Latest news with #BlackCanadians
Cision Canada
28-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
BOF Capital Unveils Groundbreaking Investment Funds to Empower Black Entrepreneurs and Homeowners
First-of-its-kind initiative delivers financial solutions built by and for the Black diaspora across North America TORONTO, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Black Opportunity Fund ("BOF") is proud to announce the launch of BOF Capital Inc. ("BOF Capital"), a game-changing, first-of-its-kind initiative dedicated to tackling systemic economic barriers and building generational wealth for Black communities. Its' initial two privately sponsored funds represent a groundbreaking shift— investment funds designed by and for the Black diaspora across North America. BOF Capital is launching two groundbreaking investment funds aimed at fostering economic inclusion: BOF Capital Growth Fund: An impact focused fund investing in Black-led businesses, providing financial backing, mentorship, and market access to help entrepreneurs scale and succeed. The Fund will target initial capital commitments of $100 million. Ourboro BOF Capital Opportunity Fund: In partnership with Ourboro Inc., a housing investment fund, designed to increase Black homeownership through an innovative shared equity model, ensuring more Black Canadians can build wealth through home ownership. The Fund will target initial capital commitments of $50 million. BOF Capital is pleased to announce the appointment of Gajan Kulasingam as its Managing Partner. Mr. Kulasingam, a seasoned finance executive with extensive experience in impact investing and economic development, will lead BOF Capital's strategic direction, ensuring its funds create meaningful, long-term impact for Black entrepreneurs and homeowners. "I am honoured to have the privilege to lead BOF Capital. We know that access to funding has long been a barrier for Black entrepreneurs, limiting opportunities for growth and success," said Gajan Kulasingam. "We also understand the importance of homeownership for wealth generation and socio-economic mobility for Black Canadians. BOF Capital is tackling these inequities head-on—providing the financial backing and strategic support needed to help Black businesses thrive while ensuring more Black families can achieve homeownership and build generational wealth." At its core, BOF Capital is about community-driven economic empowerment. By addressing systemic barriers to funding, BOF Capital is creating an ecosystem of support where Black-owned businesses can grow and scale, families can secure housing and build equity, and generational wealth can ultimately be catalyzed within Black communities. Said Craig Wellington, CEO of BOF: "We are creating innovative and sustainable pathways to economic empowerment by directly addressing the funding and opportunity gaps that have historically limited Black Canadians and those across the diaspora, from building generational wealth." For BOF Capital, the numbers tell a clear story: systemic barriers continue to hinder wealth creation for Black entrepreneurs and aspiring homeowners. Most recent data reveal that Black-owned businesses receive less than 1% of total growth capital, limiting their potential for growth and success. At the same time, homeownership remains one of the most powerful drivers of generational wealth, yet only 44% of Black Canadians own homes, compared to 72% for the general population. BOF Capital understands that closing the wealth gap starts with closing the homeownership gap, ensuring more Black families have access to the financial resources needed to build long-term stability and prosperity. "We're very proud to partner with BOF Capital to unlock home ownership for Black Canadians," said Nicholas Pope, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer of Ourboro. He added, "As a social impact business, catalyzing generational wealth creation for a historically underrepresented community is core to our values as a business." BOF Capital is pleased to announce the constitution of its Board, represented by Lori Hall-Kimm, Narinder Dhami, Kurankye Sekyi-Otu, Christine Williams, Noberta Faustin, Craig Wellington, Dennis Mitchell, Ray Williams and Colin Lynch. Each of these individuals brings invaluable knowledge and expertise to BOF Capital, and their work will directly contribute to the firm's commitment to bridging the investment gap for Black-led businesses and creating accessible pathways to homeownership for Black Canadians. As the latest phase of the Black Opportunity Fund's transformative strategy to disrupt traditional models of philanthropy, BOF Capital is redefining traditional financing models that have historically underserved Black communities To learn more about BOF Capital – please visit To learn more about Ourboro – please visit About BOF Capital BOF Capital is a sponsored entity of Black Opportunity Fund (BOF), dedicated to empowering Black entrepreneurs and families through strategic investments in business and homeownership. As a private funded, Black-led investment initiative, BOF Capital is setting a new