MOOSOMIN - Every February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and festivities that honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. Frankin Emereura of Moosomin, said Black History Month to him is another way to celebrate history.
“To me there’s not much of a difference of Black History compared to other histories of the world,” he said.
“When you talk about Black History it’s one of those histories like the history of the world. I don’t think it’s different from other histories, the only difference is that some people are not aware, because of differences and because people haven’t travelled for a while, and some are not widely read to know that there are other races and big cultural differences.”
“When you talk about civilization, places like Egypt, things like writing that are studied from those places, conversations about the pyramid, the seven wonders of the world, things like that.”
“There are so many things you can talk about that are originally black so to speak, but migration and other things make people become separate from their root, that’s why when we are talking about black history, we should understand that history is history.”
Emereura said he thinks this month represents awareness about cultural divides.
“This is just a month set aside to talk about everything black, but more or less it should be reaching out to make the world a global place, trying to bridge the gaps that divided people from one another, especially those that made them to be seen as black or white, rather than more of peaceful and loving communities,” Emereura said.
“I might be the only black person around here but I will tell you that I’m well received, well accepted, I feel very free.”
“It’s a wonderful community to be in and I’m hoping maybe more people are going to come, maybe even from Africa around here, because you have people from different backgrounds like Scottish, German, Polish here, but not many black people are here, so if there’s anything I would love to do is to encourage more people to come here so we can make it a loving community and embrace different races.”
He said he found himself in this town by the nature of his job, and is happy he made the choice to come to Moosomin.
He said when he first came to Saskatchewan in 2012, he met people in Mankota.
“Black History Month is one of the things people should know about. When I first came to Saskatchewan I was discussing with some people and you find out people don’t know certain things because they were never surrounded by them before,” Emereura said.
“The world is becoming a global village everyday, there’s a need to have that awareness in different areas, of culture and practices in life.”
He said his experience in Moosomin has been great and the community has touched him in a positive way.
“It’s very good, in the summer there’s a lot of activities going on, outdoor activities, sporting activities things like that. It’s something that you love to experience.”
“The community has had an impact to me in different ways, I have met friends here and I haven’t lacked anything, they’re very supportive. From different projects I’ve done in town or outside of town, the community has been a big support. Whatever we want to do, they come together and we move together, it’s a very strong place.”
He said some of the projects he has worked on with the community include charity work, volunteering at places like the food bank and the thrift store.
When asked if there was anything in the future he would like to see happen that celebrates Black History Month, Emereura said he wants to celebrate humanity,
“What I would like to celebrate is humanity, because there is so much politicizing this black thing, by making people vulnerable. When you can celebrate your brother or your sister, know that he is a brother or she is a sister and not trying to know them by the color of their skin, but by the quality of life that they live, so that is what I would wish to celebrate more.”
“Some politicians have hijacked the whole issue of black or white sort of thing, so this system of divide will tell people what they want to hear, in order to get their attention and get their votes, they’re promoting that. But what is good is good, what is bad, is bad, irrespective of who is at fault.”
He said by nature people have pre-conceived notions about humans, but educating ourselves can help us do more.
“When you try to educate people let them know that we are all human beings, what is good for you is good for me as well, what is bad for you, is bad for me as well, thinking like that is how we can get rid of discrimination.”
How does he think we can get rid of pre-conceived notions so that everyone can see people as human beings?
“By collapsing the walls of division, educating one another, reaching out to one another,” he said.
“I think that is the main thing we need to do, like what we’re doing in this community,” he says. “There are no walls here, we’ve collapsed all the walls, we can do things together. When we are together you don’t know whose black or who is white, so by working together we can collapse those walls of division."
