Debut Book Showcases a Jamaican Family Grappling with Life in the US

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed       Jonathan Escoffery

Jonathan Escoffery always wanted to become a writer since he enjoyed reading, but he was not necessarily thinking of selling a book to a publisher. All he knew was that he loved writing and had a desire to write books one day. 

 

The United States-born author, who is on Jamaican parentage, has written his first book, If I Survive You, a collection of stories, published by McClelland & Stewart, which went on sale in North America on September 6.

 

It is described as “a major debut, blazing with style and heart, that follows a Jamaican family striving for more in Miami, and introduces a generational storyteller.” 

In the 1970s, Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But America, as the couple and their two children, Delano and Trelawny, learn, is far from the Promised Land. Excluded from society as Black immigrants, the family pushes on through Hurricane Andrew and later the 2008 recession, living in a house so cursed that the pet fish launches itself out of its own tank rather than stay. But even as things fall apart, the family remains motivated, often to its own detriment, by what their younger son, Trelawny, calls “the exquisite, racking compulsion to survive.”

 

Escoffery, 41, says while growing up his parents, English and literature teachers, and professors encouraged him when they saw what he had written on the page. However, at the same time, he felt discouraged about pursuing such a path with no one tried and true way to becoming an author. The more practical message was that he should get a different job that would make him successful and then write on the side.

 

“But once I got into college and start taking a lot of workshops and realizing my professors were writers — they were all authors, they had writing careers of their own — that was always my happy place. The more I understood about what it meant to take that journey towards putting a book out, the more energized I felt. And that’s when I really start to focus my energies and really consider what kind of first book I would want to have.” 

 

Having read many authors who were a part of the Harlem Renaissance Movement, like Langston Hughes and Nella Larsen, or those who were either immigrants or the firstborn of immigrants in the US, he saw stories that ran parallel to his family’s story and inspired him.

 

“Reading those authors lit a fire under me to really get this book out because I felt if you want to see that book in the world maybe you’re the one who has to write it so that’s what I did.” This echoes Toni Morrison’s speech to the Ohio Arts Council in 1981 in which she said: “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

 

The earliest renderings of the characters in Escoffery’s new book started 10 years before he sold the book. At the time, he was applying to graduate school and needed to prepare a writing sample. 

 

“I thought I had it finished but then this other story kind of poured out of me, and it was a story about Trelawny and Topper and Delano. I felt like I had suddenly found my subject matter in a way that I hadn’t yet, and so I put that in my writing sample and was able to gain acceptance to several programs and wound up going to the University of Minnesota. It was at the University of Minnesota I started playing with these characters more in different stories, including some of the ones that actually made it into the book,” says the writer who grew up in Miami but now lives in Oakland, California.

 

Escoffery says it was spring of 2014 when he was in his final semester in graduate school that he wrote the story ‘Influx’ — the first in the book — and when he did, that’s when he finally saw what the book would be. He sold the book to a publisher in 2021.

 

In his effort to be insightful in his fiction, Escoffery decided to write about his own culture and the many cultures he knows, and the tensions of inheriting multiple cultures, especially growing up in a place like Miami, which has “so many cultures kind of pressing up against each other.”

 

“Each time I thought it was a challenge for me as a writer, I thought, well, that in a sense is the challenge of my book’s protagonists. What they’re dealing with is how do you exist and how do you decide who you are when other people are giving you this litany of questions — what are you? And you answer that question, and they say no, that’s not what you are. And so them trying to figure out who they are is a big part of the book and we go on that journey with characters like Trelawny, Delano and Topper.”

 

Escoffery is the recipient of the 2020 Plimpton Prize for Fiction, a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, and the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction. 

 

He received his MFA from the University of Minnesota, is a PhD fellow in the University of Southern California’s PhD in Creative Writing and Literature Program, and in 2021 was awarded a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in the Creative Writing Program at Stanford University. 

 

Jonathan Escoffery will be interviewed virtually about If I Survive You on Saturday, October 15, 3:30-4:00 p.m. at the 2022 Black and Caribbean Book Affair organized by Blackhurst Cultural Centre in Toronto, Canada. Tune in to the interview on the Centre’s Facebook page.

