Canadian spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan says it wasn’t until his parents immigrated from Jamaica in the 1970s that they discovered that they were Black.
In their home country, “race wasn’t a thing. You were your name, you were Jamaican. The end,” he said.
As his parents began their new life in Ontario, they noticed the things people would say and how people responded to them because they were Black, Morgan said.
“No one had ever treated them in those kinds of ways before… It is important that we note that while we talk about diversity and inclusion and equity, and we tell the world how multicultural we are, for a lot of people, their first experience with racism and being othered happens here,” he said.
“So we still have a lot of work to do."
Morgan, a two-time Canadian National Poetry Slam Champion who has performed for high-profile audiences including former U.S. president Barack Obama, was speaking during Scotiabank's company-wide Black History Month event celebrating the achievements and historic contributions of Black People, as well as the community’s resilience and strength.
He has performed in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean and opened for musical artists such as Alicia Keys.
Morgan is also founder of Up From The Roots entertainment, a talent production company that aims to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists.
The 2024 theme for Black History Month is “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build.” The Bank’s event this year focused on celebrating Black art.
Morgan performed several of his poems — which centre on his personal experiences — including one about his parents’ journey and his gratitude for the sacrifices they made.
Photo: Dwayne Morgan on stage at the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto
“No second guessing whether or not a better life ever existed, for as long as I continue bearing my soul through my creativity and my writing, there’ll be no need for them to yearn for the heat from the Jamaican sun because I am their dream,” he said in the poem.
“And when they look at me, I want them to see that their son is still shining.”
Morgan grew up in the Toronto suburb of Markham, where he and his sister were two of three Black students at their school. He recalled how other kids would call them names and sing songs making fun of them. He also talked about how he begged his parents to pack him sandwiches (which he hated and did not eat) instead of rice and beans so he could blend in.
“What happens is you don't even realize as a child how much all of those things that you hear shape your ability to see a future for yourself… A celebration like this is for us to understand the lived realities of other people. Because we don't always know the things that people have to do in order to survive environments that we don't even realize are hostile towards them.”
Now, as a parent himself, this takes on deeper meaning.
“When you are the parents to Black children, you have to ask yourself, ‘how do I raise these children to know that they have purpose and value in an environment that, since we have been here, has told us that we don't have those things?’ ” he said.
In a poem, Morgan described the relief he felt in the delivery room when he discovered his baby was a girl.
“Maybe having a girl would increase my chances of not having a child who would grow up to be a hashtag, trending, because the killing of Black men has been a trend since, forever,” Morgan said in the poem.
“So we write Black Lives Matter, not to try to inform others, but to try to convince ourselves in a world that is constantly showing us otherwise.”
Morgan also wrote a poem for his daughter that was later published as a book called Fairytales. Its main character is a girl of colour and the underlying message is to build young girls’ confidence and dispel the stereotypes of a princess needing a prince to save them.
"If there's anyone that needs saving, it's probably men, so don't just spend your days only fantasizing about a wedding when there's so much adventure to be had," he said, performing the poem.
Representation matters, he said, adding that his daughter wanted to pursue medicine after watching Doc McStuffins, an animated series about an African American girl who wants to become a doctor and practises by fixing toys.
“It matters to see yourself reflected in the society in which you live, not as a cliché or stereotype, but just as normal and positive.”
