give a pound and say ‘Wassup’ to the dreaded, braided, 360 waved, faded, afro-domed and fitted cap covered heads who moss on street corners,

Then we know you’re really real, and not really a performer,

In order to – join the ranks of the ruff and rugged street tried, and proved thugs its-a-must that you think, walk, and talk like us

On these evil streets, it’s only me and my ‘Niggas’ I can trust

My ‘Niggas’ for life, through pain and strife, and till I return to dust –

So understand old timer, ‘Nigger’ has been renovated, re-designed, remodeled, re-shaped It’s

Not what you grew up wid’,

Taunts and slurs from white kids,

The way we use it now rids – it of all negative connotations,

Freeing it from a nasty past, like a verbal emancipation

And so on the debate between the ages rages

Both sides standing steady still unpersuaded

Grandmas and Grandpas believing the juniors have been jaded by images paraded through phases of Blaxploitation

Then on to songs and videos in heavy rotation

History replaced by media sensations

Representations of our culture are the creations of vultures

who swoop down and prey on unconscious consumers for big paydays –

And in ways,

Old characters and caricatures have been resurrected – the Tom, Coon, and Bumbling Buffoon have been injected into movie scripts and comedy skits that inaccurately depict the everyday lives of our people

And we sit back and laugh as this hegemonic mind trick disguised as amusement and fun numbs our cerebral

Understand little man, little woman,

Nigger was used as shorthand, an emblematic stand in, expressing the qualities the African in diaspora supposedly possessed

In South Atlantic Caribbean regions and all throughout the U.S. – in – Canada and in Britain

The word spoken or written a billion times,

way before rappers placed it in their rhymes,

could not desensitize the subject to its sting – and – What’s really the worst thing that could happen if y’all stopped sayin it?

Come up with something fresher and better to replace it with

Black, White, Latino and Asian kids,

Could use a new term with which, no oppressive strings were attached –

Not naively ignoring the fact that – a rabidly racist ignoramus

would still try to shame us by employing the most famous racial epithet to keep us back but let – those narrow minded hard heads have the word to themselves

It’s old, tired, and impotent,

Can’t represent the magnificent beings the we be

It’s not worthy to mention as any dimension of our identity

New school pauses for a minute to see if they can get with it

Then a slew of analytic social critics

And professors of linguistics engage in deep dialectic sessions, dissecting the expression, and here’s the first suggestion:

‘Nigger’ is now a cultural phrase that transcends complexion.

Old conventions are irrelevant, and stagnate the development of progressive intelligence

The avant- garde can’t be barred or imprisoned by tunnel vision, and this further makes our decision final

On CD, MP3, DVD, and even vinyl,

For artists to flourish, they should not be discouraged by being censored

No disrespect old school, but old views are not the tools by which we feel to be mentored.

So I personally ponder if it’ll ever finish, this,

Old School versus New School scrimmage

that questions if ‘Nigger’ is just a word or an entire racial image

A percentage of me lies on either side, but if pressed I’d – naw, I’ll let you decide

© G. Birkett, April, 2005

Anthony Kisson, standing, with Junia T in the studio

By Fabien Alexis

“Their success is their own success. We put the onus on them, UforChange just facilitates the process,” Anthony Kissoon said in midst of the busy environment that comes to life at 5 p.m. Monday through Thursdays.

Frosted sliding doors and bookcases divide the main address into offices, a front desk and breezy studio. An emerald green wall reflects the welcoming atmosphere and volunteers behind the successful project.

UforChange, created in 2009 by the Wellesley Institute, primarily serves the St. James Town community and newcomers between the ages of 16-29. The program actively recruits over 100 participants for each six-month cycle, where mentees can choose between a variety of classes such as photography, beat production, fashion, journalism and rap writing.

“Our main goal: get them something that they like, bring them in, show them the professionalism behind it, teach them skills for six months and make them work ready. Phase two is where we provide employment, education and mentorship opportunities and support,” said Kissoon, a veteran in the mentorship game.

Kissoon confessed his love for rap – the poetics and mechanisms behind the art. At 16, the Guyanese-Canadian youth was writing his lyrics and performing. His passion for helping youth and experience teaching rap writing at St. Alban’s Boys and Girls Club, led to his initial position as the volunteer and mentorship director for UforChange.

“I was teaching rap writing and performance workshop at St. Alban’s when a friend said I have a rap writing position for you.” Kissoon remained director until early 2011 when he reluctantly accepted full-time employment elsewhere.

Anthony Kissoon leading rap workshop group in vocal exercises

“When the work is that rewarding, you don’t want to leave,” the instructor noted. He said fellow instructors encouraged him to follow the opportunity. However, Kissoon could not stay away and returned to lead the weekly rap writing workshops on Tuesday evenings.

“The possibilities with UforChange are endless: it’s amazing,” said J. “NitaBeatBlasted” Muwanga. As the only female enrolled in rap workshops, the 21-year-old knows what she wants from life and is determined to explore all avenues of interest to ensure she chooses the right path. The Alberta native spent her summers in St. James Town before finally moving to Toronto in late 2010.

Since then, UforChange literally pushed her into her dream career: music journalism. She chose to study rap writing, DJ arts and spoken word where she met Kissoon.

“He hooks you up with whatever you want. He asked me, ‘if you could do anything, what is it that you would want to do?’” NitaBeatBlasted explained.

Kissoon managed to connect the aspiring journalist with G5 Canadian Urban Radio, where

Anthony Kissoon going over lyrics with NitaBeat Blasted

she has her own segment “Stay Blasted” on Thursday evenings. The internship also opened doors for her to network with industry professionals and build a solid portfolio, before heading to school for journalism in September.

“Being involved in this program you can’t help but ask ‘what else do you do?’ well I’m also doing this and I’m also doing this,” she said enthusiastically.

“The program really instils community; it basically embraces your background, by throwing you in a melting pot within the program. At the same time when we come together we make this beautiful art because we’re so diverse. And they teach us to embrace that.”

“We encourage the youth to do something extra. It’s free school and you get paid for it”. Participants who successfully complete each phase of the program receive an honorarium paid out after completion.

“A lot of our youth are starting to stand out one way or another now,” said Kissoon. He went on to mention some of the youth’s achievements including successful placements with Good News Toronto.

What does the future hold for UforChange? “We’re hoping to get to the point where Scratch Lab is at now: where they are actually able to provide a partial credit, for their involvement. So we’re trying to structure the curriculum in that manner …that’s gradually what UforChange will be like, kind of like a mid-school,” Kissoon reveals.

517 Parliament St

And as long as there are willing participants and youth in need, the program will be in demand. “They keep coming back. They don’t stop coming,” exclaimed Canisia Lubrin. The St. Lucian-born spoken word instructor told Sway “the success of any program is marked by its growth.”

Lubrin recalls the early days of the program when dancers held one corner, the writing workshops were in another and the musicians and fashion designers all squeezed into one studio. “It was loud,” she yelled, compensating for the wailing saxophone across from us.

Today UforChange is evenly spread out along Parliament Street with four rented spaces filled with industry-standard equipment. Lubrin said, “We’re still growing.”

Participants are actively gearing up for several shows in June and then a cultural show in July where they will showcase their talents culminated in a variety of projects.

UforChange is currently accepting applications for the next cycle, beginning in September 2011.

Visit their website at uforchange.org for more information.