NEWS RELEASE
GUELPH BLACK HERITAGE SOCIETY
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For over 25 years, February has been referred to as Black History Month in Canada, following a motion introduced by the Honourable Jean Augustine – the first Black Canadian woman elected to Parliament. It is the month in which we celebrate the contributions that Black historical figures have made to our society. Names like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr. – and more recently, Viola Desmond – are well ingrained in our minds. Celebrating the past has always been the focal point of Black History Month.
The Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) will be celebrating our 2nd Annual Black Heritage Month in February 2022. This month will commemorate past and present accomplishments within the Black community and set sights on our bright future ahead. While we will continue to acknowledge the resilience and bravery of those who came before us, we must recognize that Black history and experiences are much more than the narrative of enslavement.
During Black Heritage Month 2022, the GBHS will feature its #ChangeStartsNow initiative, providing educational programming on Black heritage and culture. The GBHS calls on the community to honour our past, celebrate today, and look toward the future.
With the support of the City of Guelph Re-emerging Legacy Festivals and Events Support Program, the following events, programs and activities will be presented in during Black Heritage Month:
- Freedom walk and flag raising – Feb. 1, 2022 at City Hall at 8:30 a.m.
Join us as we raise the African Nova Scotia flag at City Hall. After the flag raising, we will walk to the Heritage Hall where there will be a flag raising dedication and blessing.
The African Nova Scotia flag was introduced in February 2021 and created by artist Wendie L. Wilson. The flags colours of red, gold and green are used by people of African descent across the world. Red symbolising the sacrifice African Nova Scotian people have endured, gold represents cultural richness and green for fertility, growth and future generations. The symbol at the flags centre is Wilson’s own interpretation of the African Adinkra symbol “Sankofa” meaning “go back and fetch it”. The Sankofa bird represents the spirit of the African Nova Scotians, a resilient people who have never forgotten their history and continue to build on lessons learned in the past to create a new future. - NEUROroyalty Presents: The BIPOC Mental Wellness Journey – Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022 at 7 p.m. (online)
Dr. Ally will be providing a special NEUROchat that will be focused on fuelling your pain into your passion and purpose. We will be taking a closer look at key relationships that require immediate attention to optimize mental wellness within the BIPOC community at an individual and community level. Together we will chat about solutions that will empower you to build character ethics, regulate emotional wellness, and a new found resiliency among the BIPOC community.
*Please note and respect that this space is reserved for BIPOC and BIPOC family members only.
Free admission. Suggested donation $10 per person. To register for this online event click here. - De-Escalation Workshop: How to Deal with Hate Motivated Incidents – Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 at 7 p.m. (online)
Join GBHS board members Kween and Christine for a verbal de-escalation workshop that reviews meeting and safely responding to the care, welfare, safety and security of our community. We will cover tips and tactics on how to respond to and dissipate highly stressful or emotionally charged verbal interactions in the safest manner possible. The workshop will conclude with a Q&A section from participants.
*Please note and respect that this space is reserved for BIPOC & BIPOC family members only.
Free admission. Suggested donation $10 per person.
To register for this online event, click here. - Wellington County: Black Heritage Reclaimed – Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022 at 7 p.m. (online)
Listen to a talk by University of Guelph PhD student Wencke Rudi as she presents her research on the historical Black community in Wellington County and the Queen’s Bush.
Free admission, suggested donation $10 per person.
To register for this online event, click here. - DiverseWorks Presents: Anti-Black Racism in the Arts - Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022 at 2 p.m. (online)
In honour of Black Heritage Month, we are discussing and dissecting how anti-black racism continues to affect the arts sectors from Waterloo Region and Wellington and across Canada as a whole. Our panel will share personal experiences with racism, speak to the work they are doing to dismantle oppressive systems and offer suggestions of how everybody can engage in the necessary work of bringing equity, safety and prosperity for Black folks into our mainstream culture as Canadians.
Moderated by Raechele Lovell and featuring panelists MPP Laura Mae Lindo, Selam Debs, Kween, Kevin A. Ormsby and Natalie Sebastian.
Free admission.
To register for this online event, click here. - Fourth Friday at the Guelph Museum – Friday, Feb. 25, 2022 at 7 p.m.
Featuring a musical performance by Verese Vassell-Bowen. Verse is a singer, songwriter and recording artist. She graced the Canadian gospel scene with her debut album Forever Praise. Veresse has graced the stage with Third World, Shaggy, Maxi Priest, Juno award winning artists Toronto Mass Choir, Sharon Riley, Carlos Morgan as well as Dean Bridgewater, Carrie Wilson-Guse, Sammy Duke, Rufus John, Michael Austin Harris and Trevor Dick, to name a few of Southern Ontario's finest musicians and singers.
Event starts at 7 p.m. Free admission, Guelph Civic Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph. - Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences Exhibit - now until Feb. 28, 2022
View the Rapid Response: Collecting Experiences in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Protest 2020 exhibit at the Guelph Museum, 52 Norfolk Street, Guelph. For more information, click here. - Lantern Ale at Royal City Brewing Company, 199 Victoria Road S, Guelph
Lantern Ale is back at Royal City Brewing Company! Stop by Royal City Brewing Company and get your Lantern Ale - a distinct artisanal brew in honour of Black Heritage Month. Lanterns, prior to and during the American Civil War, were used as beacons by 'safe' houses along the 'Underground Railroad' which was a network of people and paths that helped enslaved individuals escape to freedom and in particular to the Queen's Bush settlement just north of Guelph. The lantern was not only a sign of a safe haven but a symbol of hard won freedom. Feel the love of the lantern and raise a glass to freedom with us. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the GBHS.
For more information, email [email protected]
Proceeds from Black Heritage Month events will go towards the Give a Cup Capital Campaign. The mission of the Give A Cup Campaign is freedom. Free us from our mortgage so that we will be able to allocate additional resources towards our on-going #ChangeStartsNow Education Initiative. The #ChangeStartsNow Education Initiative provides educational programming on Black history and culture as well as relevant resources on diversity, discrimination and anti-racism.
The Guelph Black Heritage Society (GBHS) is a registered charity. Registration # 80158 3907 RR0001. Tax receipts will be issued for donations greater than $25.
Established in 2011, the mission of the Guelph Black Heritage Society is to restore and maintain Heritage Hall, originally known as the British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church, built in 1880 by formerly enslaved Black individuals and their descendants who arrived in the area via the Underground Railroad. The building is a cultural, historical and social community centre serving to promote Guelph and Wellington County's distinctive place in southwestern Ontario's rich Black heritage.
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