In multicultural Canada, there are: more than 7 million citizens born abroad (half of them in Asia) and as many with neither French nor English as their mother tongue; about 250 ethnic origins declared in the official census; and then no less than ten months of officially recognized heritage.
Tamil month is celebrated in January, and March is dedicated to the Irish, of course. Jews and Asians divide May, while German Canadians, Islamic history and Latin American heritage are celebrated in October.
Black History Month occupies February to “recognize and celebrate the tremendous contribution black communities have made to our country for 400 years,” according to the February statement by Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion of the United Nations. Canada. The first month of its kind was created in 1978 based on a similar American event, itself linked to the Negro History Week launched in 1926 in the United States. February marks the birth of abolitionists Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.
The House of Commons officially recognized the event, unanimously, in 1995. The National Assembly did the same in 2006 after a consultation on the participation of black communities in Quebec society. It is the oldest, most well-known and frankly the most celebrated of Heritage Months with unparalleled media impact.
“We have a certain blazon, we have worked hard for this recognition and to become a fixture in the Canadian landscape,” said the To have to Michael Pierre Farkas, president of Black History Month in Quebec. Black communities represent diversity in itself. We are diversity. Multiculturalism is found even within black communities. “
This Canadian perspective has been based for half a century on a state desire to recognize ethnocultural contributions to the building of the country linked to a fight against the discrimination suffered by some of these same ethnocultural or racialized groups. Mr. Farkas recognizes himself in this dual objective which combines diversity and equality.
He himself was born in Montreal and adopted by Europeans who emigrated to Canada in the 1950s. “Farkas is a Hungarian name,” he explains. My mother is of Swiss origin. Her parents adopted eight children of Greek, Mi’kmaq and other origins. “It’s always enriching to share and understand the other. It is more important to go to discovery than to argue. “
Friday, Mr. Farkas participated in what he calls “a pilgrimage” in the Eastern Townships in the footsteps of former slaves in the region. It makes the duty of memory a necessity to nourish the current struggles. Its commitment to Black History Month goes hand in hand with relentless social activism within the Afro-Quebec community.
“Certain reflexes have followed me since the days of slavery and colonialism. Knowing that, we have to take charge, we have to move forward. Our youth – not everyone – is struggling. Both boys and girls are at risk. The pandemic has increased the problems. The big question right now is: where are our kids? They’re on social media hurting each other by pouring out a lot of hate. We have to get back to work in the communities. “