The Black History Month Confabulation
SCC and KPIRG hold two-day event to celebrate African Heritage
Black History Month is important to Canadian culture. It’s an observance that needs to be greatly acknowledged and taught through our educational system. That’s why Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Students of Colour Collective, with the help of the Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group, organized a two day-long Black History Month Confabulation on the Surrey campus.
The event, which is organized annually and was held this year on Feb. 24 and 25, was open to not only KPU students but everyone in the community. It facilitated the sharing of knowledge about the struggles of Black peoples, as well as the contributions of people of African heritage to the stock of world knowledge. These contributions span, amongst other areas, education, literature, social sciences and humanities, music, and dance.
The first day of the event saw guest speakers sharing the importance of storytelling, upbeat drumming sessions by Yoro Noukoussi, and expert panelists. There were also interactive workshops that taught about storytelling in its various forms, and highlighted its relevance to African culture. The initial day of the Confabulation concluded with Comfort Euro telling traditional African children stories through acting and dancing by African Stages.
The second day opened with a video call from Canadian senator representing B.C., Mobina Jaffer, followed by more storytelling with Comfort Euro and African Stages, and a final panel discussion. The panellists shared their life experiences dealing with racism not only in Canada, but in other places in the world such as Germany and Russia, and how it has shaped them as people.
Poet Dana I.D. Matthews blew the audience away with his spoken word performance, and vice-president of the B.C. Black History Awareness Society, Ron Nicholson, gave a compelling slideshow lecture on the history of Underground Railroads. The Confabulation added more than a dash of vibrant colours with a fashion show featuring many forms of beautiful clothing that twisted modern and traditional styles together. Ndidi Cascade ended the evening with the crowd out of their seats, dancing and rapping to her funky raps and beats.
“The Black History Month Confab is important because it brings into perspective the experiences of black Canadians,” says Tobekile Mpofu, vice-president of SOCC and one of the main organizers of the event. “We are a minority and it is not every day that the world is focusing on us and considering our contributions in art, culture, history.”
“To have people learn about us and participate in the Confabulation is very important to us because it exposes us to the world.”
