“Warren, what took you so long?” A warm Brampton welcome to First Fridays

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

It was a brisk night on January 3^rd, 2020, but that did not keep the African-Caribbean community from coming out to welcome First Fridays, Toronto’s leading community networking event to Brampton, Ontario.

President & CEO of Black Board International and First Friday’s Warren Salmon, was joined by Ryan Knight (President of the Afro Caribbean Business Network), and Andria Barrett (President of the Chamber of Black Commerce) to usher in a new era of First Fridays’ events.

Since 1994, Warren Salmon has hosted First Fridays in Toronto (www.firstfridays.ca). He saw an opportunity to provide networking opportunities, and also to feature a variety of: business, organizations, professionals, politicians and artists all at the same time. Since then, First Fridays has evolved and now can be found throughout North America including: Montreal, Chicago, Washington D.C. and New York. Some of First Fridays’ featured clients include: The Canadian Forces, Meritas University, Planet Africa Network, RBC, RCMP, Toronto Police Services, and York Regional Police Services.

The night began with a welcome from President Warren Salmon. He thanked the Brampton business community for allowing them to begin to carve out a space in the city, and he announced that there would be more First Fridays appearing in the upcoming months. He set the audience up for the night that was to come, and acknowledged all speakers and presenters. This led to an evening of information, recognition, and jovial discussion that was filled with great food, and light banter.

One of the first speakers up was Mitzie Hunter, who announced to the Brampton community that she would be running for Premier of Ontario. Mitzie served as the Education Minister until 2018. During her speech at First Fridays, she spoke of the need for strong leadership; a person who is willing to make bold moves. “This is why I am running for leadership,” Mitzie exclaimed, Under her leadership, she plans to focus on raising the high school education rate to 90%, making it easier for workers to upgrade their skills, or obtain new credentials. Understanding the need for mental health advocacy in Ontario, she also is focused on seeing what can be done to extend the province’s health insurance program to cover mental health care for residents under the age of 30.

Following Mitzie was Ryan Knight (President, Afro Caribbean Business Network), who had some exciting news for attendees. As of January 8^th, a Social Enterprise Grant will be released to the public, and each ticket holder to the night’s event would have FREE access to a grant-writing workshop put on by ACBN. A Social Enterprise Grant provides funding to not-for-profit organizations with expertise in supporting social enterprises. The funding is used to provide mentorship, coaching, and support, in the form of a grant or loan.

The ever-enthusiastic Garnett Manning asked the question, “Warren! What took you so long?” This was received with hearty laughter, and nods of agreement. In his time speaking to the crowd, he reminded black Bramptonians that they are the 2^nd largest visible minority in Brampton making up 82,175 people, and are amongst the largest homeowners recognized in the city. “Don’t let people tell you about yourself. We hold power here in Brampton.” This fact was acknowledged, and seemed to exhilarate the now growing crowd that had turned up to Brampton’s first official First Fridays.

One of Brampton’s longest standing organizations the United Achievers Club was represented by Marjorie Taylor, and Peel School Trustee Kathy McDonald. They have an exciting year ahead celebrating their 40^th year in service to the community, and hosting upcoming events: Men Who Cook, Black History Event on February 15^th, and a Sickle Cell Program. More details on these upcoming events can be found at https://www.unitedachieversclub.com/. Kathy McDonald urged the community to come out and support the January 13^th meeting at the Peel District School Board, located at 5650 Hurontario St. at 7:30 pm. They will be taking a detailed look at the Integrity Commissioner Report and how it affects the Afro-Caribbean community.

We were all introduced to Colin McClean, the force behind Black Boys Code, a program aimed at younger men to help build their skills in the field of computer technology. They do so by utilizing mentorship, industry exposure, and intensive training in the field of computer science to help the boys advance in the now expanding technological environment. His speech was a beautiful transition to the ever-popular First Fridays Commercial Breaks. Due to the immense turnout, the commercial breaks had to be divided into two segments. Commercial Breaks provide an opportunity for new businesses to pitch what they do to the community in one minute or less. It is such a great way to get your business out there, and it assists new owners in crafting their value proposition.

The beautiful Andria Barrett (President, Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce) also had some exciting news to share. 2020 looks promising for the Chamber of Commerce as they are looking to involve themselves in mission trips, as well as starting a Black Owned Credit Union. Credit Unions are important because they are created, owned, and operated by their participants, meaning they are viewed as not-for-profit enterprises that are able to enjoy tax-exempt status. They provide traditional banking services, and can have thousands of participants, spanning the country.

Steve Kerr, Leroy Simpson (Son of LJ Simpson, former owner of Carve), and Idris Erugo explored the ideas of having black owned spaces, and the importance of these to the community. Idris Erugo evoked the crowd when he spoke of the soon to be built Black Community Hub that will provide a space for black organizations that will offer affordable rental space for business owners.