REFLECTION & REASON

Many are having conversations around being black and what that means to them. Some are just realizing what it is like to live as a black person. Some are seeing their black friends or family in a new light. Often black people mention that we cannot take our blackness off at the end of the day. It influences every single aspect of our lives and that includes our mental health. Many of us were not granted the privilege to even address our mental health. The current revolution has opened Pandora’s box in terms of what black people experience every day in their lives whether it’s microaggressions or stigma within their own community. This post is about the intricacies of black mental health and what that means. Being black and having a mental illness means: Having parents who do not believe black people can have a mental illness (that’s for white people) Not being able to tell any family outside of your immediate family that you have a mental illness (due to family dynamics, gossip or stig...

It's Caribana season in Toronto, and each year around this time the cultural conversation in the Caribbean-Canadian community is heightened. It is the season of extreme visibility, performance, entertainment options, and tourism. Politicians and other dignitaries circulate, dance, and celebrate, and calypso music is played during television commercials and on news bits. Of course, some members of the community could care less about Caribana and haven't attended the actual festivities since the 90s. Just as there is celebration, there is also criticism and disdain--to ignore this would be unrealistic. It's a festival of great anticipation, and can also be a time of deep resentment. But it's ours, and love it or hate it, it is a time when Caribbean Canadian culture is on full display, and those of us who care often say quick prayers that everything goes smoothly on the surface because the negative repercussions tend to affect us all. Early last Saturday morning in Mal...