The City of Chestermere hosted its first annual Black History and Culture Celebration on Feb. 26.
Throughout the evening, over 70 Chestermere residents could have a potluck dinner, while enjoying a spoken word and song performance, and dance performances.
“It went really well, we were surprised by the turnout,” said Chestermere resident and Emcee of the event Racquel Ramsumair.
“We were inspired by the show of support in the community,” she added.
“An opportunity has been created with having the office of diversity and inclusion,” said the city’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategist Joanne Kinya Baker.
Through the opportunity, Kinya Baker, and the Diversity and Inclusion team were able to connect with people in the community to see what their needs are, and what they want to celebrate.
“Black History Month is just gaining traction in Alberta and Canada in general. We have more municipalities celebrating it, and more groups highlighting the importance of celebrating black history,” Kinya Baker said.
She added, “The gap has been met. We’re able to get a lead on some of the things we celebrate in our community.”
Prior to the celebration, members of the community came forward, wanting to share their gift at the event.
“This is going to grow into us tapping further into the talent that’s in the community,” Kinya Baker said.
“It was a very community-driven initiative,” she said.
The Black History and Culture Celebration was a community-driven event that was supported by the City of Chestermere and financed by the Alberta Human Rights Commission.
“I love the idea that people can come together. Then we’re also starting to build communication, and build love,” Kinya Baker said.
“It’s a utopic thing, but the more of these types of connections that we have between racialized and non-racialized people, the better it’s going to be. We’re creating solutions because, through education, people start to change,” she said.
The performances during the celebration opened the opportunity for conversations within the community.
“Sometimes, we have these really uncomfortable conversations. It’s really important when we’re talking about inclusion, to get to the point of discomfort where people can start to look at all of the systemic issues that we’re facing, and racism is one of them,” Kinya Baker added. “Being silent is not really helping the situation.”
For Ramsumair, it was important that Mayor Marshall Chalmers declared February as Black History Month.
“It’s also important so that we can show our contributions to the community, and even to each other,” she said.
Adding, “Sometimes you don’t really know your neighbours, it was a good opportunity to meet other people.”
With the momentum gained during Wednesday’s event, Kinya Baker and the Diversity and Inclusion team is hopeful that the Black History and Culture Celebration will become an annual event.
“The people who came said they had an amazing time, and they would love to participate and help organize future events. There is definitely community interest,” Kinya Baker said.
“I think it was really successful on many levels. We have the support of our city council, we have the support of our provincial government, that in itself speaks to the importance of an event like this and highlighting a group of people in Chestermere who have typically not been highlighted in the past,” she said.
Getting involved in the Black History and Culture Celebration in Chestermere was important for Ramsumair as she is raising her family in Chestermere, is involved in the community, and wants her children to recognize that any contributions matter.
“I want them to see that our contributions matter to the city, and the things that we do matter,” Ramsumair said.
Seeing all of the children running around and having fun made Kinya Baker realize that the event was needed.
“I’m super excited with the way it turned out,” she said.
Without the support of the community, the Black History and Culture Celebration, and other Diversity and Inclusion initiatives wouldn’t be possible.
“For me, it’s gratitude for the support the community, in general, has given the work of diversity and inclusion,” Kinya Baker said.
“The support that the community has outpoured since we started diversity work is what keeps us going,” she added. “It’s a huge motivating factor for us to be able to connect people in the community. I’m extremely grateful for how everything is being received in Chestermere.”