precedent in impact-driven investing. About Black Opportunity Fund Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) is a community-led Canadian Charitable organization, that supports a prosperous, healthy and thriving Black Canada by challenging anti-Black racism in two ways. Firstly - responding to long standing underinvestment in Black communities, by delivering sustainable and needs-informed capital streams, managed by Black people for the benefit of Black communities. Secondly – working nationally to strengthen collective actions by Black organizations and leaders, helping them to create new and more impactful ways to support and advocate for our community. BOF prioritizes initiatives around education and youth, health, women and gender, criminal justice, entrepreneurship, arts, culture and recreation, and food insecurity, that impact the quality of life in Black communities across Canada.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Canada's hidden history of oppression and justice
As Canada prepares to mark the 191st anniversary of slavery's abolition this August, new research and ongoing land disputes highlight how historical injustices continue to shape the nation's social and political landscape. #Operation Sindoor India-Pakistan Clash Live Updates| Missiles, shelling, and attacks — here's all that's happening Pakistani Air Force jet shot down in Pathankot by Indian Air Defence: Sources India on high alert: What's shut, who's on leave, and state-wise emergency measures Canada's slavery legacy comes into sharper focus Recent excavations in Quebec City have uncovered artifacts linked to enslaved households, coinciding with the release of digitized slave registry records by Library and Archives Canada. These findings confirm: 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nhà giá rẻ gần bạn – Danh sách đề xuất phù hợp dành riêng cho bạn Bất động sản | Quảng cáo tìm kiếm Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Over 4,200 documented cases of enslaved individuals in New France and British North America Live Events Slave auctions conducted in Montreal until 1797 Continued indentured servitude of Black Canadians post-1834 'These records prove slavery was integral to Canada's early economy,' says Dr. Natasha Henry, president of the Canadian Slavery Institute. The federal government has pledged $2.3 million to expand the Africville Museum in Halifax, where archaeological work continues at the demolished community site. Indigenous land rights at crossroads 2025 has seen heightened tensions over resource projects: Coastal GasLink Pipeline Wet'suwet'en land defenders continue court battles despite BC Supreme Court injunctions New RCMP enforcement actions reported last month Ring of Fire Mining Project Ontario Superior Court recently upheld First Nations' right to veto development Federal impact assessment ongoing Clean Water Crisis 27 long-term drinking water advisories remain on reserves $4.9 billion allocated in Budget 2025 for infrastructure Policy developments Key 2025 milestones include: Implementation of UNDRIP Action Plan Phase 2 Launch of Black Canadians Justice Fund ($860 million over 4 years) Senate debates on Bill S-255 (Slavery History Education Act) 'Reconciliation requires confronting hard truths,' notes Justice Minister Arif Virani. 'Our 2025 initiatives aim to address both historical and contemporary inequities.'
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- The Guardian
The Underground Railroad went all the way to Canada – and a new photo exhibit preserves that legacy
Between the late 18th century and the end of the American civil war, tens of thousands of Black Americans escaped the bondage of slavery by fleeing plantations to go north. The Underground Railroad had stops in states in which slavery was illegal, such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York. But for an estimated 30,000 people, the journey continued beyond those states into Canada. Early Black American settlers in Canada – people who became Black Canadians before Canada was a country – made an indelible mark on their new home. They created thriving communities across Ontario and Nova Scotia and as far west as the Manitoba border; they founded abolitionist newspapers and paved the way for waves of migration that would follow. But in the years since their arrival, with subsequent waves of migration led by others of African descent, the story of Black Canadians whose ancestors participated in the Underground Railroad has largely been untaught. An exhibit, on view at the Art Windsor-Essex in Windsor, Ontario, until 8 June, seeks to preserve their stories. 'We've been in Canada longer than Canada has been a country, because it was 1867 when Canada became a country,' said curator Dorothy Abbott, whose family settled in Owen Sound, Ontario, the northern terminus of the Underground Railroad, in the early 1850s. 