By: Deeka Douglas
Happy Black History Month! As a Black Canadian coming from Jamaican descent, I am proud to be celebrating Canada’s 43rd Black History month. This is a month where discussion and reflection on black issues and accomplishments get highlighted and hopefully not forgotten by the end of the month. The last two years for the Black Population were difficult, to say the least. Witnessing the rise of hate crimes, cries for help, and change being silenced brought a lot of emotions. Many, including myself, were left questioning our safety and future.
For this Black History Month I would like to take a different approach towards discussing Black History. There are more stories to tell besides the history of slavery, Jim Crow and the “I Have a Dream” speech. All of these are important topics, yet they're often reused in school and in the media. Black History is more than pain and struggle. The Black diaspora has come a long way, not only in terms of social justice but in education and innovation as well. So, who is interested in learning about Black accomplishments of 2021?
Christopher Desloges - ASL Interpreter
Throughout 2020-2021 Christopher Desloges had interpreted many of the provincial COVID-19 update announcements. His work allowed many Ontarians with disabilities to access important COVID-19 news. Prior to taking up sign language interpretation as a career, Desloges learned it for his Aunt Jane, who was deaf, and considers her his motivation as to why he interprets COVID-19 news. Due to his hard work, Desloges was thanked by thousands on Twitter and by Premier Doug Ford himself! Desloges is one of the few black interpreters in not only Ontario, but all of Canada. It's important that black youth see a familiar face in professional roles such as this, as it may inspire children interested in pursuing such a career. It always makes me happy to see black people excelling in professions that are typically white dominated as it shows how hard we work.
Dr. Kizzamekia Corbett - Lead Scientist for Moderna Vaccine
As COVID-19 persisted, the necessity for a vaccine arose and scientists and doctors, worldwide, got to work immediately. Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, was the leading scientist in creating and finalising the Moderna vaccine. Prior to working on the COVID vaccine, Dr. Corbett studied viruses like SARS and MERS for 6 years. Considering the American history of testing medicines and vaccines on black slaves, the distrust is understandable, which is why having a black woman develop a COVID vaccine increased the trust Black people had in medical science and the vaccine itself. Yet, to this day Black people continue to face medical discrimination as questions regarding their health are ignored and any help for conditions they may have, are denied. Having a black woman develop the Moderna vaccine was a perfect representation of Black excellence.
Victor J Glover - First Black Man to Live on The ISS
Before space exploration, outer space was viewed as an empty, unknown void with stars and celestial bodies. As space travel became possible, Victor J Glover was the first black man to live on the international space station. Out of the 300 NASA astronauts who went to space, only 14 of them have been black. As a young man, Glover was great at math and noticed the stem field lacked black representation. He was encouraged by his fifth-grade teacher to pursue Engineering. As such, he completed a bachelor degree and two master degrees. He then flew and tested planes for the US Navy spending 2000 hours in approximately 40 Aircrafts.
Cynthia Marshall - First Black Female CEO of the NBA
In terms of the players on the court, the NBA has grown to be a black dominated industry. However, the business aspect of the NBA is still white dominant. For a sport so deeply rooted in black culture, it surprised me when Cynthia Marshall was appointed the first Black CEO of the NBA. In her time as CEO, she put $5 million into communities for education and mentorship in order to enact change at the community level.
There you have it, various Black accomplishments of 2021! Aside from these four individuals, there are a lot of black people worldwide who did amazing things this past year. I am looking forward to seeing what more we can accomplish and to see my people flourish!