BY SYDNEE WALCOTT

While Black-owned business brands have always been around, the number of Black-owned businesses started seeing a higher increase in the late 2010s, and there’s no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

The High Fashion Designer Showcases and the AFWT (African Fashion Week Toronto) Runway Show was the place to be on August 23^rd, 2024. The fashion show saw Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge and Dundas Square) convert into a runway, where models strutted, wearing clothing designed by talented local Black designers.

African Fashion Week Toronto (AFWT) is a not-for-profit initiative started in 2012 by Isaac Ansah to provide a platform for Black models, designers and creatives to succeed in the fashion industry.

During the daytime, the first part of the fashion show presented just the models strutting down the runway. As daytime transitioned into nighttime, the second half turned into a Rip The Runway-style, consisting of models walking down the runway while a singing or dancing performance took place.

With the event all about highlighting the designs of crafted Black designers, here’s a list of the brands featured in this year’s fashion show:

Remmy Tee: Remmy Tee’s brand specializes in high-quality scarves designed from 100 percent mulberry silk, known for being more: progressing, smoother, lighter and more durable, unlike other types. The scarves are also natural, breathable, and supple on the skin.

House of Filyfing: The vision of Rabiya Tou’s brand is to celebrate the power of appearance. For women, looks can be a key to unlocking opportunities where only impressions matter. The brand worships the essence of being a woman and the impact of female empowerment through formal and semi-formal clothing with an African touch.

Mia Swim Wear: Although Fall is around the corner, summer is still in full swing with the Mia Swim Wear brand. Designed by Mia Swim Wear, the summer-themed brand has the perfect blend of sophisticated swimwear and summer clothing for both women and men.

Kurve Kouture: Kurve Kouture is a Nigerian-based clothing brand for curvy women who are proud of their figures and enjoy flaunting their curves. The formal pieces empower curvy women to wear stylish and sophisticated clothing, allowing their natural confidence to shine.

Omomamae Koncept and Clothing (OMK): Omomamae Koncept and Clothing (OMK) is an established premier fashion brand by Adesanmi Oluwagbnega. The unisex fashion brand sells clothing for every occasion: elegant suits, casual wear, traditional attire and contemporary pieces. Since its establishment in 2008, OMK captured widespread recognition in numerous fashion shows and earned countless awards for its designs.

Ambition: Created by the founder of the African Fashion Week Toronto initiative, Isaac Ansah, Ambition is a newly-founded brand created to represent: inspiration, success and growth. The clothing brand specializes in comforting everyday loungewear with a stylish touch.

NUYU by Stacey: Although Stacey-Ann Vassell’s line designs clothing for women and children of all shapes and sizes, the children’s line is the most captivating. The brand, which stands for Never Underestimate Your Uniqueness, sells luxurious casual and semi-formal clothing, allowing women and children to stay stylish no matter how simple the design is.

QueenFecy: Queen Fecy, a Nigerian-born fashion designer, has a fashion brand that represents more than just fashion alone. Her formal fashion brand, QueenFecy, speaks for her work as a public speaker, philanthropist, and advocate for empowering Black people and youth through all aspects.

The runway show wasn’t all to look forward to that day. In between showcases, acclaimed singers of Black heritage performed a medley of their hits throughout the show. The roster of artists the audience got to be entertained by included: B’Kem, Cobby Kai, Sophia, DT the Artist, and Silla.

The event’s official presenter, Shark Beauty, did a giveaway where audience members could go home with a Shark Beauty product. All they had to do was compete in a series of challenges.

Toronto once again shows the world that fashion lives here!

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was an historic and significant day at the City of Brampton City Hall on Sunday, August 10^th, 2024, when the Region of Peel launched its first B3 Fund.

It was over four years ago in June 2020 that Peel Region’s Council approved Resolution 2020-1448. This resolution affirms its commitment to address systemic discrimination by supporting policies, equitable funding, and programs that address the inequities faced by the Black community and other organized groups in Peel. This resulted in the formation of the Community Investment Program, which received formal support from the: Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee as well as the Regional Council in 2023.

The subsequent development of the B3 Funding Framework was intended to respond to Council’s recommendation to ensure Black-led and Black-led serving social service agencies in Peel are funded equitably through regional funding mechanisms. This funding framework for: Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving (B3) community agencies was projected to increase their capacity to deliver services in Peel. Some of the accomplishments of the Community Investment program include:

• Development of an action plan in 2020 to use an equity lens to support thinking and discussion around equity within the CIP granting streams.
• Realignment of $1.3 million to the long-term and medium-term priorities of the COVID-19 pandemic to address racial and systemic discrimination. In 2020 and 2021, 35% and 37% of successful applicants for the Capacity and Change Fund were Black-led, Black-focused and Black-serving.
• Development and implementation of a new Service Provider Profile Section within GooGrants-Peel Region’s online grant management platform in 2023 to collect key equity information.