New Memoir Documents Grit and Determination of Mary Anne Chambers

 By Neil Armstrong

 

What former Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, government minister, bank executive, philanthropist, and current Chancellor of the University of Guelph, Mary Anne Chambers, has done in her new memoir is to share the successful path that she charted in Jamaica and here in Canada — all of this while supporting family, community, and being in public service. 

 

In From the Heart: Family. Community. Service, the former senior vice president of Scotiabank, director, chair and member of various boards and not-for-profit organizations, and funder of many scholarships to students in colleges and universities recalls the agency that she has in her life. From Deanery Road in Vineyard Town to being head girl at Immaculate Conception High School to teaching in the JAMAL Foundation program in Jamaica to immigrating with her young family to Canada in 1976, to working in Corporate Canada and volunteering in many community organizations, Chambers highlights what service means to her — in her family, community, the province, and Canada. 

 

There are many gems in the memoir published by Dundurn Press. She acknowledges her privilege while recognizing her advocacy for family, friends, members of her constituency, parents and students grappling with the education system, championing teachers, the Youth in Policing Initiative, challenging racism inside the boardroom and outside of it, and more. 

 

"It is not easy being a minority in politics. We need to be very strong. We need to stay true to our desire to serve, and we need to avoid being overcome by a desire to feel accepted or popular lest we be inadvertently co-opted or submerged by the dominant culture in which we find ourselves,” writes Chambers in what could be considered wise counsel to racialized people in politics or those seeking to become political representatives. 

 

An important revelation in the book is her expectation that her colleagues at Queen’s Park be conversant with matters pertaining to Black and Indigenous communities in the province.

 

"I do remember telling the premier that I had not realized I was Black until I arrived at Queen's Park. It was my way of saying I was more than that and expected him to recognize that I didn't simply see my role as the MPP or minister for Black people," writes Chambers.

 

Expanding on this assertion, she writes: “I didn’t appreciate being singled out as the person who absolutely had to represent the government at the annual Caribbean Carnival parade. I expected my colleagues to also care about issues like the over-representation of, and better outcomes for, Black and Indigenous children in the child-protection system; the difficulties faced by young people in underserved neighbourhoods seeking employment opportunities; and the challenges experienced by internationally trained professionals in becoming accredited to work in their fields of expertise.”

 

The storytelling recaptures vivid moments in her political life such as the day Denham Jolly — who was awarded an Order of Distinction (OD) in the rank of officer on August 6, 2022 by the Government of Jamaica — turned up at her campaign office to show his support.

"Community activist, businessman, philanthropist, and son of Jamaica, Denham Jolly, who lived several ridings away from mine, arrived at the campaign office one day, bearing dozens of Jamaican beef patties for anyone who happened to be there."

 

 

After serving as Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Minister of Children and Youth Services, Chambers decided not to seek re-election but made every effort to ensure that a Black person would seek the nomination to represent the Ontario Liberal Party as her replacement in her riding. She was content with her tenure in the Ontario government and wanted to ensure that representation matters in the political system and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Queen’s Park.

 

"I arrived at Queen's Park with my integrity intact and left Queen's Park with my integrity intact, content that in my four years there as an MPP and a cabinet minister, I had served the public good," she writes.

 

The memoir also references community figures and stalwarts such as Lillie Johnson, Alvin Curling, Lincoln Alexander, Zanana Akande, Beverley Salmon, Ron Fanfair, Margarett Best, Paulette Senior, Joan Lesmond, Mitzie Hunter, Dr. Wendell Nii Laryea Adjetey, Dr. Carl James, Margaret Parsons, Michael Thompson, Dr. Mavis Burke, and others.

 

Throughout the book, readers hear about her husband Chris, sons Nick and Stefan, and their partners, her granddaughters, parents, and siblings. Chambers enfolds them with love and shares how they have contributed to her quest for lifelong learning, paying it forward, and their collective contribution to humanity. The memoir is worth the read; one gets a sense of what drives Chambers and what her hopes are for now, and for the years to come.

 

In her projection of a way forward, she notes that: “It’s important to believe in ourselves and to take personal responsibility for our actions and the achievement of our goals. When I tell young people to dream big, I am telling them not to settle for the easiest path or the path that others might define for them. Most importantly, I am hoping that they will realize that their destiny is what they aspire to for themselves. I tell them they are the ones who should be determining their future, and how successful they will be. I advise them to take charge of their lives.”

 

Chambers acknowledges her “few secret weapons” that have helped her thus far, including the love and high expectations of her parents — “I came from a supportive environment where any barriers to my success resided primarily with me.”

