Calgary’s 2021 municipal election is on its way, and so is change. Ado sits down with community organizer, high school teacher and City Council candidate Courtney Walcott to discuss his outcomes-based approach to systemic change and vision for Ward 8.
Read MoreCome celebrate CIFF’s 22nd year, from September 23rd to October 3rd.
Read MoreIf Black empowerment is such an important cause in real life, is it not also important in virtual ones?
Read MoreThat one day, almost ten years to be exact—this country would be my home too…I wish I knew that discovering things virtually, was another foreshadowing of what was to come.
Read MoreLike Issa Rae, renaissance man Chris L. Butler writes for a Black audience that is not often glamorized: the Black nerds. BLERD: '80s BABY, '90s KID is Butler’s debut anthology of poems, laced with ‘90s pop culture, hip hop, nostalgic video game and cartoon references and best of all: eloquent, Blackity Black poetry.
Read MoreA sociological analysis of Normani, Willow, and Lizzo’s presence in pop culture.
Read MoreBeyond Black squares, businesses that are true allies to the Black community are taking action to support Black-owned businesses.
Read MoreWhile metal chooses some of us, others may just have been born that way, and Ohene Ifrit could be one of those people.
Read MoreUp in Amber Valley, J.D. Edwards was known for using his passion for sports as a tool for political unity. So when he started his own team, known as the Amber Valley Baseball Team, it was no surprise to the community, nor the rest of Wild Rose Country.
Read MoreA poem of Solidarity
For my brothers and my sisters
Of the R E D
Same way BLM
Got y’all marching with me
Gotta shed a little love
Spot a little of light
BLM be on my left
And I got RED on my right
Ballin’ up both fists
We be on the resist
Sick and tired be shit on
Now we taking a piss
Mobilizing online
Gonna march in the streets
We get met with opposition
Clock us takin’ the beats
It’s the same old story
That you tired of hearing
It’s the same old glory
That we tired of fearing
So we challenge those who never live
With something to lose
If you’re gonna walk a mile with us
Then take off your shoes
Predictably some people wanna play the blame game
Privatizing privilege
Perpetuating poor
Forego a light stroll down Memory Lane
Let me simply take you all on a Starlight Tour
Sixties scooping
Seventies slaughter
Aching eighties
Nineties Nada
Damn thing changed
We past 2000
Lack of Health Care
Last of Housing
Sift through semantics
Talk etymology
Sometimes subtly
Suppressing the psychology
Displaced
Now Found
On the reservation
Understand the word
Means state of limitation
Paying much attention to sensational drama
Speaking not of Intergenerational Trauma
Looking for injustice
It’s right here at home
Down with Apartheid
It’s based in our own
First things first now
Understand treaty
Doesn’t mean surrender
Doesn’t mean needy
All are us of Stewarts
And not just some
With the needs that are greater
Than the few or the one
Copyright © 2021
Wakefield Brewster
aka: DaLyrical Pitbull
Professional Poet & Spoken Word Artist
Professional Poetic Interpreter™️
Mainstream media has trained society to absorb trauma narratives about Black women, making us believe many lies about Black women’s bodies and our sense of self. To counteract those narratives, Sarah speaks with three Black women from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Read MoreAs of July 20, 2021, artists can apply to work under the leadership of Jae Sterling and Contra through Arts Commons Incubator - a new multidisciplinary artist development program.
Outliers is one of the most unique books I have ever read (for several reasons), this is a book where Gladwell makes the dubious claim that an individual’s birth month will determine their ability to be a great professional hockey player, backing up the claim with statistics. A real Canadian dream. However, these causal narratives allow Gladwell to slip in some of his more problematic ideas.
Read MoreWithout the long history built on the backs of enslaved peoples of Africa, the musical landscape of the world as we know it today would be very different. As the blues were born out of a deep, intrinsic need to connect with one's origins and build community, so have been many of the most listened to genres across the globe.
Read MoreBola Rahman began writing to hold onto memories that she hoped to share later, with her favourite uncle. Today the Nigerian-born, Calgary-based author has self-published her first book Finding Home, with all of the proceeds supporting the upcoming Lagos Christmas Drive.
Read MoreSummertime, retail, and colourist microaggressions.
Read MoreWithout the history of spirituals and work songs passed between slaves in the plantation fields of the Deep South, much of the music that is popular around the globe would not exist.
Read MoreYou may have heard the term microdosing from trendy media like Goop, Poosh and Forbes. But is it a healthy and realistic solution for your mental health concerns? For this article, I spoke with harm-reduction expert Ashlene Crichlow about why Black people should consider embracing psychedelic therapy.
Read MoreFor a long time, the erasure of Black Canadian history has allowed for the notion to persist that Black people living in North America could more or less be categorized as African Americans. But that could change. The Canadian Institute for People of African Descent (CIPAD) affirms African Canadians as a distinct people with unique experiences and challenges, and aims to give voice to African Canadian experiences through data, and alter the current trajectory through policy.
Read MoreWith a degree of involvement in at least three bands, all of which have elements tied to the Caribbean and its history, Ohene Ifrit is one of the most interesting figures in their metal scene.
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