Loyalist College commemorates Black History Month with Equality Week

Henry Bibb was born a slave, but escaped to Canada where he became an author and journalist.

By Beatrice Toplitsky

BELLEVILLE – February is Black History Month and this year events in the Quinte region require a little more creativity than usual.

The Loyalist College student government plans to hold a virtual viewing party in recognition of Black History Month, but the time, date, and film are still pending according to office manager Nancy Simpson. In the meantime, the residence staff is coordinating “Equality Week”, a series of virtual events that will allow students to explore the concept of equality.

Students in residence at Loyalist College can sign up for these events by emailing residence housing officer Thomas Crowhurst. Image by Loyalist College.

Also in recognition of the month, a Grade 6 student from the Prince Edward Collegiate Institute will be interviewing black Canadians each Monday on 99.3 County FM. Rihanna Harris, who is 11-years-old, will join the County Grapevine show as a special correspondent for the month. Harris has already recorded two interviews – one with the Honourable Jean Augustine and another with Olympic champion Donovan Bailey.

Appropriately, Canada’s Black History Month theme for 2021 is “The Future is Now”, and participating will require a little ingenuity for Canadians as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep us apart.

To learn more about Black History Month, you can visit the Canadian government’s webpage dedicated to this years campaign, or the Ontario Black History Society.

In the meantime, it’s important to remember that Black History has been made in Canada’s socially distanced forums dating back centuries. Learning about important moments in Black History and celebrating black achievements from afar is a longstanding part of Canadian history.