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay       Mary Anne Chambers speaking at the gala celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Jamaican Canadian Association and Jamaica's Independence

The book launch will take place on Thursday, October 20, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Blackhurst Cultural Centre, 777 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Canada. The author will be in conversation with veteran journalist Ron Fanfair.

 

Jamaicans in Canada Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Independence in Different Ways

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay    JCA past presidents Adaoma Patterson and Herman Stewart present a plaque with photos of the three buildings owned by the organization over its 60-year history to active founding members Amy Nelson, Pam Powell, Roy Williams and Bernice Bailey. Missing is Beryl Nugent

Activities in Toronto celebrating Jamaica’s diamond jubilee of independence kicked off on the eve of Emancipation Day and will continue well into the fall. 

 

In the days leading up to August 6 — Independence Day — there were several flag raising ceremonies, a church service, a cultural festival, a jerk food festival, and the illumination of some sites in the Greater Golden Horseshoe metropolitan region, which includes the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and Niagara Falls.

 

On July 31, the Jamaican Canadian Association held its Jamaica 60^th Anniversary flag raising ceremony at Toronto City Hall followed by a church service at Faith Sanctuary on Jane Street. It included various members of the clergy as well as performances by the Heritage Singers, Revivaltime Tabernacle Men’s Choir, and others. The last day of July was also the date of JAMBANA One World Festival in Brampton that celebrated the life of its co-founder, Denise Jones, and included her induction, posthumously, into the Brampton Arts Walk of Fame.

Dancers of Dance Caribe Performing Company at JAMBANA One World Festival in Garden Square, Brampton, Ontario

 

From August 1 to 8, a group visited Jamaica for what was dubbed the Jamaican Canadian Association Homecoming 60^th Anniversary of Independence trip to Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny. 

 

There were more flag raising ceremonies in the following cities: Markham (Aug.4), Oshawa (Aug. 5), Mississauga (Aug. 5), London (Aug. 5), Brampton (Aug. 6), and Hamilton (Aug. 7).

Lincoln Downer, Jamaica's consul general at the flag raising ceremony in Brampton, Ontario

Raising of the Jamaican flag at Ken Whillans Square outside Brampton City Hall

Hyacinth Lindo and Marjorie Taylor of the United Achievers' Club of Brampton at the flag raising ceremony

 

In Brampton, mayor Patrick Brown, former councillor and new member of provincial parliament Charmaine Williams, who is also the associate minister of women’s social and economic opportunity, and Jamaica’s consul general at Toronto, Lincoln Downer, were also in attendance. Organized by United Achievers’ Club of Brampton, it involved speeches and performances. Peel District School Board trustee, Kathy McDonald, who is one of the recipients of this year’s Community Service Award from the Jamaican Canadian Association, was the emcee. 

Consul general Lincoln Downer and Fred Eisenberger, mayor of Hamilton

Lincoln Downer and Fred Eisenberger after cutting the Jamaica 60 cake

The Jamaica 60 cake

Jamaica 60 cupcakes

Fabian Coverley, co-executor of the Estate of Louise Bennett-Coverley 'Miss Lou'

Fabian Coverley and Doreen Watson, secretary of Jamaica Foundation (Hamilton)

Fabian Coverley and Tania Hernandez outside Hamilton City Hall

Tania 'Miss Tania Lou' Hernandez leads the kids in the "Ring Ding" program during the  Jamaica 60 flag raising ceremony in Hamilton, Ontario

Tania Hernandez 'Miss Tania Lou'

Pamela Appelt and Mary Bishop at the Jamaica 60th anniversary of independence flag raising ceremony at Hamilton City Hall

 

Hamilton included in its flag raising event a re-enactment of “Ring Ding,” a popular television children’s show of the late Louise Bennett-Coverley ‘Miss Lou.’ Tania Hernandez (Miss Tania Lou) led the kids in the celebration of various aspects of Jamaica’s culture. The event was organized by the Jamaica Foundation Hamilton.

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay   Niagara Falls illuminated on August 6 to celebrate Jamaica's 60th anniversary of independence followed by a celebration of Bolivia's independence

 

The iconic Niagara Falls was illuminated to celebrate Jamaica’s 60^th anniversary of independence. Some Jamaicans who attended said they were disappointed that the Falls did not display the black, green and gold colours of Jamaica’s flag but instead showcased the colours of Bolivia’s flag to celebrate that country’s independence. However, the Jamaica Tourist Board, which co-hosted the event with the Consulate General of Jamaica Toronto, begs to differ.