'My grandmother was born there in 1876, and my mother was born there in 1917.' North Is Freedom: Descendants of Freedom-Seekers on the Underground Railroad is a photo essay of 30 images that celebrate and preserve the living legacies of freedom-seekers who escaped slavery. Those legacies are often highlighted in the exhibit through their descendants: Irene Moore Davis, a historian descended from Susan and Charles Christian and George Braxton Dunn who fled Kentucky and Ohio, respectively, before the Underground Railroad led them to Canada; Dr Bryan Walls, whose ancestors John Freeman Walls and Jane King Walls fled North Carolina; and Spencer Alexander, whose ancestors Thomas and Catherin Alexander also fled Kentucky for Canada, all figure prominently in the show. Many of the descendants have taken up the banner themselves, becoming historians working to preserve the lives of their ancestors. Abbott's ancestors originated from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and arrived in Canada five generations ago. A quilt Abbott created that depicts her family is featured in North Is Freedom. She connected with Yuri Dojc, a refugee from Slovakia and the photographer who came up with the idea for the project years ago. Dojc's parents were Holocaust survivors, and he 'understands from a personal perspective the hardships that people coming up on the Underground Railroad would have experienced', Abbott said. 'They're not similar, but [still kind of the same],' Dojc said. 'It's about freedom, about struggle, about cherishing the past – or, at least, remembering the past.' Dojc's interest in the descendants of freedom-seekers came after he'd visited a town in Northern Ontario, and saw a monument to the Underground Railroad. He inquired about the monument, and was put in contact with a woman, 200km (125 miles) from Toronto, who told him about the history. 'I learned that this place was the last stop on the Underground Railroad, so I was asking if I can take pictures, which I did,' he said. 'And then I couldn't stop. I was thinking about [how] there must be more places. I wanted to know more about the story.' He approached the Ontario Black History Society, where Abbott was serving as a board member, to see if they could help connect him with descendants. Unbeknownst to him, Abbott and the administrator at the time were both not only descendants themselves. Throughout 2016, Dojc took photographs of the descendants, and with sponsorship from TD Bank and the Canadian embassy in Washington DC, the first iteration of North Is Freedom opened in September of 2016. Abbott officially joined the team for North Is Freedom shortly thereafter, and helped the exhibit travel to Nova Scotia. The exhibit has since made its way to Ottawa, Brampton, Niagara Falls and St Catharine's – all places, like Windsor, that are significant to Black freedom-seeker Canadian history, even if many Canadians don't realize it. 'It is not something that's taught in school, and we're bringing the descendants to the forefront, all grouped together,' Abbott said. 'Many of the people that are part of the exhibit are also historians working at different museums and galleries or teaching in schools. Being able to tell their stories collectively is – we're living history.' Sign up to The Long Wave Nesrine Malik and Jason Okundaye deliver your weekly dose of Black life and culture from around the world after newsletter promotion For descendants, participating has meant an opportunity to share their stories and their families' stories, in some cases, for the first time on such a scale. 'A lot of them are people like me that are in their 60s, 70s and 80s, and we want to be able to tell our stories for our children and grandchildren,' Abbott said. 'But we also want to pay homage to our ancestors who blazed the path before us and suffered hardships and racism to bring us to where we are today.' Working with and meeting the families was a 'discovery', Dojc said. 'It was something which we all knew about, but once you get deeply into it, you just realize what an interesting and important part of history it is,' he said. 'I was amazed by how much the flame of history is in everyone I photographed. Everyone knows deeply their past and they all knew their ancestors – some of the people went six generations down. The closest one was a gentleman in a small farm, and he was only three generations removed from the person who crossed the border.' Abbott and Dojc both hope the exhibit can continue its journey and, ideally, end up in the States again. 'The people that are in this exhibit came from all different parts of the United States,' Abbott said. 'Some of them, their ancestors escaped to come north. Others, like Mary Ann Shadd, were abolitionists and they helped people to escape. There's both sides of the story being told.' She has already connected with other descendants, including some distant relatives, hopes to keep meeting people, and hopes that Dojc continues to document them. 'We want to tell our stories. We want to travel with this exhibit. We want to share it. We want to find more,' she said. 'There's more people. I've got a running list of people that we need to photograph still – I just want to make it as big as possible. It's important for us to be able to instill that sense of pride in our children and grandchildren.'
