Watching our African Canadian Culture Evolve in Real Time
I am overwhelmed with cultural pride, and an unexpected sense of relief because I have [physically] felt the shift, and evolution of our Toronto culture this weekend. A significant one.
It's been a strange end to the long weekend. They just announced the cancellation of Drake's grand finale for the OVO Fest, a celebrity-studded star on the top of our Toronto Caribbean Carnival Christmas tree. The [wedding] icing on our Black Cake. OVO started our Toronto fantasy weekend with a cypher-like gathering of Toronto hip hop and R&B legends, and then the parade returned...and the parties were back, in their original locations. Caribana was deeply missed; you could feel the emotion across the city. You could feel the appreciation for this space: OUR space. Outdoors, at that!
The emergence of Emancipation Day events are also increasing in occurrence and promotion, after last year's official designation of August 1 by Canada's House of Commons. The Freedom Train ride in particular, always resonates in an artistic and powerful way.
With the presence of [my favourite app right now] TikTok, I was able to witness the generation after me (Gen Z?, and some younger Millennials) enthusiastically embracing the parade, and the surrounding weekend of events. I watched them plan, and anticipate, participate, and assess [what the kids are now calling] "'Bana."
For years, I worried that Drake and his industry peers would have so taken their young minds and musical tastes in a different direction, that they would no longer crave the cultural immersion that we did as teens, and young adults. The basslines and dancing we gravitated towards in the 90s and early 2000s. The stories, legacies, and historical commemorations. I thought they wouldn't care.
I feared that the rhythms, the artists, and the traditions that we tried so hard to emulate and sustain and share, would vanish on said TikTok platform, in exchange for strange dance choreo, and other odd digital/anti-social interactions. And plenty of Snaps.
We thought we had lost this generation to their devices and the manipulation of algorithms, at the expense of actual knowledge and culture. But not only did they find their outside energy and reinvigorate their connection with their roots, but they also decided to integrate the content, and amplify the culture in their own way. Speed up our old songs, and apply the dancing in a new way...literally, and theoretically.
And it's not just us here in Canada, and with our occasional American cousins. It's the British too. The Nigerians. Jamaicans. Somalians. We've all somehow found increased commonalities throughout the past two years of the pandemic. Despite the rappers, and other American influences taking us all away from our deep ancestral roots...but instead, we (as a collective; assuming many have always been connected) are rediscovering the beauty of the culture. Wearing the prints, again. Speaking the languages, again. Boldly using the natural accent, again. (NOT the maddening Toronto-Man-Slang). Appreciating our uniqueness, in ways that we never really saw...but always knew existed. It's like our devices drew us closer together, and eventually validated just how similar we all are, and were raised.
I just saw a video from one of my favourite Toronto-based TikTok-ers, OhBumbaRassclot, and he was sending a message of thanks out to the "Man Dem" (aka the heterosexual Black young men of our city), praising the "ninjas" he came into contact with throughout the Toronto Carnival day for being...chill.
He was simply pleased to see that trans, straight, queer, non-binary...everyone was jumping up and enjoying the same experience, without judgement, without segregation, blinking an eye, or kissing a teeth. He praised them for the safe space, without having to even use the phrase "safe space."
That video inspired me to want to document this moment. Maybe others have already experienced it in various ways, or already come to similar conclusions, but one thing for sure is that I was skeptical at times. I lost faith, at times, but something about the energy of this weekend reassured me.
I woke up on Sunday morning, put on CP24 to see the headlines...waited a few minutes, and realized that I was relieved that there were no shootings. I was so grateful, because I didn't want anything to ruin the moment. I didn't want to see any young Black males on TV, tied to that headline. It hurts too much, particularly in moments when everyone is watching...anticipating.
We have to treat these moments, these people (our people), and these traditions with reverence. All of them, from the chipping down the streets, to the Emancipation marching and flag raising. We have to honour them. Support them. Encourage them, and feed into their progress. The more we do this, the more we all benefit.
So I will continue to give energy to my people, the people of Toronto, and to my Caribbean/African Canadian culture. I will continue to write about it, and endorse it. I will do my best to amplify the energy I feel, and the souls that produce it.
I feel the power of our community through moments like these, and I truly believe it's a spirit that's untouchable when activated. Getting to access this energy (when you can genuinely experience it--without pretense), is a blessing.
Written by SM Robinson for Kya Publishing's "Reflection & Reason" blog.
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