Black Canadian 365 is a project by Hip-Hop Artist, Author, and Motivational speaker D.O. Gibson. In February 2021 - Black History Month - D.O. will post content daily documenting Canadian Black History. As a multi-disciplined artist, some of these posts will be via freestyle rap, some via long-form blog-style writing, and some via images released on Instagram. Gibson, a fifth-generation Black Canadian, has been delivering presentations to schools centring around Black Canadian History for nearly twenty years. The project was made possible due to funding from Canada Council.
“Black Canadian history holds a special place with me because I grew up with my family, stressing the importance of knowing where you came from. My father is from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and I have fond memories of spending time with family and learning about my roots in Black Canadian history. When I began delivering presentations at schools about BlackHistory in Toronto and southern Ontario, I was surprised that many people didn’t know about the history we have in Canada; instead, most of the focus would be on Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks – Black Americans. I chose to release this project online because my target audience is youth. I know that they can learn a lot from watching a one minute freestyle on Instagram. The program will also tie in with our monthly Northern Power Summit series. Our February session is called Black 365 to highlight black excellence in Canada and abroad. This has been a challenging year. From Black Lives Matter to the impact of the deaths of George Floyd to Breonna Taylor, there is a need for this information. It was inspiring to see so many people stand up for equality over the summer. I want to be able to give more tools so that we can seize this moment in history.”
Check out Black Canadian 365 here:
