Ajax Black History Month celebration an international affair

AJAX — It will be an international affair in Ajax on Saturday where a Black History Month celebration will involve the arts, culture and a visit from foreign dignitaries, including the consul general of Haiti.

It all takes place on Feb. 20 at Town Hall, 65 Harwood Ave. S., from 4 to 7 p.m. The consul generals of Barbados and Jamaica are scheduled to attend the event, as are well-known Canadians such as Canadian Idol judge Farley Flex and boxer and radio personality Spider Jones.

The event is being run as a partnership between the Cultural Expressions Art Gallery, located at 62 Old Kingston Rd., the Town of Ajax and the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre of Durham.

“Last year we had our Black History Month Celebration at the gallery, but it’s kind of outgrown the gallery,” said Esther Forde, the curator at Cultural Expressions. When organizers went looking for a larger venue the partnership with the Town of Ajax was formed.

“The Town has really stepped up to celebrate Black History Month,” said Ms. Forde. “We’re very pleased with the work we’ve seen in Ajax.”

Cultural Expressions is displaying artwork by local artists, most of whom have Afro-Canadian or West Indian backgrounds, outside council chambers. Ms. Forde said the work is an example of the type of art that can be seen in her gallery from artists representing a dozen countries.

The Saturday celebration will also include music, poetry readings and a display of African artifacts, many of them from Ghana.

Most of them are from Genevieve Solomon’s personal collection. The pieces have been shown at the Ajax Community Centre and drew a positive response from people.

“(They say) who did that? Where can I find them to buy?” said Ms. Solomon, who is the youth host coordinator for the Women’s Multicultural Resource and Counselling Centre. Youth will be volunteering and participating in the event.

In addition to the celebration, the Town of Ajax will conduct a cheque presentation to the consult general of Haiti for $6,000 which councillors voted to donate to the Haitian earthquake relief effort, said Sharlene Melnike, the Town’s community development coordinator.

A percentage of the sales of the artwork will also go to Haiti relief, said Ms. Forde.

Ms. Forde also stressed that everyone in Ajax is invited to celebrate Black History Month.

“I think it’s really important, what’s the point of celebrating Black History Month with only the black community?” she said. “We want everyone to learn and everyone to communicate and hopefully in 10 years, we won’t have a need for Black History Month because everyone will know.”

In addition to the art and artifacts, there are posters highlighting the achievements of black people. The theme this year is inventions and inventors.

Among those highlighted is Elijah McCoy, who invented the automatic lubricator used to oil the steam engines of trains in the 1800s. Ms. Ford said he was the man behind the idiom “the real McCoy”. Other inventors highlighted include Garrett Morgan, who invented the traffic signal, and Charles Drew, who developed improved blood storage techniques which he used to create the first large-scale blood banks during the Second World War. He also fought against the racial segregation of blood.