Rooted in Community: Black History Month begins at McMaster

Black History Month kicked off at McMaster with an opening celebration on Feb. 3, where members of the McMaster community gathered for an afternoon of reflection and connection in the MSU Hub.  

The celebration, Rooted in Community, showcased live performances by Akilah Walcott, Landry Kalembo and Monae Mackenzie, as well as student art and reflections from McMaster leaders and student representatives.  

Eve Nyambiya, an Anti-Black Racism Education and Programs Coordinator and one of the event’s organizers, invoked this year’s theme — Rooted: Our legacy, our strength, and our future — as she opened the event.  

The theme serves as a powerful reminder to “remain rooted in our stories, identities, and lived realities,” Nyambiya said.  

“While anti-Black sentiment and challenges to equity and inclusion persist, we must continue to recognize and uplift the transformative contributions of black activists, academics, community leaders, and more,” she said.  

“Just as importantly, we must affirm that Black history is not solely defined by our pain and struggle, but it is deeply rooted in the strength, resilience, and joy. Black History Month is in Hamilton, Black history is around the world, and Black history is at McMaster.” 

In recorded remarks, McMaster President Susan Tighe spoke about several notable Black Canadians, including beloved Mac grad Lincoln Alexander, who went on to become Canada’s first Black MP, federal cabinet minister and Governor of Ontario; and Professor Emeritus Gary Warner, who was recently awarded the Order of Hamilton. 

“I welcome the chance for everyone in our community, including myself, to learn more about Black history, which for too long has not figured prominently enough in Canadian history,” Tighe said.  

Barrington Walker, vice-provost, Equity and Inclusion, spoke about the legacy of Black activism and the current political climate.  

“Black History Month is more important now than it has ever been, it’s an opportunity to think about the past, the fortitude of the ancestors that survived the Middle Passage and colonization on the continent, and imagine thriving futures,” he said. “And we must steady ourselves, as they did, for what is surely yet to come in this moment.” 

Community involvement

The event also highlighted an upcoming exhibit from the Faculty of Engineering, Rooted Beings, which opens on Feb. 10 in the lobby of John Hodgins Engineering Building.   

Designed by Omoseke Fowode, Master of Engineering Design graduate and creative lead in Engineering communications, the exhibition explores what it means to be rooted within the Black community, and draws on perspectives from six Black engineers who are advancing in their fields while creating community impact.  

In between speeches and performances, the audience also had many opportunities to get up, mingle, grab refreshments, and interact with several McMaster groups at their tables – including the Equity and Inclusion Office, Black Student Success Centre, MSU Diversity and Equity Network, Black Student Athlete Association, Black Honours Health Sciences Association, East Africans Student Association, and McMaster Somali Association.  

Learn more about the additional Black History Month events planned throughout February.