All posts on 2020

Former Montrealer release first album of comedy Contact Staff Here an undenialble truth. With all its uncertainties and tribulations, the world today can do with an extra dose of the tingling humor of Kris Bonaparte. So it’s with appropriate excitement that fans of the former Montrealer receive news that PremiumComedy.ca has just released (on Canada Day) his long-awaited debut album “Kris Bonaparte Is The Truth” on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and all digital audio retailers. Bonaparte bills himself as one of Canada’s finest comedic storytellers. But those who are familiar with him are just as taken in by …

Egbert Gaye As an award-winning television anchor, Adrian Harewood a former Montrealer, now plying his trade in Ottawa is fulfilling one of two obligations he has set for himself as a Black professional. “I think for those of us who are in positions of relative power, whatever job you’re in, you have an obligation to be good at it … to be excellent. But it should also an opportunity to create space and make positive change (on behalf of Black people) in any way that you can.” At CBC where he has been for the last 18, Harewood has indeed …

By CONTACT Staff Jennifer Hosten went to the 1970 Miss World pageant on a lark, representing the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada, and came home with the crown and a place in history. What was supposed to be a light-hearted affair, with a parade of the world’s most beautiful women vying for the attention of the judges and comedian/host Bob Hope, turned out to be the most controversial, politically-charged, and consequential pageant ever. Women’s liberation activists blew up a BBC broadcast truck and stormed London’s Royal Albert Hall in an attempt to sabotage the show, which they deemed a “cattle …

As T.O. city council votes for police reforms Rosie Awori (Local Journalism Initiative) Black officers in the Montreal police department (SPVM) are speaking out against the “culture of silence,” that permeates within the force and sustains systemic racism. In a letter to the Montreal Police Brotherhood, the nine Black officers expressed their surprise at the union’s president Yves Francoeur’s denial that systemic racism exists within the force. The letter also stated that Mr. Francoeur doesn’t understand their reality and asked him to acknowledge its existence in order to address it effectively. Earlier in June, Francoeur gave a series of interviews …

Egbert Gaye While his valedictory message still resonates… Accolades are still being heaped on Montrealer Nicholas Johnson, who received worldwide recognition after being named Valedictorian of Princeton University Class of 2020, the first Black person to receive the honor. On Sunday June 27, the 22-year-old was featured among entertainment’s brightest stars receiving the Shine A Light Award at the 2020 BET Awards, staged virtually and carried this year on CBS. Appearing early in the program, Johnson delivered a powerful message about the historical relevance of his accomplishment pointing to the Ivy League university’s ties with the institution of slavery. He …

Novel THOMAS I have never heard so much talk and discussion about race and racism, descriptions like racialization, racialized peoples, minorities and whatever other terms white people have coined and injected into eve-ryday vernacular to describe nonwhite peoples. Something’s brewing… Could it be the “Change…” Sam Cooke lamented in his 1965 song? These days white people, not all of them, just those with a conscience are run-ning for cover (the brave ones are speaking up) as people/victims of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds with historic generational unresolved grievances perpetrated over centuries (by generations of Europeans in the process of colo-nizing, …

CONTACT Staff The LaSalle Multicultural Resource Center (LMRC), joined forces with members of the community in curating a response to the global pandemic, COVID-19 by supplying food to the less fortunate members of the community. The current crisis shut down various public programs including the LMRC’s food distribution programs. In the face of the pandemic some parents also lost their jobs and were left with the task of providing for themselves and the children. Recognizing that the pandemic exacerbated individuals psychosocial stress causing domestic conflict, the LMRC with the help of volunteers drafted an outreach plan to serve the vulnerable …

Part of an exciting line-up of multicultural acts for this year’s virtual Jazz Fest Rosie Awori – Local Journalist Initative Conversations around how we consume entertainment and how that’s changing is definitely in the forefront right now, and it’s refreshingly exciting to watch this year as Montreal International Jazz Festival launches its first ever digital festival on Saturday, June 27 designated Multiculturalism Day in Canada, with an appropriate line-up  of diverse performers reflecting the cultural mosaic of this country. One of them is Addis Ababa born and Montreal bred Naya Ali who is carving out  her place in the local …