A celebration of Black community and connection

Black students, staff, and faculty unite in the Venn to celebrate their shared experiences and forge new relationships on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (TMU J-SCHOOL/ DeAndra Asapokhai)

Earlier this month, The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) gathered to celebrate Black History and honour the faculty’s Black students, staff and faculty. The event was hosted by the School of Journalism and the Dean's Office, in collaboration with Society of The Creative School, and faculty members from across the school.

Eternity Martis, one of the organizers and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, said “Making History at The Creative School” was an opportunity for students to meet each other.

“It’s a space for Black students to come and get to meet one another because sometimes we're all in different areas of campus and buildings. To come and meet new people they’ve never seen before, get to know faculty and staff, but also to collaborate, talk about collaborations or just come hang out,” said Martis.

Although the event was initially to be hosted in February to celebrate Black History Month, the organizers wanted more out of it.

“Really, as Black individuals, we're just being all the time, so we wanted to do this event outside of Black History Month to kind of say it doesn't have to happen within that February month,” said another organizer, Caron Phinney, undergraduate program director and assistant professor in the School of Fashion, as well as faculty lead in the Black Fashion Student Network.

“This is something we celebrate every day, all the time we're celebrating.”

When I arrived at the event, I could tell the organizers had pulled out all the stops.

The scents of succulent chicken, crispy halloumi cheese, and the sounds of Afro beats and electronic dance, provided by Afrique Like Me filled the Venn. The Toronto-based, West African D.J. trio included Anowa Quarcoo, a journalism ’09 graduate.

Faculty members, staff and students spent the evening eating, drinking, networking, and forming new connections they may not have made otherwise.

“I hope everyone meets someone new here. It's about making connections and recognizing that we're making history every day,” said another organizer, Shari Okeke, assistant professor at the School of Journalism. “The connections that we make today, some of those connections can lead to amazing projects next year or just maybe a friendship, who knows?”

After performing, Quarcoo looked around the event and reflected on the change since she graduated 14 years ago. “We definitely didn't have this when I was here, so it's very cool to see, and I think people had fun, which is important,” she said.

As one of the few racialized, African, or Black people in a high-performance program, I felt grateful for the opportunity to be part of something so special.

“Making History at The Creative School” is a testament to the School of Journalism's commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community that values the experiences and contributions of all its members.

It aimed to celebrate Black existence, creativity, and joy and didn’t disappoint.

“From here, we hope to continue to do more events like these,” said Martis.

“I think it's so important for students to see each other, and in the same school, and it's so important for Black faculty to be here and meet each other, but also for students to know that we're here and we support them.”

Story published here: A celebration of Black community and connection