Queen Of The Bands: Carnival And “Monarchy” In The (416)

Queen of the Bands: Carnival and “Monarchy” in the (416) is a solo multimedia gallery installation which explores the complexity of Queenliness through the audio and photographic documentation of four women who perform as the head female masqueraders within the complex political framework of Toronto Caribbean Carnival's 2017 King and Queen competition. The Canadian national narrative reserves Queenliness for historically dominant European figures such as the Queen of England, so what does it mean to be a woman of colour performing as a queen in a Canadian carnival celebration? The complexity of this history and the prominence of African masking traditions in carnival Mas’ making, among other cultural influences in the Caribbean, contribute to the notion of Queenliness within the framework of carnival. <div>The purpose of my photographic investigation is both to capture a tangible element of carnival’s relationship to Emancipation Day history in Toronto and, among other things, to examine the women’s representation and power in Afro-Caribbean communal celebrations. My additional objectives were the following: First, to evaluate how the historical framework of Emancipation Day in Ontario has shaped the current production of these celebrations in Toronto. Second, to contextualize the head female masquerader’s position within the historical framework of emancipation and carnival. Third, to determine the role carnival celebrations play in defining a racialized woman’s identity in Canadian society. Fourth, to investigate how employing documentary photography practices can shape the understanding of Emancipation Day and contextualize African Canadian history. Lastly, to investigate the effect British monarchal representation in Canada has on Queenliness when performed by women of colour.</div>

Queen Of The Bands: Carnival And “Monarchy” In The (416)

Queen of the Bands: Carnival and “Monarchy” in the (416) is a solo multimedia gallery installation which explores the complexity of Queenliness through the audio and photographic documentation of four women who perform as the head female masqueraders within the complex political framework of Toronto Caribbean Carnival's 2017 King and Queen competition. The Canadian national narrative reserves Queenliness for historically dominant European figures such as the Queen of England, so what does it mean to be a woman of colour performing as a queen in a Canadian carnival celebration? The complexity of this history and the prominence of African masking traditions in carnival Mas’ making, among other cultural influences in the Caribbean, contribute to the notion of Queenliness within the framework of carnival. <div>The purpose of my photographic investigation is both to capture a tangible element of carnival’s relationship to Emancipation Day history in Toronto and, among other things, to examine the women’s representation and power in Afro-Caribbean communal celebrations. My additional objectives were the following: First, to evaluate how the historical framework of Emancipation Day in Ontario has shaped the current production of these celebrations in Toronto. Second, to contextualize the head female masquerader’s position within the historical framework of emancipation and carnival. Third, to determine the role carnival celebrations play in defining a racialized woman’s identity in Canadian society. Fourth, to investigate how employing documentary photography practices can shape the understanding of Emancipation Day and contextualize African Canadian history. Lastly, to investigate the effect British monarchal representation in Canada has on Queenliness when performed by women of colour.</div>

Imaginations and Speculative Writings: Reinvesting Post-Colonial Possibilities and Subjectivities in Kaie Kellough’s Dominoes at the Crossroads

Recent studies on speculative literature emphasise the narrative presence of postcolonial thinking that proliferates within the genre. It is the case in the collection Dominoes at the Crossroads (2020) by the African Canadian writer Kaie Kellough, which attempts to re-imagine and tell the story of the black diaspora in Montreal, other than under a colonial spectrum. The short stories use a variety of speculative strategies: whether it is reinvesting a marginalised figure of a classic Quebecois novel or imagining the setting of Montreal’s future in which marginalised populations own a majority of the properties. The analysis of these stories will allow us to show how speculative literature is fertile ground for postcolonial potentialities, by allowing us to project elsewhere. Since speculative literature is a broad genre whose definition is not circumscribed, we will see how reflecting on the alternative postcolonial imaginings through such narrative allows for a rewriting that makes it possible to go beyond the colonial paradigms.

The Substance Abuse Program for African-Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY): An Innovative Program Serving the Mental Health Needs of African, Caribbean, and Black Youth

Black youth experience disproportionately poor health outcomes throughout Ontario's healthcare system, including the mental health and addictions system. The Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY) at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) seeks to address this disparity by providing clinical services to youth who identify as Black and/or as having African and/or Caribbean heritage, and their families, who are struggling with problematic substance use and/or mental health concerns. The clinical team works from an Afrocentric, culturally responsive lens to promote recovery and support Black youth in working through their mental health and addiction concerns. The program offers mental health and addictions counselling and psychotherapy, psychiatric consultation, psychoeducation, resource navigation, advocacy, and case management services to assist youth and their families/caregivers in reducing harm, moving toward recovery, and making healthy choices for themselves and their family. This paper will discuss SAPACCY’s approach to helping clients build resilience and resistance to anti-Black racism.

Special issue: African Canadians, gender, and sexuality

This is the introduction to a special issue, focusing on African Canadians, gender and sexuality. This special issue adds to the body of empirical knowledge about gender and sexuality and how they relate to identities, structures, and systems within African Canadian communities. All of the articles feature qualitative inquiries. These were conducted in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia and focused on education, policing, sexual agency and romantic relationships.<div><br></div><div>Keywords: Black; African Canadians; Race; Gender; Sexuality; Intersectionality</div>

A Men’s Survey: Exploring Well-Being, Healthy Relationships and Violence Prevention

The participation of men is critical to preventing domestic violence, however, there is still little understanding of the capacities and supports that men need for well-being and healthy relationships. A men’s survey was designed to explore and identify the capacities and resources required by a diverse population of Canadian men. Data was collected on-line and through trained community-based research assistants. Over 2,000 men from 20 ethno-cultural groups responded, and multiple challenges and enablers were identified. Responses from Indigenous and African Canadian men highlight the need for an intersectional lens in understanding men’s well-being and violence prevention.

Children of the land or the landed? Identity and second generation African-Canadian Young adults

This Major Research Paper explores the phenomenon of second generation African-Canadians young adults and their identity formation process. Through semi-guided interviews, 8 participants, 5 males and 3 females ages 18-30 of this demographic shared their experiences of identity formation in Toronto. The findings indicated that the participants have formed hybrid identities as a result of growing up between two cultures; they lived transnational lives which endowed them with the ability to have the best of both worlds; they have inter-generational conflicts with their parents, and their personal experiences have shaped their personal sense of identity. The literature in this study gives the reader an overview of the African Diaspora, the socio-economic challenges faced by African immigrants, the new acculturation process and the experiences of the second generation African-Canadians.

Children of the land or the landed? Identity and second generation African-Canadian Young adults

This Major Research Paper explores the phenomenon of second generation African-Canadians young adults and their identity formation process. Through semi-guided interviews, 8 participants, 5 males and 3 females ages 18-30 of this demographic shared their experiences of identity formation in Toronto. The findings indicated that the participants have formed hybrid identities as a result of growing up between two cultures; they lived transnational lives which endowed them with the ability to have the best of both worlds; they have inter-generational conflicts with their parents, and their personal experiences have shaped their personal sense of identity. The literature in this study gives the reader an overview of the African Diaspora, the socio-economic challenges faced by African immigrants, the new acculturation process and the experiences of the second generation African-Canadians.