CBC
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Gatineau's street names should reflect city's Black history, researcher argues
Out of thousands of streets in Gatineau, Que., so few are named after Black people that you could count them on one hand, according to a political science researcher urging the city to make changes. Patrice Emery Bakong, a Ph.D candidate at the Université de Montréal who's based in the western Quebec city, investigated how many streets and other public places in Quebec are named after Black people. He was surprised to find they were so poorly represented, considering that as of 2021 Black people make up around 10 per cent of Gatineau's population. "It's only a matter of justice, because we are all people of Gatineau," said Bakong. "I have two young children ... and I want them to have something they can hold onto." Bakong reached out to city staff to talk about how they can be more inclusive of the Black community, and is slated to present his research to city council on Monday. "I want to change the rules [about] how the streets and public spaces are named after people," Bakong said. Just 2 streets, one alley, one park According to Bakong's research, two streets, one park and one alley in Gatineau are named after Black Canadians: La Ruelle and Le Parc Jean-Gardy-Bienvenu are named after a 12-year-old boy who drowned in Montreal. Rue Jean-Alfred is named after the first Black member of the National Assembly of Quebec. Rue Oxford is named after London Oxford, the first Black settler in the Ottawa Valley. Recognition like this is vital, said Gatineau's only Black councillor, Bettyna Bélizaire. "It's about a sense of belonging," she said. "There are a lot of people from African descent that have helped build the Quebec that we know today, and their names need to be recognized." Gatineau has seen its Black community grow significantly in the last 20 years, Bélizaire added, making it doubly important to recognize them. Struggles and solutions A wave of Black people immigrated to Gatineau around the start of the 21st century, Bakong said, and the population has kept growing since then. But since that population is relatively young compared to other demographics, there's a unique barrier to getting recognition on public infrastructure, Bakong said. In Quebec, people must be dead for at least a year before something can be named after them — a rule Bakong thinks should go. "It's not fair for Black people," he said. One way around the rule, Bélizaire argued, is to use the names of Black people whose influence was international. And she and Bakong both suggested using other words instead of names, like "Négritude," a cultural and political movement among French-speaking Black people. Coun. Isabelle N. Miron, vice-president of the Gatineau Toponymy Committee, told Radio-Canada in French they've strived to promote inclusivity. Those efforts, Miron said, have included renaming Rue Amherst — which honoured a controversial British general whose legacy regarding Indigenous people has long been debated — to Rue Wigwàs, which means "white birch" in Anishinabeg. The same efforts should be made for the Black community, she said. Bélizaire said it's important to ensure residents know they can propose names. The city reviews submissions, she said, and cultivates a list to use for future projects. One Black person's name is on that list now: Marielle Lapaix, a businesswoman who was known as the "grandmother of the entire Haitian community in Gatineau." If the one-year rule was dropped, Bélizaire suggested honouring former city councillor Mireille Apollon, a recipient of the Order of Gatineau and the Prix québécois de la citoyenneté.
CBC
23-03-2025
- General
- CBC
Historic Black community in N.S. plans restoration of cemetery
Residents of the historic African Nova Scotian community of Beechville are planning work to revitalize the local cemetery after being awarded a grant from the Halifax Regional Municipality. The $10,000 grant has been awarded to the Beechville United Baptist Church under the Anti-Black Racism Grants program. The initiative, which was unveiled last year, is aimed at helping Black communities deal with systemic and historical challenges. In recommending the funds, the city said the project will help preserve the stories and contributions of Beechville's ancestors, while fostering a "sense of pride, respect, and connection for families, visitors, and the broader community." "It would be very important to our community that the gravesite is looking proper," said Iona Duncan-States, who is a member of the church cemetery committee. "The way it should be looking, for our loved ones." The 85-year-old African Nova Scotian is also a deacon with the church and her mother, father, sister and nephew are buried in the cemetery. She visits the graves every Sunday. She said she has noticed deteriorating conditions. "The ground is sinking in spots," she said. "So we do need to do a total renovation of the gravesite. It's really in desperate need of repair." Many members of the Halifax-area community that was founded in 1813 have family buried there, so it means a lot there is now money to restore the grounds. Part of the grant will go toward helping identify some of the unmarked graves at the site. A number of white crosses have fallen down at the church that has been a cornerstone of the community for nearly 200 years. "To walk through the cemetery and see unmarked graves is kind of upsetting to me because there's still somebody there," said Josh Crawford, who is the funeral director in the community and cemetery assistant chair. "And so we're trying to figure out ways of recognizing who is in those plots." Attempts will be made to identify some of the graves through archival research and by talking to residents. The eventual plan is to create a historical map of the grounds. "And just placing a marker there to show that … somebody is there," Crawford said. It's expected work will begin within the next six months. Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