 

“Although not as prominent as anticipated, the colours of the Jamaican flag were illuminated as scheduled between 10pm -10:15 pm.  Black, yellow and green lights appeared on the Falls although the mist covered the black illumination,” says the Jamaica Tourist Board through its public relations agency, Fever Pitch Marketing Communications Inc.

In an email, it said, “Red and green lights cross to create yellow. The excess red created a red shadow in front of where the black appeared. 

“Landmarks across the country were illuminated in celebration of Jamaica 60, including the Edmonton High Level Tower, Ottawa’s ByWard Market, Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge and Halifax City Hall. In addition to our Jamaica 60 illumination, the Jamaica Tourist Board hosted a cocktail reception on August 6 in Niagara Falls with Jamaica’s Consul General.”

 

In an article published in Niagara Falls This Week on August 9, Niagara Parks says, “the Jamaican colours were, indeed, emblazoned on the falls as scheduled and that people may have simply caught the period following that when Bolivia’s colours were shone on the falls.”

 

It was responding to a story in the Jamaica Gleaner published with the headline “Niagara Falls heartbreak as Bolivian colours rankle Jamaican expats.”

 

There was also a lighting of the City Hall of Mississauga in the colours of the Jamaican flag on August 6.

Sandra Whiting, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Kathy McDonald, recipient of a Community Service Award

Nadine Spencer, Marcia Brown and Sandra Whiting 

Audrey Campbell, Adaoma Patterson and Sophia Findlay

Danae Peart and Elaine Thompson

Itah Sadu and Marcia Brown

Sophia Findlay and Marie Clarke Walker

Danae Peart, Neil Armstrong, Nick Dawkins and Sophia Findlay

Photo credit: Sophia Findlay        Chris Campbell and Neil Armstrong

 

The signature Jamaican Canadian Association 60^th Annual Jamaica Independence and Anniversary Gala was held on August 13 with a keynote speech by Dr. Mary Anne Chambers, former Ontario member of provincial parliament, government minister, new chancellor of the University of Guelph, and new author of her memoir, From the Heart: Family. Community. Service.

 

Awards were presented to several community members, including: Eunice Graham, Francella Moore, Bruce McDonald and Sandra Whiting who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for 35 years of continuous service; Wilbert Johnson for 25 years of continuous service; Michelle Davis received the President’s Award; Hyacinth Wilson, the Volunteer of the Year Award, and Andria Babbington, Camille Hannays-King, Kathy McDonald, and yours truly received the Community Service Award.

 

The annual Jerkfest Toronto was held from August 5-7 and on August 13 and 14 there were screenings of Roy T. Anderson’s documentary film, African Redemption: The Life and Legacy of Marcus Garvey, in Brampton and Toronto respectively. Both viewings were hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Toronto Caribbean. The Jamaica Foundation Hamilton held its Thanksgiving Service in partnership with Pentecostal churches on August 14.

 

Some of the upcoming events include a diamond jubilee cricket match, Jamaica XI vs. Trinidad & Tobago XI at Andrew McCandless Park in Brampton (Aug. 20), Falla Fashun fashion show by Flair Management at the Jamaican Canadian Association (Aug. 21), Sinting Fest on Eglinton West (Aug. 26-28), A Taste of Jamaica (Aug. 27) at the Jamaican Canadian Association, and on October 21, the Jamaica Hamilton Foundation will hold its annual banquet in Hamilton, and the Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation will hold its Jamrock 16^th annual gala in Toronto.

 

On July 28 — a couple days before Toronto’s major Caribbean Carnival took over the city — the Downtown Yonge BIA held the launch of the exhibit, Rhythms and Resistance: Caribbean Music in Toronto, curated by Klive Walker and Nicholas Jennings at Friar’s Music Museum on the second floor of Shoppers Drug Mart near Yonge-Dundas Square.

 

The exhibition documents the history of Black and Caribbean musicians, musicologists, media, venues and events who have contributed significantly to the development of Caribbean music and resistance in the city.

