Live from the 3.5, 2019.

Last updated on November 19th, 2020 at 02:30 pm

We’re halfway through January, and before you know it February will be up close and personal and with it, all the stories of Black history we’ve waited a year to share.

Black History Month is Back Again!

That’s not entirely true—Black people are sharing their stories all the time, but is the world ready to listen? Our culture stretches to every corner of society—those flaunting their wealth on social media and in music videos. Or those seeking separation instead of assimilation as the best way to preserve ourselves. If you’re anything like me, that culture involves a little too much code-switching—trying to find our place by working with the rules of our non-Black environments instead of fighting against them and staying true to ourselves. The world gives us a number of ways to learn each others’ stories—I found The Hate U Give as a recent example, showing that no matter how much you try riding the line, the world will try its hardest to tell you who you are.

(The Hate U Give was released on Blu-ray™ and DVD on Jan 22^nd if you want to check it out for yourself!)

But that’s not the only story we have to share, and that’s why I work on Live from the 3.5 every February to tell even more.

Live from the 3.5—Telling the Stories of Black Canadian Culture

If you’re unfamiliar with my work, I’ve been running month-long projects for Black History Month, usually either interviewing other Black Canadians to hear their stories or discussing topics that affect us all regardless of our heritage, language or beliefs. I wasn’t able to put it out last year due to some scheduling conflicts, so I’m doubling down this year to get it done right.

While past years have been almost entirely in written form, this year I want to do a better job of appreciating the oral tradition deeply rooted in our history and spend some time creating podcasts for the things I’ll be discussing this February. If you have a computer microphone or a landline phone and feel compelled to spend 10-15 minutes chatting on any of the topics below, do let me know. February’s around the corner, and I’d love to start locking the recordings in sooner than later. With anyone who participates, I’ll include a photo, mini-bio and the most relevant links that tell us what you do! If you have a computer mic or landline phone, we can make it work.

Please either comment or drop me a line at casey@caseypalmer.com with your interest, and I’ll follow up.

Thanks!

–case p.

TOPICS

• 0—Live from the 3.5 2019 Intro: Being Black in Canada
• 1—What IS Blackness?
• 2—Being Black in the Great White North
• 3—“Where You From?”—Why ‘Black Canadian’ isn’t JUST ONE THING.
• 4—Where We’re AT—Reality by the Numbers for Black Canadian People
• 5—Why We Need MORE than Just a Black History Month
• 6—African-American, We’re NOT—Defining Black Canadian Identity
• 7—We’re More than What You See—Canada’s Interesting Relationship with Racism
• 8—IS Black Beautiful? Our Skin Colour and How it’s Valued
• 9—Growing Up Black in a World That Ain’t—The Trouble with Tokenism
• 10—Working Twice as Hard to Get Half as Far—It’s Time to Change Our Narrative
• 11—Power in Numbers—Why Black Organisations and Associations are VITAL.
• 12—Buying Black—The Benefits and Barriers in Supporting Black Business
• 13—Black Rage for $ale—Why We Need More Black Faces at the Table
• 14—Falling Back in Love with Ourselves—Many Won’t Do it FOR Us.
• 15—Invisible Minorities—The Subcultures We Rarely Think Of.
• 16—Travelling While Black—Why We Need to do MORE of it.
• 17—Growing up Black in 2019—Has it Changed?
• 18—Praise—Faith and the Huge Role it Plays in the Black Canadian Community
• 19—The Ballad of the Black Dad—Why Yes, We DO Exist.
• 20—Of Mental Health and Melanin—Why We Can’t Keep Denying Our Problems
• 21—What’s Black and Right and Read All Over—A Black Canadian Literary Journey
• 22—Don’t Disturb the Groove—The Come Up of Black Canadian Music
• 23—Get Up, Stand Up – Creating the World We Want to Live In
• 24—Yam It Up!—The Canadian Love Affair with Black Cuisine
• 25—United We Stand—A Look at the Black Canadian Digital Landscape
• 26—Healing the Black Community—Why it’s Important for So Many of Us to Get Fitter FASTER.
• 27—Where Do We Go From Here?—Building a Better Tomorrow
• 28—We Deserve Success—The Quest for Black Excellence
• 29—Making Black History Every DAY.