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Toronto's St James Town Commemorates Black History Month— Boundless Healing Celebration.
By Fred Alvarado Fred is a community journalist with FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE
On February 25th, 2023, the St James Town Community celebrated Black History Month called Boundless Healing - a social event that took place at Wellesley Community Centre.
The St James Town Community Corner (The Corner) in partnership with Dixon Hall, the 519, The Centre for Advancing the Interests of Black People, and more services providers hosted the celebration. The event featured performances from local talent, community discussions, workshops, food, and more. The event was moderated by Nabil Mensah and Lindiwe Sibanda.
The celebration began with introductions, land acknowledgement, and a music performance by Motezela.
Immediately after, the Centre for Advancing the Interests of Black People presented an antiracism workshop facilitated by Kianna and Zoreh, both TCHC staff at the Centre.
After the antiracism workshop, The Corner presented 2 videos produced by Focus Media Arts Centre about the St James Town Green Café celebrating Black History Month inspired by African and Caribbean cuisine and an interview to the St James Town Black Wellness Leaders nominees.
After the videos, there was an open mic conversation followed by a speech from City Councillor for Ward 13 Chris Moise who addressed the audience to share glimpses of his personal story of success in Canada.
Afterwards, Alaa Mohamed and Yanique Stirlin from the St James Town Community Corner presented the Black Wellness Leaders recognition. The 4 honourees were awarded for keeping residents’ spirits up and for their work in increasing the positive mental health of other community members during the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The celebration also had African drums and Caribbean steelpan drum performances brought by Andy, David, and Robby Prostix Nation; the audience danced and moved their bodies with the electrifying drums rhythm.
Finally, Dixon Hall provided a Harm Reduction orientation workshop.
Congratulations St. James Town for another successful Black History Month Celebration.
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FOCUS Media Arts Centre (FOCUS) is a not-for-profit organization that was established in 1990 to counter negative media stereotypes of low income communities and provide relevant information to residents living in the Regent Park area and surrounding communities.
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