It’s another February. It’s another Black History Month. It’s another month to remember people and events of importance in the history of the people of African descent.

Sparks in the Communities and Individuals of African Descent

Oh! Yes there are lots of people and events of African descent to celebrate in Alberta. The fashion community has become very active with numerous fashion shows to showcase designers and designs, getting noticed as high as the Premier’s Office, who requested a statement design for her Black History Month Reception from AC Awards Nominee for Fashion Designer of the Year, Alèthe Kaboré. Thousands of community members recorded their appreciation by coming out to support Africanival and Cariwest in Edmonton, and Carifest in Calgary to promote and appreciate the rich and beautiful cultures, arts, and heritage of people of African descent. African Centre cannot go un-noticed, giving full credit to the City of Edmonton, Edmontonians in general, and the late arrivals Governments of Alberta and Canada, a unique piece of achievement, one of its kind in Canada to foster communities of African descent in Edmonton and beyond through projects, programs and services.

I must appreciate the roles of the grocery shop keepers who have dedicated their lives to bring a piece of Africa and Caribbean food close to people from these communities. Talking of food, another kind of food is food for the soul. Music is food for the soul, and the promoters of African descent have not failed to bring in the latest artists from Africa and the Caribbean to entertain communities here. I will also appreciate everyone who work so hard everyday to keep food on the table for their families, displaying energy, strength, endurance, perseverance, talents, and skills while indirectly helping to build a better Albertan economy. The sporting world has also seen some shinny stars sharing their talents with the wider Edmonton community and the sports world. Black History Month proclamation engineered by MLA David Shepherd in Alberta is an icing on the cake of communities of African descent.

Challenges: “…you guys are always fighting…”

While there is a lot to celebrate as a community, there are external and internal challenges that must be emphasized. Communities of African descent still flirt among the poorest in Alberta, with the most un and under-employment. Racism is still a frequent occurrence in these communities with reports stating that people from East Africa are one of the most discriminated groups in Edmonton. Community members still struggle with the question of “where did you come from”.  

Internally, due to the struggle for survival, people of African descent have become their own worst nightmares, tearing down one another, destructively criticizing their own, used by outsiders to destroy their own community, akin to the colonial days of African nationalist killed by their own brothers, corrupt by outside forces. The community is devoid of visionary leadership to foster community unity, less reliant on government support, be more independent, give a proud sense of who they are, especially in second and third generations who struggle to identify as Canadians or their parents heritage. There is still the mentality of “the pie is too small,” an inheritance from their countries of origin with limited resources. This insecurity mindset as a result of limited resources has pave the way for lack of support for each other, backstabbing, blackmailing, and other small minded mentality. In some government quarters,  people of African descent are refused support to fantastic project ideas with the common excuse of, “…you guys are always fighting…”. This is how the weakness of the communities of African descent is turn against them, instead of trying to help them overcome it. I must say this is just an excuse to reject a project as there is division in every community I have been to, the reason we have different political parties, sports, arts, organizations and many other initiatives because we are not all suppose to think alike. We are free to express ourselves differently in a democratic country. Unfortunately, it is used as a defining feature of the communities of African descent.

Community leaders have to challenge themselves to address the challenges faced by their communities by opening the door, and pushing themselves to higher standards.  From the history of time, all the successful communities have invited the best from outside their communities to come help them grow. Communities of African descent should be no exception. Leave your comfort zone, cross over, reach out to others and let the best of both worlds flourish. There must be that aspiration to be the best. Period. Not just the best in your community but every where such that you can take your craft beyond Edmonton to the waiting world. Success is a recognition of the community to your contribution. This means any successful project or organization has the approval of the community that has supported it to become successful. This challenges the support networks within the province, especially the financial ones such as the governments, agencies, and financial backers to support these communities with no prejudices or stigma, and not use their weaknesses against them, rather help them overcome these weaknesses.

When you go out of Edmonton to deliver or share a skill or talent, you instantly become an un-official ambassador of Edmonton, and you are required to make Edmonton proud and share its success and glory with other cities. This only happens when your talents and skills are recognized at home and you can grow and share it with other places. Charity begins at home and it’s in the best interest of the entire city to support local projects, whichever communities they come from. 

Starting this Black History Month 2019, what do you want to build with the crossing over and reaching out module?

Heroes don’t usually come from outside the community but from within. Martin Luther King was a pastor who rose to prominence, crossing over and reaching out to other communities, attracting thousands of non African Americans to his movement to get civil rights on the national agenda in the USA. Barack Obama was a lawyer, a university professor, and community builder who took the reaching out and crossing over module to a new height to build a fantastic coalition that landed him in the White House. Starting this Black History Month 2019, what do you want to build with the crossing over and reaching out module?