London, Ont., publishers design crossword puzzle book highlighting Black icons and their influence

For months, LaToya Olayemi and Bryce Gregory spent hours researching influential Black figures from around the world and their contributions to society and culture throughout the decades. 

The London, Ont., publishers say they had to make some tough decisions on who they should feature in their very first Black Icons Crossword Puzzles book, which hit the shelves in October and has since sold more than 100 copies on Amazon.

"We wanted to come up with something people could learn from and delve into Black history and culture, but at the same time, have fun while doing it," said Olayemi of Bag and Toy Publishing. 

The book is comprised of 40 crossword puzzles for adults that highlights different icons including movie stars, athletes, singers, civil rights activists and other Black trailblazers. 

The pair define "icons" as trendsetters and people in the public eye who are widely admired for their significance in different spheres. The idea for the book came about as the two found there weren't many crossword puzzles focused on Black pioneers, said Gregory. 

"When we were looking into crosswords, there was kind of a void of [Black] representation and it motivated us to follow through and just get it out there and have people be aware of it," he said.

"The world can hopefully gain some knowledge of Black history — and when you can get that knowledge in game form it just makes it all the more easier and fun."

The process of designing the puzzles and their clues was also lengthy and time consuming as the pair had to think of creative hints the wider public would be aware of but also interested in learning more about.

They would shortlist different themes such as rappers, politicians and television personalities, shows with an all-Black cast, comedians, high-profile athletes like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams and more.

Olayemi said she was also surprised to learn plenty of new information about the figures she thought she knew about while researching their backgrounds and accolades. One icon that stood out to her was civil rights pioneer, Viola Desmond from Nova Scotia who in 2018 became the first Black woman to be featured on the Canadian $10 bill. 

The book has received such an outpouring of support that it's inspired the pair to start working on its second edition with new categories, which they hope to have ready and published by spring, said Gregory. They also plan to create word search books highlighting Black icons. 

The next edition will include religious characters and popular fashion icons, he said. 

Despite the project keeping them busy, Gregory and Olayemi have enjoyed watching their idea come to life and be received by the community, they said. 

"We loved the journey. It was awesome to see our thoughts come on paper and come to fruition," said Olayemi

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.