‘We are in a struggle every day’: Black History Month panel discusses challenges and opportunities

The NB Human Rights Commission hosted an important bilingual panel discussion to signal the end of Black History Month.

Four key individuals and organizations were present at the event: Black Lives Matter New Brunswick, Black elder Mary McCarthy-Brandt, the Black Business & Professional Network Inc., and the Conseil des personnes d’ascendance africaine du Nouveau-Brunswick.

The event was advertised as wanting to “highlight the crucial role these leaders and groups have played and continue to play in advancing racial justice, fostering inclusive communities, and driving meaningful change.”

Mary McCarthy-Brandt discussed her personal experience as a person of colour who grew up in Woodstock, New Brunswick.  McCarthy-Brandt said she was always “the person who rocked the boat (…) lots of time it wasn’t received well.” She cautioned the public that Black History is only one part of the reality because African descendants “are in a struggle every day. There is so much systemic racism.”

McCarthy-Brandt said “there is very little written in the archives about our community.” Her research on African-descendant communities in New Brunswick led to the creation of an organization called Remembering Each African Cemetery’s History in NB or REACH that fights the erasure of African-descendent populations in New Brunswick through the recuperation of their cemeteries in New Brunswick.

Award-winning Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility educator, Matthew Martin, one of the founders of Black Lives Matter New Brunswick (BLMNB) presented a history of the organization including its areas of focus: advocacy, youth, employment and education.

Martin stated: we need to “bring Black history to our daily conversations (…) we need to focus on the positive history (…) eliminate the erasure of our history.” Martin also commented on the needs for “sustainability of programs” for African descendants in the province, giving the example of BLMNB’s Skills for success Carpentry training program, that has run out of funding.

Black Business & Professional Network Inc. (BBPN) is a recently created membership-based organisation across New Brunswick, created to create community and empower Black professionals in the province. BBPN’s Project Manager Ovunda Green explained the different programs the BBPN organise.

BBPN is launching a youth program in April, in conjunction for awards for youth who will be mentored in their entrepreneurship. They are also partnering with various organisation to hold an international women’s day celebration.

Hadrien Gaypa is the vice president of the Conseil des personnes d’ascendance africaine du Nouveau-Brunswick (CPPAANB), an French-language advocacy organisation whose mission is to “defend the rights and promote the well-being of people of African descent everywhere in New Brunswick.”

Among other social justice objectives, the CPPAANB is trying to get NB cities to join the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination and fighting for the inclusion of Afro-New Brunswicker perspectives in educational programs for schools. It has attended various events nationally and internationally to make people aware of their existence.

“Many things are done in isolation,” Gaypa said. The CPPAANB wishes for consultation and collaboration of people of colour at all levels of decision-making.

One month of focus on Black identity “is not enough” declared Gaypa, whose organisation advocates for more education. The information about the community “must be injected into the roots of the [educational] system.”

Sophie M. Lavoie is a member of the NB Media Co-op’s editorial board.