In his Black Life: Untold Stories review, Kevin Bourne says the series is “Canada as you’ve never seen it before”.
Many Canadians believe the narrative that Canada has always been a refuge or Promise Land for Black people; that we’re better than the United States when it comes to our treatment of Black people. You know, the underground railroad. It’s something Canadians have hung their hats on for decades. Well, CBC’s Black Life: Untold Stories debunks that myth, calling into question to Canada’s squeaky clean image on race issues.
Directed by Alicia K. Harris, episode one, titled “Haven, But No Heaven”, tackles slavery, dispelling the myth that Canada was a Promise Land for Black Americans fleeing persecution in the southern United States. While many Black people did migrate north to Canada, the episode builds the case that racist views against both Black and Indigenous people were embedded in government policy and held among decision makers, including Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald.
Then episode three, titled “Northern Beats”, documents the rise and coming of age of Canadian hip-hop, from Maestro Fresh Wes, Michie Mee and the Dream Warriors through to Drake. While Canada is seen today as a global centre for hip-hop, the episode explores Canada’s historical inability to export its own talent due to a lack of infrastructure and a lack of support from decision makers in the industry.
While the United States has a rich history of civil rights, Canada’s civil rights movement is often ignored. Directed by Michèle Stephenson, episode seven, titled “Justice Denied”, explores Canada’s civil rights movements and rich history of activism. It highlights the alarming number of deaths among Black Canadians at the hand of the police and the subsequent rise of Dudley Laws and the Black Action Defence Committee.
Subsequent episodes cover civil rights movements, Black migration, visual art, sports, and historical Black settlements.
With its combination of collages, quotes, archival footage, dramatizations, stunning cinematography, and interviews with an impressive list of prominent Black Canadians, Black Life: Untold Stories is Canada as you’ve never seen it before. It’s perhaps the most thorough look at the Black Canadian experience that we’ve seen on Canadian television to date. When it says “untold stories”, it means untold stories. In watching this series, viewers will learn things about Canada they never knew before.
This groundbreaking and eye-opening series is not only important for Black Canadians, but is an opportunity for Canada to learn more about itself and to see overlooked parts of its history that the school system failed to teach us. While there are some things in the series that Canadians will be ashamed of, there’s also a lot to be proud of―the strength, resilience, and creativity of Black Canadians―without which Canada would not be what it is today.
SHIFTER editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter, Kevin Bourne, is a Toronto-based entertainment journalist focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 310 international voters for the 81st Golden Globe Awards by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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