TORONTO — CBC announced Monday it has launched an expanded Being Black in Canada website featuring the stories and experiences of Black Canadians, highlighting narratives that matter to Black communities including news pieces, individual successes and historical content.
The website showcases profiles, opinion pieces, video, audio and a wide breadth of content across all areas of the CBC, including news, documentaries, arts and other programming.
“I am excited by the opportunity of this website, which will undoubtedly play an important role in helping us move forward. Being Black in Canada offers a window into the struggles while celebrating the culture and achievements of Black communities,” said Barbara Williams, executive vice-president of CBC, in the news release. “I have been moved by the many conversations I have been having over these past months. By the incredible openness of our Black employees to share their painful experiences, even when they may have felt they had already shared so many times. By the rawness of the stories, the intensity of the emotion, the sadness that surrounds the frustration. I can only imagine how hard these experiences must have been.
“Most recently, we heard from Dexter Brown and Imani Walker about their painful experiences while working at CBC. They bravely opened up so that we can learn and do better as an organization. And we will,” added Williams.
The expanded Being Black in Canada website launches alongside a one-hour CBC original special of the same name, featuring news, current affairs and arts content hosted by Asha Tomlinson. The Being Black in Canada special aired Sunday night on CBC and is available now on CBC Gem. The program includes interviews with Black Lives Matter activists, Black community members who are pushing for inclusion in the boardroom and beyond, and the cast and creative team of the acclaimed CBC miniseries The Book of Negroes, which is currently receiving an encore broadcast this week.
CBC has been producing and publishing content under its Being Black in Canada brand since 2013, when it was initially launched as a Black History Month program for CBC News Network, hosted by Tomlinson. The online version was initially launched in 2018.
