Black History Month 2020!
As February arrived, I was more excited than usual — the reason you may ask? With the stress of school, work and defining who I am through the trials of adulthood, Black History Month was approaching us to remind me to be proud, to feel unified and to keep being my very best. Between the shows, events and discussions surrounding BHM, there was a lot to explore online and locally. I want to take you on a magical journey of my Black History Month!
I kicked off the Black History Month with seeing ads for one of the newest documentaries on Netflix. They’ve Got To Have Us was my introduction to Black History Month. This mini-series focuses on the importance of Black Cinema. The angle was how different actors and directors contribute to the success of Black Hollywood.
There are great influential figures such as Spike Lee to Barry Jenkins and Harry Belafonte to John Boyega. One generation after the other continues to play crucial roles in opening up paths to make movies like Get Out, Black Panther and many more accessible and possible to be made.
Within this time, I also noticed that the City of Toronto is hosting their 25th annual KUUMBA Black History Celebration. This is held at Harbourfront Centre and has a unique variety of events and showcases that cater to the history of the black community.
Major exhibitions consist of:
Colin Kaepernick – Know Your Rights Camp Public Art Installation
A showcase that outlines the basic rights of a human through the perspective of major black known figures.
Ekow Nimako – Building Black: AMORPHIA
This showcase has eight new artworks comprised of over 50,000 Lego.
DJ SKATE NIGHTS
Nightly skates with popularized DJs throughout the city.
Other amazing events and shows have been playing throughout the month of February to work alongside the KUUMBA’s 25th year of running.
There are two events that will kick off the Black history celebrations for this month! Sofar Sounds will be hosting a black history month show that will highlight local artist. Sofar Sound is a music organization that hosts surprise events throughout Toronto. Tickets are $20 per person and it will definitely provide a great experience. For these events, you don’t know where the show is located until the day before and you have no idea who will be performing until the night of.
Alongside this event, there will also be TD’s Black Diamond Ball. This is a black tie affair that connects influencers of all industries together to combat inequalities and make new connections. This will be held at the Fairmont Royal York and tickets fluctuate between $105 – $250.
Interesting Read! I am thankful to be enlightented!
Black History Month has been an amazing refresher for all the world and offer an opportunity to relook at this culture and appreciat it.
For only $20, I might have to go and take a look myself! Great read.