'We were not Black': How Black identity shifts over time for some young adults

Black History Month events are planned across the city and that identity — being Black — is something that can shift over time, and between generations.

Young adults with the non-profit Immigrant Outreach Society organized a fashion show to kick off Black History Month last weekend. Many of them were from local East African communities.

Some said they only recently started to embrace being Black, leaning into that identity as a point of pride and community.

Here are three organizers and participants who shared what Black History Month means to them. 

'We were not Black'

When Dawit Mussie was growing up, he listened to pop music, played hockey and cut his hair short to blend in. 

"I didn't even acknowledge the fact I was Black," said Mussie. "The less you thought about your differences, the easier things were. But I think getting older and through experience and work and it's become very clear to me that I am Black and that's not something I hide any more."

Mussie is a junior high teacher now, and sees students today living into a Black identity in a very different way than he did as a child.

"On February 1st, as soon as I walk in the door, they're like 'Hey, you know what date it is?'"

"I think that has to do with media and hip-hop being such a big influence. No matter with their cultural background, the fact that their skin is not white, that draws them in."

But the older generation is changing, too, he said.

"Historically with our parents, maybe Black has been seen as like a word that's putting us down almost like that with the N-word. But now, Black shows strength and it shows resilience."

"With my own parents, I see it changing. I don't know if the words 'We are Black' ever came out of their mouths when we were younger.… We were Ethiopian, we were Habesha, we were Eritrean. We were not Black.

"But I think moving here and not having as big of an Ethiopian-Eritrean community around us, I think we were drawn to Nigerian people, and drawn to Tanzanian and Kenyan. We just kind of came together."

'That's what culture does … helps you find community'

Bethel Afework says Black History Month doesn't feel very connected to her family's story of immigration from Ethiopia. As a cultural point of contact, she values community-specific events such as the September New Year's celebrations more.  

"I really think there's a smaller narrative that Black History Month was birthed out of. It was an American thing. But I love being around in February, being able to see people sometimes I haven't seen all year at different events," she said.

Celebrating culture and knowing where she's from is comforting, she said.

"If I grew up without my parents being proud of their culture, I think there would be a missing part of me that I would be yearning for. Because I don't feel like there's really a Canadian culture I could latch onto."

"It's comforting to think that you come from somewhere. … I know some people don't get the opportunity to find that comfort. But wherever their identity lies, it's about digging deeper into that." 

"We need something to help us build community. I feel like that's what culture does, right? It helps you find community."

The Homestretch5:00Black History Month: Expressions of Resilience

'Black identity is not a monolith'

Munira Mohammed Tofa helped plan the Black History Month event around art and resilience because art can be a way to take a stand and express yourself, she said.

That's what her clothing choices do for her. 

"I wear an abaya and a hijab, which automatically makes me look different from a lot of people," she said. "For me, wearing the hijab is a form of showing my resilience in a society that may not welcome hijabs.

"It's making a statement to myself and showing that, hey, it's OK to be different. It's OK to stand in your truth and express who you are as a person."

For her, Black History Month is a time to celebrate her Somali-Ethiopian culture, she said.

"Black History Month is a lot of things. It's not a monolith. Black identity is not a monolith. It's an amalgamation of several different cultures, backgrounds and religions. I'm a proud Black Muslim woman and I can do anything that I set my mind to."

'You realize you're a Black man'

For Shaban Amine, Black History Month is about exploring the pride of being Black, in part because it's not an identity someone can escape.

He's now 18. And growing up, Black history seemed like just another thing to learn about in school. Then he graduated and entered the corporate world. That's when things changed. 

"You realize you're a Black man. You know, not a boy, but a man. You know what I mean?" said Amine.

"People start seeing you in a different way. Sometimes you're the only Black man there. You're the only tall person, the only person with this type of hair. Someone says something to you.

"That's when I started realizing I'm a Black man. Because I'm not gonna change, I'm 100 per cent me."

"But some people are not comfortable with that … so that's what Black History Month is about, understanding us."

"I think there's a narrative of Black History Month where it all becomes about racism," Amine said.

"But I don't think it is. Black History is about so much more than racism," he said. "It's about our journey as a people. You know what I mean? That's what it is for me — focusing on the greatness, Black power. That's what it is for me."

CBC Calgary has been working with local East African community members on a project to share knowledge between the media and community members. Read more about this partnership, and check out other reporting sparked by these conversations.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.