‘WORD, SOUND, POWER’ Celebrated Artistic Expressions and was Incisive Too

By Neil Armstrong 

Photo credit: York University     Dr. Jean Augustine speaking at "WORD, SOUND, POWER: An Annual Celebration of Black Artistic Expression" held at York University to celebrate Black History Month

The annual celebration of Black artistic expression, “WORD, SOUND, POWER,” organized by the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora to recognize Black History Month showcased some brilliant performances complemented by intriguing food for thought. 

 

Held at Tributes Communities Recital Hall on the Keele campus, many gathered for the solo performances, including song and instruments, dance and spoken word, from students across Greater Toronto Area school boards and from the university community.

 

Hosted by Dr. Andrea Davis, a professor in the Department of Humanities and chair of the Senate Academic Policy, Planning and Research Committee, it provided an opportunity to hear from Robert Savage, dean of the Faculty of Education, who brought greetings on behalf of the university, Dr. Jean Augustine in whose name the Chair is endowed, and Mark Beckles, vice president, social impact and innovation at RBC.

 

Reflecting on what it took to get Black History Month officially recognized in Canada, Dr. Augustine spoke of persistently standing outside offices and in the corridors of the House of Commons with copies of the Black History Month motion to win the support of fellow politicians. Parliament voted to officially recognize the month as such in 1995.

 

Emphasizing that Black History is Canadian History, she underscored the importance of allies who understand and do their homework to become effectively so — “We need to know each other’s stories and history,” she said.

 

Beckles said the issues that confront the Black community transcend ideology and require of everyone a certain urgency and new forms of collaboration.

 

Although he has held senior positions in financial services, worked with Nelson Mandela and met public figures from around the world, Beckles said that in looking back he could have done a lot more with the right support and access to opportunities.

Noting that access to opportunity is still denied to many people, the RBC executive said he has witnessed “the economic subterfuge, coerced sabotage, social subordination, happening in symmetry and with symphonic precision behind the smiles of individuals who were too often complicit in that endeavour.”

“I see bold commitments, like RBC’s actions against systemic racism, challenged by a constituency that accuses us all too often of being “woke” and pandering to a DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] cabal. A constituency that would be opposed to us supporting the Jean Augustine Chair. And while standing here I cannot help but think of Dr. Claudine Gay and the undoing by stealth of her achievements and legacy at Harvard University, which happens to be my wife's alma matter, as well,” he said.

Beckles noted that there is a view that to be a champion, or a beneficiary of DEI, “means that you are part of this woke cabal, part of a band of cowards, or pander to the ultra-left wing and that any progress made as a diverse person is nothing but symbolism and is not the result of hard work, nor achieving. And thus, since you are hired for symbolism, you should also be fired for symbolism. 

“Left to some, many here would still be on the other side looking in, instead of on the inside, inviting others. So, let's agree that there's an accepted and taxing everyday racism, the polite kind that racialized people have come to accept, and which we live with as a natural course of life.”

 These are manifested in the strange reactions to people of colour who are smart, the microaggressions, the exclusion from business and social circles, the views that “we are statistics of some kind; we are at risk and predisposed to social and economic failure. The kind that creates and invites a missionary mindset among the privileged and one that perpetuates itself. The subtle questions of belonging spaces that pretend to be inclusive and never-ending strategic efforts to make them so, but where inclusion, actually, recedes as the system reasserts itself.” 

Beckles was critical of self-proclaimed allies, champions, who sacrifice very little in the service of others, and referenced kind and unkind examples of racism that exist.

He cautioned about the status quo that prefers to remain intact and pushes against the inclusion of Black Canadians in various spheres.

“Notwithstanding the talent and resilience and capabilities, and despite their best efforts, there always seems to be an orchestrated mechanism that knows when to push back. And it is invisible in the shadows but it’s there. We call it a system because we can't see whose hands are on the till. A system that finds social preference and hierarchy that asserts institutional memory and then allows the elastic to snap back to its original preferred and exclusive form. And no sector is immune from that elastic snapping back, not even education,” he said.

Photo credit: York University    Mark Beckles, Vice President, Social Impact and Innovation, RBC, speaking at "WORD, SOUND, POWER: An Annual Celebration of Black Artistic Expression"

Using the analogy of an elastic band, Beckles posited that in the aftermath of the murder of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota in May 2020, many governments, corporations and foundations introduced measures to address social equity issues, but these will recede if sustained efforts against the status quo abate. 

“I am concerned that as the narrative focuses away from diversity, equity and inclusion, those exhausted champions of ours will redirect their funding and their efforts to work of other interests. That presents a significant risk not only to new organizations I should say, and to their causes, but also those that have carried for some time and sometimes to this day struggle to raise money.”

With all the investments in near-term commitments, he asked — “Are we better off? Are the barriers to inclusion and access sufficiently removed that we have disproportionately and incrementally more opportunities than we did three years ago?”

Miss Steppers Dance Group at "WORD, SOUND, POWER."

The York University R&B Ensemble at "WORD, SOUND, POWER."

Beckles said there is a natural tendency for elastic to return to its natural state if not for sustained tension, and if there are no efforts to break its memory, it finds its way back to its original form. Sometimes it snaps back, sometimes it is gradual, but the net result is the same. Those on the margins looking in today are on the margins looking in tomorrow. And so, we have to be thinking about how we manage that, he said. 

“The question that needs to be asked is, how can we quickly accelerate past the progress that you've made, leveraging existing community assets and building upon that to support a healthier, less vulnerable community. How do we focus our efforts on wellness indicators that ensure that we enjoy the place in society, whether defined as quality education, housing, health, justice, justice and safety, political engagement, all of which drive toward social inclusion? How do we in the name of family give effect to community's strategic goals like economic and economic and educational capacity, civil rights and engagement and community health and sustainability and safety? How do we work with allies who are genuinely committed to social justice, and who can recognize that they too have a role in breaking down barriers and creating space for others?”

Beckles said the reality is that “we have more wealth and influence in our communities than we have ever had in history, but in order to make sure that the social equity gap does not get wider, the urgency of now demands more of us, future generations demand more of us and perhaps, unfairly so, society demands more of us.” 

He noted that artistic expression is critical to the effort. “Word sound, power, gives effect to the clarion call that the work of inclusion is not over. Artistic expression reminds us that we are all created equal,” he underscored.

Spoken word artist Ian Kaman performing at the annual celebration of Black artistic expression, "WORD, SOUND, POWER."

The evening featured performances from the Oscar Peterson Jazz Ensemble, York University R&B Ensemble, artist and designer Ian Kamau, York University Gospel Choir, and an Afro-Caribbean dance performance by students from nearby James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School in the CIBC Lobby during the welcome reception.