 

Check out Jamaica60to.com to see the events and to learn more about the Jamaica 60 Toronto 35 Change Makers who are highlighted on the site as being among “the most influential and impactful next-generation and senior leaders of Jamaican heritage in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.” 

 

Congratulations to them!

 

Trinidad & Tobago celebrates its 60^th anniversary of independence on August 31 and there are several events happening in the Greater Toronto Area to recognize that historic moment.

 

 

 

Inaugural YENSA Festival Celebrates Black Women in Dance

By Neil Armstrong

Photo credit: Dahlia Katz          Lua Shayenne

The YENSA Festival — the first Canadian international biennial festival that celebrates the work of women in dance from African and Afro-diasporic culture — is the result of meaningful exchanges over the past four years that Lua Shayenne, artistic director of Lua Shayenne Dance Company, had with many female Black dance practitioners based in Toronto. 

 

In 2018, they held an iteration of a small celebration with live dance and drumming that was successful. “The seed was planted from that event as well but I have to say nothing happens from one day to another. The many informal discussions that I had over the years with many Black women really underline the lack of such existing platforms.”

 

Shayenne gives credit to Soraya Peerbaye who was a senior program advisor with the Canada Arts Presentation Fund at the Department of Canadian Heritage and called her to tell her about a development grant for festivals and their need for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) to apply. 

 

“She acknowledged the lack and thanks to her encouragement, her guidance, many conversations cause that’s what it takes, a whole year later we applied,” says Shayenne underscoring that the support of the funders has been essential.

 

She also consulted with festival leaders such as Vivine Scarlett from dance Immersion, Michael Caldwell and Ilter Ibrahimof of Fall For Dance North, Naomi Campbell of Luminato, and Jenn Goodwin of Nuit Blanche. Ibrahimof is mentoring Shayenne.

 

“These pillars of the dance community have been my support and I have to say the historic circumstances during COVID, I think, also highlighted even more so the need to give platforms to Black folks and not relegate us to the back.”

 

Lua Shayenne Dance Company was founded in 2011 and the artistic director says it has been a long journey.

 

The company is strongly culturally rooted in traditional West African dances says Shayenne while acknowledging that Africa is a continent and there are many dances.

 

“I do feel that our work has been boxed in a very specific pocket and seen in a very specific way because it is so strongly rooted in that particular genre. It’s not a white contemporary dance, let’s put it that way.”

 

Shayenne says for her it has been “a huge push to assert ourselves and claim the validity of what we have been presenting; and then on the other hand it has been great to see the evolution and the openness of the industry in terms of access to funding.”

 

She trained at Collective of Black Artists (COBA) and has noticed that there is definitely a difference in what the scene looks like now.

 

“It’s important for Toronto to start acknowledging the lack of specificity when we keep saying West African dance and that doesn’t mean anything or we say Caribbean dance and that doesn’t mean but we never say European dance. We say Irish dance, we’re very specific about white-centric dances. Why can’t we be? I’m slowly starting that process because you have to meet people half way through. You can’t just say I’m doing dances from Guinea right away because then people are scared.

 

“So with this festival, I think it’s an introduction to the variety of styles, genre, artistic practices that Black women have and offer.”

 

The activities are open to everyone, not just women and only Black women, says Shayenne.

 

“The whole idea is to create a platform where we could be heard, listened, and where we could share our knowledge and our contribution to the Canadian scene.”  

Photo credit: Dahlia Katz            Monique Pascall and Rose-Mary Harbans  

From August 13-28, the festival will feature workshops and performances by Tasha Ricketts, Tamla Matthews, Shameka Blake, Jaz ‘Fairy J’ Simone, Funmi Adewole, Esie Mensah, Ekspresyon, Lua Shayenne Dance Company, and more. 

 

It will begin with a series of workshops including: “Dancing the Cloth: The Joy of Skirts and Sashes in Caribbean Dance” with Tamla Matthews; Hip Hop Fusion Choreography by Shameka Blake; followed by a public talk and conversation titled “ Crafting the story of your choreography: for Black female dance artists” with Funmi Adewole; and much more.

 

The closing weekend will include performances at Daniels Spectrum’s Ada Slaight Hall showcasing black women in dance featuring: Jaz ‘Fairy J’ Simone, Artists in Motion Dance Company, Lua Shayenne Dance Company on August 26; Funmi Adewole, Esie Mensah, and Ekspresyon on August 27; and an ATSIA CIRCLE, a dance and drum celebration led by US master drummer Fara Tolno on August 28.

