CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Brian Affouan will never forget his experience at the men’s luncheon hosted by the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I.
“It felt amazing to meet other individuals just like me, learning about their journey, their difficulties, being able to understand each other for having taken similar paths,” he said.
This was the first time the Black society hosted such an event for BIPOC men on P.E.I., said president Chijioke Amadi.
After getting positive feedback from the women’s luncheon last year, including how good it felt to connect with fellow Black women mentally and physically, the society decided to do something for its men this year.
The luncheon took place Feb. 20 at Harmony House in Hunter River, with more than 25 attendees. MLA Gordon McNeilly was the speaker.
The luncheon offered a great opportunity for BIPOC men to connect and share their stories, as well as discuss issues in the community and how to address them, Amadi said.
“We had ice breakers. Everyone that attended were able to engage with someone else and tell them some things they did not know about them, like their country of birth and country that they connect to,” he said.
“(We also had a) few mental exercises, great opportunity for our guest speaker to engage and tell us how to keep working and building each other better (and how) we can be a huge part of the growing diversity and systemic changes on the Island.”
Quick facts:
- In December 1995, the House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada.
- In February 2008, Sen. Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, introduced the Motion to Recognize Contributions of Black Canadians and February as Black History Month.
- The Black Cultural Society of P.E.I. was founded in 2016.
- The society’s vision states: We want to shape the future by preserving our heritage, promoting racial equity, and creating partnerships that will assist in development and success of the Black community in P.E.I.
On Feb. 13, the women’s luncheon for the BIPOC’s women was hosted, sharing the same values.
Shamara Baidoobonso, vice-president of the Black Cultural Society, said she was glad they were able to host events for both men and women this year, even during COVID-19.
As so many events are concentrated in Charlottetown, both luncheons this year were moved far away from the city, she said.
“We made a conscious decision to make the event more geographical, so it would be more inclusive of both people who live in the Charlottetown area and people who live around Summerside and (elsewhere).”
Although it requires more work for the organizers to plan transportation, the turnout was good, Baidoobonso said.
“When people registered, they were asked to indicate whether or not they needed a drive. So, we had people who volunteered to drive their friends who they're already connected with or drive people who were strangers but (addressing) the COVID-19 guidelines.
“I’m glad we did it as we never felt more connected.”
Targeting a shared goal, Baidoobonso and Amadi both agreed due to COVID-19 protocols, the society had to keep the number of participants small, but they hope they can expand the event in the future.
Celebrating Black history should be for everyone, and it should spread to the entire year, Amadi said.
“Our history does not just start and stop in the month of February. Learning the total way of life of a particular group of people should not be once a year.”
Baidoobonso agreed, saying, “there was an interest in being able to connect informally” among individual of the community and not to wait until the luncheon next year or another professional event.
Affouan hopes he will be able to engage more with the society’s upcoming events.
“This event really made me feel that I’m not alone, and that I have countless individuals of the community to rely on,” he said. “Multiple individuals that attended the event actually agreed that we’d love to have similar meetings or ways for us to connect more often.”
The event not only offered him the chance to make friends with more fellow Black men on the Island but also comforted him there’s no reason to doubt oneself.
“Being there … gave me a different insight about my own journey. … It’s OK for the journey to be rocky, but as long as I’m still moving towards the finish line,” Affouan said.
“We were able to share numbers, add each other on social media and even promised to see other soon. It was a way for us to know how to better support each other, trust more in ourselves, and really realize how much talent there is in our growing community.”
