New way to combat anti-Black racism unveiled in Ottawa

Courtesy: Odyssey Showcase

A new way to help combat anti-Black racism has been unveiled by Odyssey Showcase.

It's a series of free online videos Odessey has produced as part of a larger project to help combat racism.

The videos deal specifically with the challenges faced by Black Canadians and are part of a larger program of ongoing outreach to student audiences. Odyssey Showcase has been portraying Canadian social and cultural experiences for a quarter century by featuring the voices, stories, and history of diverse communities through artistic expression.

Tifanni Kenny knows what it’s like to be treated as the other; growing up she faced discrimination and as one of the contributors to a new project by Odyssey Showcase she hopes young people today will not have to face what she has.

“In high school just going to a restaurant and not being served because of the colour of my skin, shopping with some of my friends and being stopped because they think I’m shoplifting,” Kenny said. “Now I don’t find I get that as much. I find if I’m well spoken, if I present myself in a decent manner, I’m not looked at in that type of way.”

The project is called “Justice on Tap” which refers to the legal battle of Fred Christie, who was denied a beer at a bar because he was Black. The move was upheld as legal by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1939. The series of six videos are available online for free. It’s part of an ongoing program of outreach to student audiences.

For Kenny and the other contributors, the work on this project is part of a larger journey she hopes others carry forward.

“I’m hopeful for what we can do with the next generation, I’m hopeful for the outcome of the messages we want to share,” Kenny said. “We want the public to know and the education we want to bring about.”