Let's Celebrate Together Black History Month 2017

Black History Month 2017 – Unity through Music

I approached the City of Surrey Museum and met we agreed to collaborate for Black History month this year. We have not yet finalized the event so I am reaching out to you, the community to see what ideas you may have. The event will be held on February, 18, 2017 at their location 17710 56A Ave, Surrey, BC. We have agreed to meet in December to discuss things further so you have until then to provide input.
The following is my vision of the event. I have participated in and assisted to organize events of this type for over ten years and every year has been fun, rewarding and fulfilling.


The Vision

Black History month is an event celebrated in February of each year and for me it is an opportunity to share our experience through music. February also has a week-long celebration of Multiculturism. Over the years through community involvement we have been able to celebrate February as a month to bring all people together in unity through our Black History Month celebration. The emancipation of Blacks could not have happened without the support of White sympathizers in public roles who took the message out to the world to give it voice and the support of the First Nations who greatly helped us on our journey to freedom.


Our world is quickly becoming one of great diversity and Canada now is more of a Multicultural country than it has ever been. We all have our culture to share and incorporate into the bigger picture. The Black experience is one that began before and with the birth of Canada so February is a time to go back and investigate where we came from and how we came to be. It is also an opportunity to explore the many areas in which we have contributed to society and recognize the richness of who we are as a part of the Canadian experience.

Celebrating culture is a way of recognizing the similarities we all have in our background as we share traditional, dances, music, instruments and songs. We all have the same story told in sometimes different ways or maybe sometimes the same ways. Music brings us all together as our stories are told and shared. Together we laugh, we cry, we sing and dance and celebrate.


My proposal for Black History month is to share the journey of my people through music, our universal language and unite people of varied backgrounds to participate by sharing a song or dance from their culture to create a well rounded entertaining event enjoyed by all. Gospel music introduces our journey as we moved towards freedom. The Gospel then became the Blues which then became “Soul” music which transformed to “R & B” and then “Rap” and out popped “Hip Hop”. Somehow in between this all birthed Rock, Country, and other popular styles of music. I believe that much of it is now referred to as “Old School” music by whatever is trending now.


This is a community event of sharing an bringing people together to create through hands on play shops for the children to help create an informative presentation some of the accomplishments we have made to the world and to assist in presenting. We will embrace the First Nations culture with and educational music performance. Storytelling will keep everyone captivated and performance by our up and coming Hip Hop singers and some tips on writing your own rhymes. We can have lots of fun, entertainment, education and more with your help. I am reaching out to you for any ideas, assistance. If you are an entertainer, story teller, let’s work together. Also looking for young people who may want to assist in putting together a presentation to share. We want your voice. You just have to be old enough to read or remember.
This is just an outline of what can be. If you want to be a part of what actually occurs contact me and lets talk.


Embers
mbrz300@gmail.com
778- 873-1845

The Maroons - Canada's first Freedom Fighters

The Arkawan were originally people from Venzuela who immigrated to Jamaica and absorbed the oringinal natives there. They lived in the mountains and ren now knowns as the Taino people. When Britain took over the island of Jamaica the Spanish deserted the island before the British could occupy so many of the slaves escaped to the mountains to freedom. The escaped slaves became known as the Maroons fromm the Spanish word cimarrone, meaning, untamed or wild. The slaves made regular visits back to the settlements to free more slaves. The British attempted to fight them but they used their instinctive "jungle stealth" by stripping down and covering themselves with leaves and branches and disappearing into their surroundings.

The British finally tricked them into surrendering and promised them land to farm in a new country if they would agree to leave Jamaica. So a large number of them were shipped off to Nova Scotia to the promised land. Once there they realized that the land could not be farmed they began to complain to the government. Some of them left and migrated to the island of Victoria and some were so disgruntled that they were shipped off again to Sierra Leone in West Africa, I suggest you surf the internet to find a more completer story of the Maroons. Here is a brief timeline of the events that led to the Maroons arriving in Canada. Click on the image to englargen it.