She's giving Black talent a chance to be themselves and find opportunities

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2023 Black Changemakers.

You can forgive Nicole Antoine for thinking 2022 was one giant blur.

She was building up her new marketing consulting agency. She was organizing an innovative job fair. The mother of a three-year-old daughter, she had also spent the early part of the year with a newborn daughter in the neonatal intensive-care unit, after undergoing an emergency caesarean section.

"It was the most challenging experience that I've ever gone through, that I'm still recuperating from," Antoine said.

Part of what kept her going during that challenging period was her sense of purpose — her "calling," as she likes to put it.

The job fair Antoine was organizing was no typical networking event. It was called Blaxpo — an opportunity to connect Black candidates to what she described as "forward-thinking companies."

Nearly 1,000 people showed up to Blaxpo, which was held last fall in Toronto and drew a large number of participants from Montreal.

The goal was to create an environment in which Black applicants would be completely comfortable being their authentic selves. There was no need for applicants to conform to a supposed norm to get a job: no need to code switch.

It can be difficult for Black youth to get a foot in the door, Nicole said, "when the decision-makers do not look like us."

"Closing the wage gap, generational wealth, legacy building: it all starts with having a decent job."

Antoine, who is also the co-founder of Four Brown Girls, the event management company behind Blaxpo, says the job fair was near and dear to her heart.

"It was my love letter to my community," she said.

Antoine was born and raised in Montreal and spent several years working at the Côte-des-Neiges Black Community Association in the city's west end. She dabbled in almost everything there, including human resources, accounting and event organization.

"That's where I feel like I got a really well-rounded sense of what it is to run a company," she said.

'Intentional and unapologetic'

The theme of Blaxpo was "Take up space."

"So how can I equip you to do that?" Antoine said she asked herself while coming up with a concept for the job fair.

The answer was to create a "destination" that offered everything from photo booths for participants who needed professional portraits, to live podcasting and guidance from Black mental health specialists.

"It was bridging the gaps of opportunity. It was really creating a space of belonging, a space that looked like us, that felt like us," she said.

Antoine said everything about the design, look and feel of Blaxpo was carefully thought out to make people feel at home.

Companies that took part were asked to send Black representatives.

The interviews were a two-way street, she said: companies had to prove themselves to the candidates, as much as the candidates had to prove themselves to companies. That in itself was empowering, Antoine said.

'It's a mindset. It's a lifestyle'

"Having a space full of Black people ready to connect, engage together and network, I think that really made a difference," said Jayne Mandat, the event's executive director.

"The event was for our people. We weren't shy about it. We weren't trying to disguise it. We were really intentional and unapologetic."

Mandat also had a baby in 2022, born just a few months after Antoine's daughter. Both had to juggle parenting with organizing Blaxpo.

Mandat says Antoine's mentorship helped.

"She's the one that gave me the courage, the desire to want to keep going and to work as hard as I did," she said.

Mandat said Antoine is driven to succeed and to share that success with as many people as possible.

A 2023 Blaxpo event is in the works.

Details are under wraps for now, but Antoine is determined to build on last year's success.

She says now is the time for the Black community to be themselves and be bold.

"How can I pay respect to the sacrifices of my ancestors — the sacrifices of my immediate community, my mother and my grandparents — and really speak to the legacy of generational wealth that I want to provide for my two young daughters?" she asked.

"It's a mindset. It's a lifestyle."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

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.