Black History Month starts on Sunday, and a familiar face will be rolling along OC Transpo buses in February. As part of OC Transpo’s celebration of Black History Month, a new mural titled “Pride of Dreams” will be displayed on three buses, featuring many notable people and symbols from the capital and Canadian history. The mural was designed and developed by Ottawa artist Jimmy Baptiste, OC Transpo says. “Like a lot of art, this mural begins with a dream. In the image’s centre, a young boy sits in front of a computer, developing and planning an idea that began as but a spark in his mind,” a post on OC Transpo’s website says. “Jimmy Baptiste’s childhood was filled with these sparks – with comic books, cartoons and graffiti planting seeds of inspiration in the artist’s mind. The urban setting that surrounded Baptiste provided a canvas and a gallery alike, one that Baptiste says was equal parts educational and inspiring.” CTV News Ottawa anchor and reporter Stefan Keyes is one of the people featured on the mural. Keyes is an award-winning journalist who anchors CTV News at Five and CTV News at 11:30, and reports on breaking news on CTV News at Six. He is also an actor, vocalist, and volunteer. “An award-winning journalist who turned aspiration into reality, (Keyes is) living his lifelong dream of being on television and in entertainment,” OC Transpo says. The mural also features Ottawa-born blues musician Angelique Francis. She won the 2023 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year for her album “Long River.” “A powerhouse of talent and determination, her dream to sing has blossomed into a legendary career as one of Canada’s foremost Blues musicians,” OC Transpo says. Long-time Canadian athlete Charmaine Hooper is also featured. A member of the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame, she played on the Canada women’s national soccer team from 1986 to 2006. She was born in Guyana, but moved to Ottawa as a child. A soccer field on Colonnade Road in Nepean bears her name. “Her story speaks to the strength of discipline and the courage to break barriers,” the transit service says. Symbols on the mural include the sign for Barber Street, named after Paul Barber, an enslaved man who dreamt of freedom and achieved it against all odds, settling in Ottawa, marrying, and raising a family. The sign for Brown’s Cleaners can also be seen, honouring founders Pops and Estelle Brown, celebrating the business they built and the role it played in helping new immigrants find work in the capital. A Canadian railway porter rounds out the figures featured in the mural, “representing the men who dared to dream beyond the confines of their labour,” OC Transpo says. “They organized and fought for better working conditions, building an influential union that changed lives in the process.” Baptiste is quoted as saying the goal of the mural was to pay tribute to Black trailblazers and community figures who helped shape Ottawa’s cultural, historical and creative identity. “At the same time, it was important to honour the strength and sacrifices of our ancestors. Giving thanks to the people whose hard work helped build better futures for generations that came after them,” he said. The mural was a collaboration between Baptiste, Black History Ottawa, the Ottawa Black Art Kollective (OBAK) and the City of Ottawa.
