In this CBC Original point-of-view documentary series, Amanda Parris leaves the wars raging on social media to create space for urgent and provocative conversations that centre Blackness and Black folks around the world. But this isn’t your typical host in a studio conversation. Amanda is going on the road to where the stories are.
Traveling to the Caribbean, Europe and Africa, Amanda takes conversations that usually happen in local or national arenas and instead crosses borders and connects Black communities. She visits people where they are most comfortable – in their homes, at their farms, or on the ball court and asks the difficult but important questions of our time. In Season 2, she talks with cultural leaders, activists, scholars and everyday people, on topics such as Black men’s mental health, the cost of chasing elusive hoop dreams, imagining beyond the police, food insecurity in Black communities and more. Through in-depth and intimate conversations with Black folks from across the Diaspora, Amanda is able to take conversations from the group chat to the real world.
CREATED BY ALISON DUKE and NGARDY CONTEH GEORGE
HOST KHARÅ MARTIN
WRITTEN BY ALISON DUKE, VANZ CHAPMAN and DEL COWIE
DIRECTED BY ALISON DUKE and NGARDY CONTEH GEORGE
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ALISON DUKE and NGARDY CONTEH GEORGE
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER ELISE WHITTINGTON
LINE PRODUCER NINA BEVERIDGE
CO-DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY ASHLEY IRIS GILL and KEENAN LYNCH
PRODUCTION DESIGNER CHELSEA ATTONG
EDITORS MARK VALINO, RAFEH MAHMUD, DESIREE MARSHALL, PAUL HART, LIAM HART and EUGENE WEIS
MOTION DESIGNER RAMÓN CHARLES
MUSIC LA-NAI GABRIEL
Contributors
Episode 1: Hip-Hop
Sunday, September 24 @ 7-8pm
Some people believe that Canadian hip hop started with Drake. With former Much Music VJs, Michael Williams, Master T and community radio deejays, this episode charts Canadian Hip Hop’s early beginnings from Michie Mee and Maestro to Drake and in the process uncovers a rich history of cultural activism.
Featuring: Mark Campbell, Dave Clarke aka DJ DTS, Adrien King aka DJ X, Ron Nelson, Patrick Nichols, Motion, Master T and Michael Williams
Episode 2: Toronto Carnival
Sunday, September 24 @ 7-8pm
Every year over 2 million people celebrate Toronto Carnival but not everyone knows there are hidden messages in the revelry which makes protecting this cultural institution even that more vital.
Featuring: Celena Seusahai, Dexter Seusahai, Joella Crichton, Natalie Wood, Quammie Williams and Wendy Jones
Episode 3: Photography
Sunday, October 1 @ 730pm
Capturing the Black images with photography is an artistic endeavor but because of racial inequities Black Canadian photographers create images with a political lens. This episode discusses the complexity of the Black gaze with renowned photographers and curators.
Featuring: Natalie Asumeng, Karen Carter, Michael Chambers, Liz Ikiriko, Kanneth Montague,Patrick Nichols, Claudia Pensa Bowen, James Russell and Robert Small.
Episode 4: Literature
Sunday, October 8 @ 730pm
In recent years, Black Canadian novelists like Laurence Hill and Auston Clarke, have been lauded around the world, but little is known about the history of Black Canadian literature and how it intersects with immigration and transnational movements from the Caribbean and Africa.
Featuring: George Elliot Clarke, Greg Frankson, Itah Sadu, Sharine Taylor
Episode 5: Archivists
Sunday, October 15 @ 730pm
While some of our community archivists collect others create. In this episode, we uncover what motivates members of the Black Canadian community to archive Black history and also get them to reveal some of their most prized possessions.
Featuring: Aaron Francis, Itah Sadu, Klive Walker and Winston Larose

