Every February, people in Canada are invited to participate in Black History Month festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities.
The theme for Black History Month this year is February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day. The Municipality of Kincardine celebrated Black History Month on February 24th by hosting a workshop in partnership with Bruce County. The event recognized the creation of the Afro-centric mural at the Davidson Centre which celebrates the history and contributions of members of the Black community.
The evening featured a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony for the mural by releasing the time lapse video of its creation: https://youtu.be/yvCwpRb_Ui0.
At the event, Mayor Glover recognized local community members Jenny Hunter and Meag Durkin and thanked them for their leadership in making this mural happen. Mayor Glover also recognized the mural’s artist, Phillip Saunders, for his contribution of beautiful art to this community.
To talk about why representation matters, the event also included a panel of three Black leaders who discussed their history and how important it is to see yourself reflected in art, textbooks, media, literature, history, photos etc. The speakers for the evening included:
• Dr. Eugenia Duodu, CEO of Visions of Science network for learning, committed to empowering low-income communities through the STEM program, and featured on the mural
• Phillip Saunders, the talented artist who created the mural
• Parul Pandya, founder of Community Impact Consulting and a passionate leader in ethics and social justice
• Jennifer Hunter, a local musician, educator and community activist
The Municipality of Kincardine is working to nurture a community where all residents and visitors feel accepted, connected, free from barriers and have a real sense of belonging. To advance this work an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Strategy is being formed by the Municipality of Kincardine. To learn more visit: www.kincardine.ca/IDEA.
