BY SELINA McCALLUM
An event that set out to uplift and empower the black community for the start of Black History Month did not go as planned. The National Black History Month Expo took place in the Global Kingdom Ministries building on February 1st, 2020 in Scarborough from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., but there was a turn of events.
The four-part event’s purpose was to pay tribute to the legacies and accomplishments of black Canadians while encouraging cultural exploration, discovery and celebration.
The event opened with a sold out prayer breakfast and networking session. However, former senator Don Meredith’s appearance caused an uproar. Naturally, there were some upturned eyebrows from some formidable leaders in the black community.
Meredith resigned from the Senate of Canada a week after the ethics committee recommended he be expelled from the Red Chamber for his alleged relationship with a teen in 2017.
Farley Flex: Media Consultant, Music Promoter, Artist Manager, and Motivational Speaker, was disgraced at the fact that Meredith was given an opportunity to speak at the prayer breakfast.
“We need to move our community forward. You can’t advance if you’re not holding the people who are taking our community backwards accountable, especially if you embrace it or don’t address it,” said Flex.
Flex let his business partner, Rodrick Bererton, know he was leaving because he didn’t want to be in the same space. “If you don’t stand for something, in my opinion, you stand for nothing,” said Flex.
Bererton commends Kingsley Cato, the President of the BHM Expo, for hosting a positive event, but was disappointed when he saw that Meredith was scheduled to speak at the breakfast.
“When I saw former senator Meredith there, I was immediately appalled. As a father to daughters, and in my work capacity, somebody who comes into contact with young women (some who have been sexually assaulted), I have a lot of empathy and awareness in terms of the harm that people like former senator Meredith can do to people’s lives,” said Bererton. “It is nothing that we should be applauding or even condoning.”
The Senate Ethics Officer, Lyse Ricard, released a detailed report in March documenting Meredith’s relationship with a woman known as “Ms. M.” Due to the evidence, Ricard believes that Meredith and Ms. M had intercourse three times, including once when Ms. M was 17 years old.
“To my knowledge, this individual has never made a public apology for his actions that had him removed from the senate. He has never taken responsibility for that,” said Bererton.
Meredith has denied many of the allegations against him by the woman in question, but he admitted he had sexual intercourse with her on at least one occasion when she was over 18.
The President of BHM Expo and Samantha Bachan, the Corporate Sponsorship Coordinator were unaware of the former senator’s past.
Cato said that they were not expecting that reaction when they invited Meredith to speak at the breakfast. Once the men approached them and told them of Meredith’s history, they asked Meredith not to make his address.
Although the morning was sold out, the rest of the afternoon leading up to the concert was quiet.
The Canadian premiere of Kony, a feature film about two lovers caught in the conflict and the choice between love and duty, was delayed due to technical difficulties. The following Success Summit was cancelled.
Bererton was supposed to be one of those speakers, but he left the event. Robert Small an African-Canadian artist was one of the speakers. For 26 years, Small has created a poster called “Legacy” that features famous African-Canadians. Small has played a significant part in elevating the awareness of black history across Canada and internationally through his art.
“We need to take control of our own image, as well as our destiny,” said Small. For Small, Black History Month is about educating yourself on the great leaders of the past. “Black History Month is knowing your history, and knowing how it can empower you as an individual by showing that many people in the past accomplished great things, and you can accomplishment great things too,” said Small.
Small feels that Meredith’s presence is not what Black History Month is about.
“His actions are contradictory to the spirit of Black History Month. He made a mockery of what black men should stand for,” said Small. “It’s doing our community a disservice. We aren’t celebrating our failures; we’re supposed to be celebrating our victories.”
The Black History Month Expo ended the day with a concert that featured reggae artists, African artists and dancers. It is unfortunate that the appearance of one person seemed to have such an unfavourable effect on what could have been such a memorable event. This is a part of life; everyone has lessons to learn.
Kenneth blandly
February 5, 2020 at 12:53 pm
The summit was not cancelled but delayed. Three speakers presented to rooms with much less than the 260 people that registered.
John Franklyn
February 5, 2020 at 3:27 pm
The man in the picture is not Don Meredith? Who is he? There is no title. Should we not know the person photographed in such an inflammatory article?
Brittney
February 7, 2020 at 6:12 am
John,
Why would she put a picture of his face on the cover when you can easily do a google search of his face to see who he is and what he looks like?
She is reporting on the event and by smacking a picture of his face on the front of the article, takes away from the actual event; therefore making it all about him when it shouldn’t be.
The event was to celebrate Black excellence and Miss Selina was speaking her truth and reported on what she saw and what those around her were saying about having this senator in attendance.