Black History Month (February) is quickly approaching, and while the Sunshine Coast doesn't have a historic black community, it does have a growing group of black community members.
Many areas in B.C., like the rest of Canada, have a rich Black history that is centuries old. Embers Moore and Jean-Pierre Makosso want to engage the community in learning about this rich and wonderful part of Canadian heritage. This February, Moore and Makosso say they want to combine Black History Month with a multicultural week and celebrate the Sunshine Coast's emerging cultural diversity. "We want people with a multicultural background to step forward. We need them at the forefront to participate, and now is the time," Moore said. "Come and express your cultural background and let's come together in February and celebrate." Beyond putting something spectacular together for this year, Moore said she wants the multicultural community to stand up and be counted so she can apply for provincial funding for future events and programs. Funding deadlines are quickly approaching, and with the proverbial show of hands, Moore said she can put something together demonstrating the diversity on the Coast. If it all comes together the way she hopes, what this means, she said, is there will be funds available to different cultural groups so they can put on events and share their culture with the rest of the community. Moore's and Makosso's vision for this February is to have a series of events across the Coast celebrating different aspects of Black history and cultural diversity in general. For now, they are planning on a play that will be written by Makosso with lots of ideas and suggestions from the community, a family day with interactive food and arts events exploring maternal cultural backgrounds and what that means to an individual. There are also plans to have musical events and arts and crafts reflective of multicultural origins. They are hoping School District No. 46 gets on board as well.
Other than Lorne Allin and his Jewish chanting workshop at the Inner Sanctuary at 5802 Marine Way in Sechelt on Feb. 3, which will mark the beginning of Black history month/multicultural week, Moore and Makosso say everything is still in the budding planning stages. They want multicultural and Black community members to get in touch with them to help plan the events, to bring their unique vision, ideas and insights into the celebrations and to make this a truly Coast-wide culturally diverse celebration. Lorne Allin will also be doing Jewish chanting at 7 p.m., Feb. 3, at the Sechelt Arts Centre.
For more information on how to get involved or to share your ideas and suggestions, contact Embers Moore by email at [email protected] or by phone at 604-741-8872 or Jean-Pierre Makosso at 604-886-3431 or by email at [email protected].
