TikTok was once seen solely as a place entertain with the latest dances, skits and pranks, but here are seven Black TikTok creators from Canada using the platform to create change. February is Black History Month – an opportunity to recognize and remember the contributions of Black people in Canada. This Black History Month and year-round, TikTok is celebrating the contributions of Black creators who continue to spark inspiration and creativity through content on the entertainment platform. From originating viral moments, to teaching forgotten Black history and championing Black Joy through music, fashion, wellness and more, the #BlackTikTok community is at the forefront of…
Author: Guest post
With Canada in the thick of a snowy winter, here are five ways Canadians can celebrate Black History Month in California. We’re officially one day away from the beginning of Black History Month and while many Canadians will be taking in different activities and events locally, recent data tells us that a large portion will also be travelling abroad throughout February. There were over three times as many Canadians taking trips to the United States in February 2022 versus 2021, according to Stats Can. California has events and programming going on for locals and visitors alike throughout the entire month, commencing with launch…
Black Boys Code, an organization that equips Black youth with skills and tools to thrive in technology, opens its newest location in Chicago today, the second location for Black Boys Code USA. Their inaugural event, Black Boys Code Technology Summer Camp, kicks off the expansion with a 5-week tech program that aims to equip youth participants, ages 13-15, with confidence and problem-solving skills, as well as their digital literacy – all while having fun. “We’re so excited to bring Black Boys Code to Chicago to educate the next generation of scientists, technology professionals and engineers, to fill the diversity gap…
Toronto’s Sean Leon encourages creatives to go beyond the current narratives and pop culture norms, and to let go of their fears. Published with permission from the author. I want all the creative thinkers to report less on what’s going on or what has happened in pop culture and be the focal points that jump start the new wave of culture. I want us to stop reinforcing the same images and figures we’ve all deemed to be cool and allow space for new ones. The idea of holding back, the very notion, grows more and more perverse as time marches…
Toronto-based entrepreneur Kiana “Rookz” Eastmond talks about how she went from homeless to homeowner by fixing her mindset and dealing with past traumas. Reposted with permission from the author. Labels. We don’t often talk about the ones we give ourselves; just about the ones that are put onto us. We focus on the voice outside more often than the only one we dictate. For so many years, I had the means to start this journey, but not the mind. I had been traumatized by being homeless at 15 and the narrative never left me―“I belong nowhere. I will never have…
Award-winning, Ottawa-based francophone rapper LeFLOFRANCO shares about the inner turmoil he experienced in 2021 and how it got better “one day at a time”. Republished with permission from the author. 2021, you were absolutely grueling. You dimmed my light. You reduced my laughter and my smiles. You took away the “funner” person I can be. You took away my “joie de vivre” and replaced it with an overwhelming feeling of constantly being under pressure. Despite the fact that I know that I’m lucky enough to live everyday with my life partner and my little gem―to be able to connect with…
Published with permission from the author Reading the recent news headlines about the remains of 215 Indigenous children found at a residential school site in Kamloops hit me hard. As most of you know, recently and for the first time in my life, I visited the residential school site in Spanish, Ontario, Canada that my family members were taken to. Standing in the burnt out remains of the girls school was one of the heaviest things I have ever felt in my life and knowing that my relations were brought there hurt so much. My heart is with these children,…
Walking in two worlds is arduous when it feels like you are being pulled in different directions and pressured to identify as one thing over another. For a long time, I struggled with my identity of being Black Scotian and Mi’kmaw and felt uncomfortable sharing my identity whenever I introduced myself. One day someone asked me, “Which one of your grandmothers are you not going to honour today?” and I began reflecting on where my discomfort comes from. When I was a little girl my family and I attended the Emancipation Festival at Harrison Park to honour our ancestors who…
Indigenous Lives Matter is a four-part article series featuring Métis, First Nations and Inuit writers talking about the Indigenous experience in Canada. My name is Steven and I am of mixed cultural heritage. My mother comes from Nunavut and my father from southern Ontario and is of Scottish decent. I live in Ottawa and was raised here. I am a father of five daughters ranging in age from five years old to twin newborns. My wife and I have been married for almost eight years and both work from home, overseeing a Christian ministry whose northern branch is called the…
From the depths of the ocean emerges horror icon James Wan hoisting the sixth entry in the DCEU’s divisive catalogue of films. After much concern over a middling marketing campaign and questionable acting, Aquaman, led by Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and Patrick Wilsonhas, made a splash critically and I’m happy to report that it exceeded all expectations. For a sub-genre that has grown frustratingly stale, the last two weeks have been promising for creative comic-book movie storytelling. Between Sony’s Into the Spider-verse and Warner Bros.’ Aquaman there are signs of rehabilitation for a static genre which has become a cornerstone of…
This Thanksgiving season Warner Bros. brings the follow up to 2015’s Ryan Coogler directed Creed with Creed II, directed by Steven Caple Jr., with Sylvester Stallone taking assuming writing duties for the sixth time in the Rocky franchise. Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson return as Adonis Creed (Jordan) and Bianca (Thompson) for another heavyweight bout with dramatic implications for their future. This time Adonis goes up against the vicious Viktor Drago, son of Ivan Drago, in the latest film from the franchise. The biggest concern heading into Creed II was the loss of visionary Ryan Coogler in the director’s…
“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” is written by J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter franchise and writer of the previous entry into the Wizarding World, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. The Crimes of Grindelwald also sees director David Yates return for a sixth straight endeavor into the realm of witches and wizards. Once more, Eddie Redmayne returns as Newt Scamander alongside Dan Fogler’s lovable Jacob Kowlaski, with newcomers Jude Law as Dumbledore and the controversial Johnny Depp as the titular Gellert Grindelwald. First and foremost, The Crimes of Grindelwald excels in its visual effects department.…