 

With the onset of the pandemic, they had to postpone the festival by one year — something that worked out well for Shayenne who describes planning a festival as quite daunting. 

 

“The enthusiasm was through the roof. The amount of support was yes, yes, and yes, count me in, and a lot of ‘it’s about time.’

 

“I think when we say it’s about time, I think when we speak of racial inequality and the place that women — especially the place that Black women occupy in society — I think it’s beyond ‘it’s about time.’ It doesn’t mean that we were waiting for some magic to happen. It’s just that we did not have the means to do it and the company barely has the means to do it in the sense that our capacity is still very small.”

 

Shayenne says her company has a small staff working on this inaugural festival and they are working very hard to grow and be sustainable and viable. 

 

“I’m grateful to be in this supportive cocoon with these women to show our practices and who we are today,” says Esie Mensah.

 

The festival includes an invitation only choreographers lab, a free public talk involving choreographers, dancers and the public that will be led by Funmi Adewole on August 19, with livestream and in-person options.

 

“We don’t want it to be an exclusive conversation. We don’t want it to be, oh, the Black community lives in its own bubble, absolutely not. We want white folks, Asian folks, all races, all genders, all identities and all ages to participate in this conversation because I strongly believe that unity can only be achieved when all parties are involved.

 

“It’s not a heavy topic. There may be deep thoughts that are shared but dance is also creative, it’s fun, it’s emotional so all the events that we’ve picked they are simple.” There are workshops where people can have an embodied experience, says Shayenne. 

 

The YENSA Festival invites audiences to participate and celebrate the incredible history and evolution of Black dance. 

 

Shayenne, whose mother is Ghanaian of Fanti ethnicity, and father, Italian, was born and raised in Côte d'Ivoire. It was her mother who gave her the word ‘yensa’ for the name of the festival.

 

“I actually spoke to my mom. I said to mom I really want some ideas for names and you need to be able to pronounce it, it needs to be simple, and she was like, oh, yensa/yenka. ‘Yensa’ means let’s dance and ‘yenka’ means let’s talk.”

 

 

The festival will spark conversations about the diversity of African Diasporic aesthetics, its histories and politics through performance, workshops, exhibitions, and public talks.

 

 The mission is to champion, highlight and present choreographic work by women of Black, African Diaspora and African descent. Its driving principles are solidarity, sisterhood and artistic excellence. 

 

 

The events will take place at Daniels Spectrum's Ada Slaight Hall in Regent Park and at Toronto Metropolitan University. Visit www.yensafestival.com for more information.

 

 

Pride Toronto and Blockorama Organizers Reflect on the Future of Events

Construction work will happen along Church Street in the years ahead; Blockorama has outgrown the Wellesley Street parking lot.

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed  Sherwin Modeste, Executive Director, Pride Toronto

Sherwin Modeste has only been the executive director of Pride Toronto since November 2020 but already he and members of staff have faced threats filled with anti-Black racism while doing their job.

In the months ahead, the organizers of one of the largest Pride events in North America will have to strategize about next steps for future festivals as construction reduces public space in the city. Blackness Yes! — organizer of the very popular annual Blockorama stage — will also have to think about a space that can comfortably accommodate its swelling number of supporters. It also organizes the annual Blockobana that has been around since 2010.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Global Black Pride — held in partnership with Pride Toronto, Global Black Pride, and Blackness Yes! — on July 27, Modeste said the work of his team continues despite the orchestrated email and phone call threats they received during Pride 2022. He said the staff and board are supportive of his work.

“Despite all that I was called during Pride Toronto, I stood my ground,” said Modeste who shared with those gathered that he was accused of trying to bring Jamaica Pride to Toronto. He reminded everyone that he is from the spice isle of Grenada. 

Modeste said he and board members knew who were behind the threats and while the matter was reported to Toronto Police Service, he described the threats as “more harassment and a lot of anti-Black racism. It was, ‘why are you bringing these straight black women to Toronto Pride. If you want to do Black Pride, why don’t you go back to Jamaica? It’s that kind of undertone. Don’t come to Pride, you’re not going to leave Pride alive.’” 

Describing it as an organized tactic to try to redirect Pride Toronto from its focus to deliver the best Pride they have had, he said his goal is that every year they have to get better.

