Black history here in Cambridge has a long history and advocates and community organizations are looking to show the past while celebrating the present.
With a goal to empower and support the black community in Cambridge, Rhythm and Blues has announced its line-up of events and celebrations for Black History Month in a city that has historically lacked on representation.
"I was always getting invited to events in Kitchener or Guelph, Toronto, but there was never anything here in Cambridge," said Marjorie Knight, founder of Rhythm and Blues. "This was one of the reasons why I started Rhythm and Blues, because I wanted to celebrate here in our community."
For Knight, Cambridge was always underserved when it came to events celebrating black culture, despite its growing population.
Now with her organization she can put on her own events and start to inspire others in the community to host celebrations of their own.
"It's really nice to put some sunshine on the great work we are doing and see our community in action," she added. "There are so many important conversations we need to have and times like these are a great way to do that."
As a part of the organization's list of events, there will be a black love celebration on Feb. 17 with guest speakers, open mics and Grammy hopeful artist from Jamacia Yasus Afari.
All events are free as the organization looks to remove barriers for members of the community and allow everyone to take part in the celebrations.
A key piece to the event that Knight is excited about is a panel discussion on what black joy looks like and why recognizing that is important.
"We know the history and we know the pain of the things that have happened, but do we also recognize the joy?" asked Knight. "Do we recognize what we need to do for ourselves so that we can access that joy that we can thrive in our community?"
The event will take place at the Cambridge Community Players (formerly Galt Little Theatre), that was originally built as a black church in the 1800s.
This is what Rhythm and Blues are calling a full circle event as they are hosting a celebration all about black history and culture in a space that was originally created for the black community over 150 years ago.
The City of Cambridge has also helped sponsor the event as well as others in the city as part of a month long recognition of the community.
“The City of Cambridge recognizes the importance of celebrating Black History Month and raising awareness of the many contributions the Black community has given to the City of Cambridge and to Canada,” said Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett in a press release.
“Thank you to the Rhythm and Blues committee for all your hard work creating this month-long series of events."
These are the list of events in the city:
- Saturday February 3: 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Art from the Heart Processing at the W Programming Centre, 20 Dickson St., Unit 101
- Sunday February 11: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Hair Joy: Celebrating our kinks, our coils, our curls hair workshop at 200 Christopher Dr.
- Saturday February 17: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. The Black Love Treatment at Cambridge Community Players, 47 Water St. S.
- Saturday February 24: 12 pm - 4 p.m. Black History Month Celebration at the Queen's Square Idea Exchange, 1 North Sq.
Knight is excited to offer programs throughout the year and help black youth beyond just the month of February.
"Black History Month is good, but it's black history 365 days," she said.
To learn more about the events and register, please visit Rhythm and Blues' website.
