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Black in the Trenches: The Significance of the Black Vote in Canada’s Upcoming Elections
They are an underwhelming force given their collective political potential
NOTE: This is a one-year anniversary reposting of an article that first appeared in Neri Magazine (which, regrettably, is no longer available online). In the interest of having my Neri articles publicly accessible, they have been shared here on Medium for posterity.
In August 2014, I was invited to deliver prepared remarks at the Black Canadian Mayoral Forum at the Novotel Toronto North York. Several candidates for mayor came to be seen and heard by members of the Black community, and I was prepared to share my own observations about community participation and representation in the political process. Unfortunately, the event was poorly run and heinously off-schedule, so I was unceremoniously cut from the program by the frazzled organizers as I sat in the front row just minutes from delivering my speech.
The Black representation on the forum’s panel of guests had all the good intentions in the world but no realistic chance of being elected. I knew this when I wrote my speech beforehand, which caused me to wonder when this country would produce truly viable candidates that can be elected to the highest offices in the land…