“As leader, if I can’t see myself in what is happening something is drastically wrong. But at the same time, it is my responsibility to make sure that everyone else sees themselves within the movement. Your story will be told, my story will be told whether it’s through history, her story or their story, let us make sure that our story is told by us and not by them,” said Modeste.

 

Also speaking at the event were Nik Redman and Craig Palmer of the collective, Blackness Yes! Redman said over the years they have seen the community grow from being on the sidelines of the Wellesley Street parking lot to taking over the entire space. They fought as well with Pride Toronto to get that parking lot back for the annual Blockorama celebration after they were moved to a few different locations in consecutive years and the community pushed back against those moves. 

 

“And now we’ve outgrown the parking lot. We’ve outgrown the parking lot and we are so happy that we are able to provide programming by Blackness Yes! for the community.”

Modeste agrees with Redman’s assessment that Blockorama has outgrown the space. Finding a new space to accommodate the annual celebration is not an easy thing to do in the city but he said this is something they will have to talk about in the future. 

“Even if we look at the downtown, where could we put Blocko that they will be able to accommodate? One, Blocko has definitely outgrown the space, but two, people were trying to jump the fence. People were trying to bypass the process that Pride put in place in order to make sure that folks get in. Once the space got to capacity, which was around 3,000, we could no longer allow people in. Yes, there were people that did not get to come in because at a certain point in the day the area was at capacity,” says Modeste about this year’s Blockorama which celebrated its 24^th anniversary.

He said police showed up because people were literally pushing down the fence and at that point in time they needed to get additional support for the safety of all.

“What we did, we had to stop the program and that request was not made by us. That request was actually made by Blocko. Blocko wanted to ensure that they ran a safe event,” said Modeste who noted that working with Blocko has been phenomenal. 

However, Palmer said Blackness Yes! was told by Pride staff to stop the event. He said the collective would never request to pause their own program.

Modeste said Pride Toronto had to take into consideration a COVID-19 protocol and general safety as it related to the threats the queer community had been receiving globally.  “So with all of this in place, we needed that additional security. The delay in people getting in had to do with making sure that the space is safe for all.”  

Asked whether a space could be found on the street without fences, for example the intersection of Church and Wellesley where a stage used to be in past Pride festivals, Modeste said the City of Toronto no longer approves stages on the streets, and especially when they are so close to businesses. 

The Pride Toronto executive director said in the years ahead — 2023 to 2025 — Church Street will be under construction so they will have to think about contingencies. “The conversation has started with the City of Toronto into what the footprints and the staging and all of that would look like for 2023. We have no confirmation yet but the conversation has started.”

Modeste said as someone who is Black, queer, and from the Caribbean, it was a huge eye-opener of how white Pride has been and the lack of acceptance of diversity within the Pride movement. “They speak one thing but the reality is very different, very different.”

Moving forward, Modeste intends to make sure that: “BIPOC folks can see themselves truly in Pride. It is so important. White gay men have been the voice and the reality is the Pride movement is not about them. The Pride movement was started by trans women of colour but they have taken it over for whatever reason. But it’s about time that we start seeing the true Pride by seeing the diversity that it really represents.”

He has also challenged folks that Pride Toronto wants to make sure that queer artists are represented but also want to make sure that through allies they are able to make some headway.  

“As a result of having Spice, and when they attacked Spice on social media, Spice came out and she lambasted them. And she was a true ally and that’s the kind of allyship that we need. We don’t just want someone that will sit in the backroom. We want someone that will use their voice and use whatever means they have to support and to advocate for change. And that if we got nothing else, we heard loud and clear that you know what as Jamaica’s top female dancehall artist she stands with the community. For me, that is important.”

Photo credit: Neil Armstrong    Nik Redman and Craig Palmer of Blackness Yes!, organizer of Blockorama and Blockobana

Craig Palmer said he will focus more on sponsorship in the years ahead — something he commended the organizers of the global event for doing well. In the past, Blockobana has been a smaller party but Palmer always wanted to build it.  He notes that smaller parties are hard to exist because of the lack of space. He is into opening up more horizons.

Palmer was beaming from the successful staging of Blockobana at Stackt Market on July 31. Estimates are that over 2000 people attended the 11-hour event. Blockobana is usually held on the same weekend as Caribana and is one of the activities to attend during the weekend dubbed as Toronto Black Pride since 2018.

