Black History Month commemorated at luncheon in Montreal

February is Black History Month, and in Pierrefonds, on Montreal’s West Island, nonprofit Overture with the Arts is helping kick things off by sharing stories and lessons on Canadian Black history.

The event took place at Pierrefonds Cultural Centre.

“Today’s event is all about leadership and legacy. That is the theme for the 2025 Canadian Black History Month, I should say. And we are here highlighting Black Canadian trailblazers,” said Akilah Newton, founder and executive director of Overture with the Arts.

“We have phenomenal people like Gloria Baylis. We have Harriet Tubman, who immigrated to Canada. We have Willie O’Ree, Oscar Peterson. We’re just highlighting the amazing work they’ve done and the path they’ve paved for us. So we’re here to honour them and celebrate them.”

The annual luncheon on Saturday brought arts and education to the forefront.

“Today, our performers are going to be doing spoken word pieces where they’re talking about people who have made a significant impact in Canadian Black history. We’re placing an emphasis on Canada. There are amazing, you know, phenomenal changemakers in the States that we always hear about, but we aren’t hearing about people we have here in Canada, like Jean Augustine or Willie O’Ree. There’s Lincoln Alexander. So we really want to share these stories with the guests that are here today and just with the community at large,” explained Newton.

Montrealer Tricia Henry has been working with Overture with the Arts for over three years and hosted the event on Saturday once again.

“It’s just amazing to work with them, and it’s amazing what they’re doing, so I always love being here,” she said.

“I am from Montreal. I did move to Toronto and came back for a while, you know. But the thing is, I’m a writer, I’m a self-love advocate. I love people, I love entertaining, and stuff like that,” she added.

“In the Black community, we’re not told to love ourselves too much. Affirmations are not a thing, but I’ve made that a thing in my life because of the people I’ve been surrounded with, especially Overture with the Arts.”

Authentic Caribbean food, vendors, and child-friendly activities were also part of the event.

Rosetta Sowkey and her daughter Natalya were some of the attendees.

“There’s so much to celebrate, so much to embrace in terms of the culture, and also to have her be a part of it. It’s really important because she’s growing up, and she has to celebrate all of her beautifulness in all of her culture,” said Sowkey.

“I did face paint to match my outfit,” said Natalya.

“I think for the kids to understand their worth, it’s important for them to see what their ancestors and others have done for the community. It helps them be proud of it and also inspires them to aim to accomplish something themselves,” said Andrea Harewood, a vendor at the event.

Although February is Black History Month, it shouldn’t stop there.

“It’s important to us to know that we go beyond February, to know that there’s a lot of people actually making history, you know what I mean, in the city and in Canada as well. And that’s not celebrated as much, but today that’s exactly what we’re doing, and I think a lot of people need to know that, and it’s good to know that there’s people in history in Montreal making history,” said Henry.

Omari Newton, speaker at the Black History Month luncheon, and Akilah’s brother said: “Canadian Black History is just Canadian history. So I feel like because we don’t have a lot of information about Canadian Black history figures in our regular history books, we have to have this separate thing. But ideally, they would just talk about the contributions of Black people in history books.”

“My sister and I grew up in the West Island. So it’s nice to, at this point in our lives—we’re in our 40s now—to be part of bringing the community together and gathering for a positive reason. People of all ages, it’s like an intergenerational thing. There aren’t too many opportunities to do that, so I’m glad we can provide one,” he added.

“Black History is not just about slavery. Black History is really about celebrating Black excellence. And it’s about promoting our culture and our community, not just in February, but throughout the year. So, although we’re kicking off Black History Month here today, and there are only 28 days in the month, we want to celebrate it year-round,” said Akilah.

“This is not just a one-month period where myself and my community should be celebrated. We need to celebrate our contributions year-round because there are so many phenomenal Black trailblazers right here in our backyard, in Montreal alone, that people don’t know about. So it’s important to talk about these stories every week, every month, every year—year-round—and just continue to shine a light on the incredible Black community that we have.”

Akilah sent warm wishes, saying, “Happy Black History Month to everyone and have a beautiful month.”