'Why does it feel so different when Black men make choices?' A candid poem about freedom and family
Luke Reece's performance is part of FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2021, streaming Sunday at 1pm on CBC Gem
This Sunday, August 1st, CBC Arts presents FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2021, a performance-driven and youth-led celebration of spoken word, dance, theatre and music to celebrate Emancipation Day, the date that commemorates the anniversary of when Britain's Parliament abolished slavery in the British Empire in 1834. Featuring performances from artists across the country, the special will start streaming at 1pm on CBC Gem and YouTube.
In thi clips from the show, Toronto slam poet and newly-appointed Associate Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Luke Reece performs "The Black Men In My Life Make Choices." The moving poem reflects on a series of choices made in his family, the path they set for him and how the decisions made by his grandfather — a carpenter who left Barbados to come to Canada so his children and their children could have more choices in their own lives — are now tools passed down to him. Reece learned from his mentor that "language shapes the universe," and in this performance his language shapes all who listen.
FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2021 is a youth-led celebration of spoken word, dance, theatre and music, as we gather together to celebrate freedom. Join CBC Arts on Sunday, August 1st at 1pm ET on CBC Gem and YouTube.
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.