“I do think that in the past at Regent Park we’ve had a lot of people there but we never actually counted. And because the park is so big, you can’t really get a full-scale idea of who is in the space. So it was nice in this space which was a little bit more confined, not too confined, but a little bit more that we could see everybody and just feel everyone’s energy in one space.”

Asked whether Stackt Market will become the new space for Blockobana, Palmer said it is up for discussion. They will have to see what happens for next year and if they get the same kind of support. 

Regarding Blockorama, he said this year, logistically, did not go as well as Blackness Yes! would have liked. 

“The VIP situation was a problem. I feel like our space needs to be reflected in us in every space of our space, including VIP. That’s something that we will be discussing with Pride to wrest back a little bit more control of who is in that space. But also I think the event was great.”

Palmer said Blockorama had outgrown the parking lot space from many years ago and because of that there is a line up.

“On one hand, I get it, everyone bombarding the space. I get why they wanted to maybe close the space but I also understand, from the people who bombarded, from their perspective as well. Blocko is something they hold dear, something they have attachment to and to be on the outside that can’t happen again. We need to find a space that will fit everyone in there and have minimal line ups at best. I will say, logistically, it was a much, much, too small space even though it is historical for us. We’ve outgrown the space.”

Asked what would be the ideal space for Blockorama, Palmer says that is the problem. 

“We’ve been thinking about this for years because we’ve been under threat of not having Wellesley for reconstruction since 2014, I think. It hasn’t happened yet so we’ve been trying to think of a space but where could you go, that’ the problem. Maybe Nathan Phillips Square but is that too out in the open, maybe. We can’t do Queen’s Park, we can’t go too far away from the footprints of the festival or from the footprint of the TTC as far as the subway goes as well. We don’t want to be too far from that, we want to make it convenient, Wellesley is perfect for this location but it is not the perfect location.”

In 2014, there were news reports that the Toronto Parking Authority was pursuing plans to sell the parking lot for a possible multi-tower development. During Pride it is transformed to become the Wellesley Stage — the festival’s largest outdoor performance space — and has hosted performers at Blockorama such as Alison Hinds, Destra, Diana King, SWV, and others.

On April 4, 2017, the City of Toronto held a pre-application community consultation at the Toronto Central YMCA where residents could learn more about the development proposal for 15 Wellesley Street East and 20 & 26 Maitland Street.

“The Toronto Parking Authority lot across from the Wellesley subway station (15 Wellesley Street East), which was conditionally sold to Plazacorp in 2012, and the adjacent 20 and 26 Maitland Street properties are in the process of being consolidated by Plazacorp for a comprehensive development. An application has not yet been submitted. This meeting is being held to obtain community input prior to the submission of an application to the City. 

“City staff, in consultation with Councillor Wong-Tam, have been in discussions with Plazacorp to ensure that any development on the site incorporate a significant urban park fronting Wellesley Street East. 

“In addition to an urban park, the current proposal includes a 50-storey and 29-storey mixed use development. The Children's Catholic Aid Society, currently located at 26 Maitland Street, would relocate to the base building of the new development and replacement Toronto Parking Authority parking spaces would also be incorporated,” notes the proposal. 

In January 2022, the Church Wellesley Neighbourhood Association wrote on its website: “In the recently released, "TOCore Implementation Strategy: Downtown Parks and Public Realm Plan," 15 Wellesley East is listed as one of the “New Parks Secured through Development and Acquisitions.” According to Councillor Wong-Tam's office, the City has not yet determined if the entire lot will go to parkland or if some will be allocated to affordable housing.”  

Palmer is concerned that in the city of Toronto it is becoming a bit harder to host cultural events. “That’s a problem that really people need to look into because we are losing not just our culture — not the culture that we have, Black culture — but the culture of the arts we’re losing.”

Blockorama is the longest running and largest stage at Toronto’s annual Pride festival. 

 

For over 20 years, it has been a celebration of and for the Black LGBTQ+ community and allies, organized by the collective, Blackness Yes! It was born from the lack of representation for African, Black and Caribbean LGBTQ community members during Pride Toronto’s yearly festival and has been a space that celebrates Black love, joy, music, and community.

 

The story was revised on August 8, 2022 to indicate the difference in opinion between Pride Toronto and Blackness Yes! regarding who requested a stop to Blockorama during the course of the event.