Celebrating the stories of Canada’s Black entrepreneurs
Ebyan Bihi (left) and Madison Henry, Ryerson students and Transmedia Zone associates, helped coordinate the #ShareTheirStory audience engagement campaign at the Ontario Black History Society launch event. Photo: Transmedia Zone.
What do a cowboy, a jazz club owner, a beautician, a newspaper publisher and an inventor have in common? All five are historic African-Canadian innovators showcased in a new project from the Rella Braithwaite Black History Foundation in partnership with the Ontario Black History Society and Ryerson University, funded by a Canada History Fund grant from Heritage Canada.
“Ryerson staff and students have been working with external researchers to produce five short films that seek to reset our expectations about what entrepreneurs look like and have looked like,” said Richard Lachman, RTA School of Media professor and executive producer on the project. “There are untold tales of Black entrepreneurs in Canada who have built successful enterprises and helped shaped the country.”
The five short films feature Mary Ann Shadd, the first female Black newspaper publisher in North America; Elijah McCoy, an inventor who revolutionized steam train technology; John Ware, an Alberta rancher who pioneered new agricultural techniques; Rufus Rockhead, who founded a legendary Montreal jazz club; and Viola Desmond, beauty college owner and human rights icon.
Ryerson student and Transmedia Zone associate Ebyan Bihi captures multiple generations participating in the #ShareTheirStory campaign at the Ontario Black History Society launch event. Photo: Transmedia Zone.
The narrators for each of the films are current African-Canadian innovators, such as Emily Mills, founder of the networking organization How She Hustles (external link) , Eddie Richardson, founder of Genesis Basketball (external link) , Femi Lawson (external link) , actor and community fundraiser, and Anthony Morgan, Discovery Channel host (external link) and founder of Science Everywhere (external link) .
“We wanted to provide this connection between contemporary people who are building new ventures and these historical figures,” explained Lachman.
The first film, on Mary Ann Shadd, was launched January 27 at the Ontario Black History Society’s Black History Month event, and the others will be rolled out throughout February. At the event, which drew 700 attendees, Ebyan Bihi and Madison Henry, both Ryerson students and Transmedia Zone associates, encouraged visitors to take a photo with the entrepreneur who inspired them and share it on social media as part of the project’s #ShareTheirStory campaign (external link) .
Emily Mills, founder of How She Hustles, narrates the short film on Mary Ann Shadd, the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America. Photo: Transmedia Zone.
“Working as an associate at the TMZ and collaborating on #ShareTheirStory has been a great experience,” said Bihi. “Engaging with a diverse audience on this project has been extremely rewarding and I’m excited to see what is next.”
As part of the project, researchers at the Rella Braithwaite Black History Foundation also developed in-depth histories on each historical figure, which are available on the foundation’s website (external link) .
RTA Productions records narration from Discovery Channel host Anthony Morgan for the short film on Elijah McCoy, a 19th-century inventor who revolutionized steam train technology. Photo: Transmedia Zone.
“We are hoping that these films become the ‘appetizer’ to get people curious and then they can go for the ‘main course’ and dive in a bit further,” said Kate McKenzie, Transmedia Zone studio manager and project manager. “We hope that students in junior high or high school could use these films as part of a research project, and it might get them excited about imagining themselves as entrepreneurs, as well.”
The films, all less than three minutes long, are designed to be digital learning materials for students, and social-media friendly for the general public. “We’ve had feedback from educators, who are hungry for content that they can show their students, because they want to tell these stories,” said Richard Lachman. “Not just for a Black history curriculum, but to be part of a curriculum where students are doing something on a historical figure in general. Teachers have invited us to come to their schools, and our partners will be doing a number of events over the course of this year.”
The Ryerson Transmedia Zone and RTA School of Media’s RTA Productions initiative have been integral to the project, which is still ongoing. So far, six Transmedia Zone students have been involved in the digital media campaign strategy, audience engagement, social media content and live event installation. While eight RTA students have worked on all the motion graphics, video, photography, studio recording, music tracks, editing, sound effects, and more. Four recent grads have also worked on the project so far, including the senior producer and production coordinator.
Plans are in the works to premiere one of the five films in conjunction with the launch of the Black Innovation Fellowship (BIF).
Attendees at the Ontario Black History Society’s Black History Month Event take their photo with the historic entrepreneur who inspired them, as part of the #ShareTheirStory campaign. Photo: Transmedia Zone.
“By telling these historical narratives, people can see themselves in a way that they might not have before,” said Lachman. “And at the same time, how do we help future innovators? So the Black Innovation Fellowship helps inspire young innovators. In a sense, they are two approaches to the issue of under-representation of people of colour in the entrepreneurial sphere. #ShareTheirStories tries to fix the historical record, and the BIF tries to change the future.”
Keep checking back to the Rella Braithwaite Black History Foundation site throughout the month of February to see all five short films (external link) .