Many want to slow things down as they ease into the new year, but with Black History Month mere weeks away, we’re into full swing planning for the third annual Tales from the 2.9—Black Canadians Sharing Their Stories in a Digital Age.
After two years focusing on Black Canadian people, I’ve realised there’s a far bigger picture that needs exploring for the Black Canadian Experience, looking at the stories and ideas that shape our community in what promises to be the most thought-provoking series yet. If you’re interested in joining and giving your two cents, please check my ask out in the pitch below! Any questions, feel free to hit me up at palmer.casey@gmail.com!
Hopefully, I’ll hear from you soon!
–case p.
Tales from the 2.9, Year Three—The List
- Thu Feb 1—We Don’t Die; We Multiply—Tales from the 2.9, Year 3
- Fri Feb 2—How Did We Get Here? A Primer in Black Canadian History
- Sat Feb 3—”Where You From?”—Canada’s Cultural Mosaic and how Black Canadians REALLY Identify
- Sun Feb 4—Where We’re AT—Reality by the Numbers for Black Canadian People
- Mon Feb 5—Why We Still Need a Black History Month
- Tue Feb 6—African-American, We’re NOT—Defining Black Canadian Identity
- Wed Feb 7—Canada SEES Race; We Just Don’t TALK About It—Why Racism’s Still Alive and Well in the Frozen North
- Thu Feb 8—IS Black Beautiful? Our Skin Colour and How it’s Valued
- Fri Feb 9—Growing Up Black in a World That Ain’t—The Trouble with Tokenism
- Sat Feb 10—Working Twice as Hard to Get Half as Far—It’s Time to Change Our Narrative
- Sun Feb 11—Power in Numbers—Why Black Organisations and Associations EXIST
- Mon Feb 12—Buying Black—The Benefits and Barricades in Supporting Black Business
- Tue Feb 13—Black Rage for $ale—Why We Need More Black Faces at the Table
- Wed Feb 14—Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours—Modern Black Love and What it Looks Like
- Thu Feb 15—A Minority’s Minorities—Why it’s Important We Accept Our Own!
- Fri Feb 16—Living Outside the Box—The Pros and Cons of Travelling While Black
- Sat Feb 17—The Rise and Fall of Caribana—The Changing Landscape of Black Canadian Celebration
- Sun Feb 18—Praise—Faith and Why it Plays a Huge Role in the Black Canadian Community
- Mon Feb 19—The Ballad of the Black Dad—Why Yes, We DO Exist.
- Tue Feb 20—Of Mental Health and Melanin—Why We Can’t Keep Denying Our Problems
- Wed Feb 21—What’s Black and Right and Read All Over—A Literary Journey Through Black Canadian History
- Thu Feb 22—Don’t Disturb the Groove—Canada’s Love Affair with Urban Music
- Fri Feb 23—Get Up, Stand Up—Creating the World We Want to Live In
- Sat Feb 24—Yam It Up!—Black Canadian History as Told Through its Cuisine
- Sun Feb 25—Fix Up, Look Sharp—Why Fashion’s So Central to the Black Canadian Experience
- Mon Feb 26—Healing the Black Community—Why it’s Important for So Many of Us to Get Fitter FASTER.
- Tue Feb 27—Where Do We Go From Here?
- Wed Feb 28—We Deserve Success—The Quest for Black Excellence
- Thu Mar 1—February’s Over, But We’re STILL BLACK.
Tales from the 2.9, Year Three—The Ask
- Pick one (or more) of the topics above and create a piece about could be written, audio or video—I’m just looking for content from more people than myself to really flesh this out
- Send me a high-resolution photo of yourself and any for the topic you’re discussing to palmer.casey@gmail.com for use in the post
- Share it with your friends, peers and contacts! What makes this project grow each year is engagement, and after sending the finalized proposal out to everyone today, the next job is working on the press release and reaching out to my media contacts!
Tales from the 2.9, Year Three—The Original Pitch
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope your 2017 wrapped up on a positive note, and that you’re well into the work to build the 2018 you’re looking for. If you don’t know me, I’m Casey Palmer—a Dad Blogger who runs Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad, working hard to illustrate my journey as a Black father of two to a world that doesn’t always get it. With January upon us, February’s hot on our heels, and for me that means I’m sourcing for my third annual Tales from the 2.9 project—something I do for Black History Month, featuring stories from Black Canadians, and featured in Metro, on CBC and in talks across the city. I’m hoping to make its third year better than ever—but I need your help.
What I need are stories. In the past couple of years, I’d always start with a questionnaire and focus on the individual—Benny the Banker, Serena the Sculptor—the same questions across the board to show how diverse we can be as people.
But our story’s bigger than that—there are broader themes to explore that do us more justice. A generation breaking ground in fields entirely different from the opportunities available to the generation before. Growing up Black in a world that’s definitely not. My goal is to put out a month of content that let us speak our truths, and I hope you’ll be game to join me in building something we can all be proud of!
I’m looking for submissions. Interviews. Vlogs, speeches and ideas—whatever helps get the ideas across.
If interested, feel free to either drop me a message here or send a high-resolution photo and your idea/submission to palmer.casey@gmail.com, and we’ll put something together.
I look forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
–Casey Palmer
