As the end of Black History Month nears, Pluralisme Outremont held a free bilingual family event on Sunday to promote a better understanding of the history and accomplishments of the black community in Montreal, Quebec, and across Canada.
The group, which aims to foster understanding about the diverse groups which make up Outremont’s school communities, hosted the day-long event, which included arts and crafts, games and screenings of National Film Board movies.
The event was anchored by a roundtable discussion on black identity in Quebec which included former Liberal MP Marlene Jennings, who shared her experience as a biracial woman raising a multi-racial child in Quebec.
Jennings, who represented the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine from 1997 to 2011, offered several key insights, including “how to help your child to get through people who tend to perceive them negatively if they celebrate their African ancestry, for instance.”
Jennings was raised in a diverse family, with a French-Canadian and Belgian mother and an African-American father. She later married someone from an Italian background and they had a daughter.
“So yes, I’ve dealt with raising a child that may be a little bit different than the majority.”
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Jennings says grassroots discussions like Sunday’s roundtable are critical to progress.
“When we put our heads together, we’re usually able to come up with some pretty decent and effective solutions,” Jennings said.
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