February is Black History Month, an opportunity to discuss diversity in education, society, economics, and politics.
This year’s theme is Connecting Communities- Hearts, hands, history.
“There’s a lot of heart that goes into the work that we do,” said Nadia Thompson, chairperson and program director with Black History Manitoba. “And there is a lot of hands that make this work a little bit easier to get it done. And then there’s a lot of history behind what we’ve been doing for the last 44 years and we want people to realize the connection.”
To help get the conversation rolling, Black History Manitoba has planned several events, educational programs, and cultural celebrations including a few that will take place in January.
“We were asked to collaborate with a couple of different people and we thought this would be a great way to provide that avenue that we’re doing this all year round, so not everything has to be put in the shortest month of the year”
The first event to take place is the Black History Month Community Market. It will take place on Jan. 23 from 6-9 p.m. at the Club Regent Event Centre. That will be followed by the Black Student Union Summit on Jan. 24 and 25 at the Huddle at 17 St. Mary’s Road.
“And then on Sunday, Jan. 26, the opening ceremonies will take place at New Anointing Christian Fellowship,” said Thompson. “We want people to realize the connection of all the other history. Whether Asian history, South Asian history, Indigenous history, or Canadian history, there’s all a connection there and we wanna be able to celebrate together.”
Thompson says she hopes that people will take this opportunity to learn the history of the Black community in Canada and how they play a role in Canada’s growth.
“Black history is Canadian history, and it’s important for us as human beings to know more about other cultures and other backgrounds, other ethnicities and celebrating Black History Month is just a way to acknowledge, to celebrate, to have fun, to educate and get more knowledge about a different culture.”
Black History Month festivities in Winnipeg will wrap up on Mar. 1 with a closing ceremony at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
To find a full list of events visit bhmwinnipeg.com.