DETAILS
Black Film Watch Parties
Online screenings in conjunction with Black History Month
Hosted by the St. Albert Public Library. Attendance at all events is free.
First event features Journey to Justice by director Roger McTair
47 minutes
Event (including post-screening discussion) starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 4.
Visit sapl.ca to register for this event.
Screening co-hosted by librarian Geoff Manderscheid and Helen Agbonison, president of the African and African Descendents Friendship Club of St. Albert
Second event screening to be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 11.
Some of Canada’s most important Black history lessons are coming to a screen near you. The St. Albert Public Library is once again celebrating Black History Month with two Black Film Watch Parties, the first of which will feature Journey to Justice.
The National Film Board documentary focuses on some “unsung heroes,” mostly from the 1930s to the 1950s, according to the event’s guest host Helen Agbonison, the president of the African and African Descendants Friendship Club of St. Albert.
“It has six people who refuse to accept inequality in their time,” Agbonison said.
The documentary essentially pays tribute to these civil rights champions who fought racism in the streets and in court. They are Canada's unsung heroes in the fight for Black civil rights. Some of the most famous individuals it features are Viola Desmond, the Nova Scotia woman who refused to give up her seat at the Roseland movie theatre in New Glasgow in 1946 even after having been prompted to move to the section normally reserved for the city's Black population, and Fred Christie, who was denied service at a Montreal tavern in 1936 so he took his case to the Supreme Court. His legal loss didn’t diminish the worthiness of his fight, however, and it certainly paved the way for more Canadians to come forward to demand their human rights be honoured.
She will be joined by host Geoff Manderscheid, library assistant. Together with Agbonison who is returning as guest host after one of last year’s watch parties, they will lead the discussion with the help of the audience’s questions and comments from the chat.
Agbonison said she expects there will be a similarly robust exchange of comments and ideas with members of the audience during the Q&A segment following the viewing.
“It was like an eye-opener for a lot of people that don't know certain things that exist in our society,” she revealed. “Living in St. Albert, we're shielded from a lot of things, and since we don't have a very high population of people of African descent, you don't know what the challenges of all the people are in your community because you just live a normal life. You don't know other people, though they are Canadian. They actually don't have the life so easy in our communities,” she continued.
“There was a positive feedback of learning and understanding of other people's challenges by virtue of their heritage. There are certain things that come with being Black that people don't know exist.”
She said she very much appreciates that the library continues to offer this program for all to attend and benefit from. This is a family affair for her, as she and her husband bring their children to all of these events, whether or not she is guest hosting.