There were several aspects to the plan which includes the following:

• B3 Advisory Board Creation
• B3 Funding Framework Development
• B3 Funding Implementation

The B3 Advisory Board is a community based social service agencies which consist of regional staff and others who have worked together to affect the following:

• Inform, educate, consult, and c-design the development of the B3 Funding Framework
• Ensure the: interests, perspectives, and needs of Black communities in Peel are reflected throughout the c-development process. There was a crude cross section of stakeholders including those from the 2LGBTQIA + food services.

Councillor Martin Reid states, “This was a long time coming. It’s just great to see so much thought put into supporting these grassroots organizations, which often don’t have formal non-profit status. This is an opportunity to not only support those organizations, but also to coach them along the way.”

Councilor Reid is supportive of the work that Juliet Jackson, Peel Region’s Director of Culture & Inclusion is doing to ensure that these funding programs are available. In a released statement, she states, “The B3 Fund responds to historical funding disparities from all levels of government. We are proud to provide the necessary resources and support to foster measurable change within our community.”

Dogma Koy, Founder of Restoration and Empowerment for Social Transition Centre (REST) described the importance of the funding. She states, “REST Centres is excited about the 2024 B3 Fund. As Black youth continue to represent the largest youth population facing housing insecurity in Peel, this fund represents a crucial opportunity to bolster our core operation, allowing us to further our mission of supporting Black youth with greater effectiveness.” She elaborates further, “The potential impact of this funding will significantly strengthen our ability to deliver essential services and drive meaningful change in our community. We eagerly anticipate the transformative possibilities this support will bring.”

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Our society is based upon a capitalistic format whether it be: governmental, financial, social, or even cultural in nature. Private concerns control our political system, through the: donation, electoral and lobbyist systems. Our efforts to assist those in need within society are hindered for lack of funds, and the private sector fights to keep their corporate taxes down. No funds available, no hiring of needed essential service professionals, school teachers, social workers etc. The art world pivots upon the private sector’s whims and likes/dislikes. The banking system sets its financial values, its determination of who, what, where, and when ethnic businesspeople can get loans or financial assistance.

Social Assistance is not socialist, but an effort on the part of the private sector to placate those: unemployed, handicapped, or homeless who would protest their lot, and even turn to violence to get fair play form their own society. Keeping our disaffected members of society somewhat happy, less angry is what it is all about. Not charity, not empathy but corporate survival techniques.

Can we demand of our governments a new way to carry out their obligatory jobs? A revolution in socio-economic thought is required.

Local-regional and national governments need to actually build homes. Building starts controlled by private concerns are slow and highly expensive. If affordable housing can become a reality our local government needs to do the building in competition with the developers of the area. Competition is supposed to happen within our capitalistic state, but instead price gouging, price setting is all the fad.

In order for local governments to build needed building starts, local and regional governments need to set up their own banks, independent of the giant banks that control our financial institutions. Monopolies like the banking system need to be ended. The City of Rochester has considered just such a project.

If a local government finds the need to hire essential service professionals to achieve better, quicker and more customer service-oriented professionalism, so be it. Cost must be applied to the tax base without any concern to a politician’s electoral demise, or success. If it needs to happen, make it so.

The private sector has held sway over our electoral process, our political leaders and the bureaucracy that they lead for too long. Our elected officials need the ability to advance societal needs above those of the wealthy, most powerful of corporations. Uncuffing our elected officials can allow them to advance the goals of society, whether that be: equality of pay, affordable housing, establishment of long-term employment over the trap of part time work, accessible non prejudicial banking systems, and so on.

Wonder why your local region cannot afford needed equipment, staff, or programs? Big business has had its way, either pressuring denying expenditures or demanding lower corporate taxes.

We cannot afford to shore up areas affected by flooding, effectively control wildfires, because corporations do not want to pay the taxes they should, fairly and equitable. Remember most money owned by persons and corporations lay in foreign offshore banks, out of reach of most government regulation. The private sector wants its cake, and then will eat it too.

What do large businesses always do? They bitch about taxes, government expenditures, those lazy welfare recipients, and so on. It is about time the public returns their anger, suspicions, and mistrust towards these faceless business organizations. Take them on. Allow your governments to break the multiple monopolies that exist in North America.