Promoting Black safe spaces, from book clubs to mental-health services

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the 2023 Black Changemakers.

Katya Stella Assoé loves to read. But until she was 14, she had never read a book by a Black writer, featuring a Black protagonist.

"When you're younger, you don't realize it, but you internalize a lot of those things," said Assoé. Growing up in Pointe-Claire, in Montreal's West Island, she says she didn't feel like she could simply be herself.

"You kind of try to mould yourself to fit what everybody else is doing and how everybody else is acting and looking and kind of pushing aside your own culture, however rich it may be."

She certainly would never have dreamed of joining a book club for Black girls.

Now 23 and a recent graduate of Université de Montréal's law program, Assoé takes pride in using her skills as a graphic designer and social media marketer to boost Montreal's Black community — starting with a new generation of West Island teens.

Early in the pandemic, Assoé became the social media content creator for Black Girls Gather, a book club launched by the West Island Black Community Association.

She found herself asking, "OK, what would 12-year-old me love to see on Instagram, and she would be hyped if she saw that post, and she would want to join that book club?"

"[I was] putting together fun little graphics for the girls to be able to see," she said. "Sharing book recommendations, sharing memes about books.… Just some fun stuff for the girls and our target audience."

Assoé can't pinpoint the exact moment she found her voice — her comfort zone.

"Thank God for the age of information and social media," she said with a laugh. "Granted, there's a lot of downsides to social media, right?"

Through social media, Assoé delved deep into content that dealt with topics like racism, colonialism and Black pride.

"I was a little Black girl in the West Island saying, 'Wait, hold on. My hair is beautiful? My skin is beautiful?'" she recalled.

Spreading the word about mental health

That hard-won sense of pride has guided her choice of the projects she gets involved in.

"If it has to do with the Black community, that is a plus because I get so much fulfilment from it," she said.

"There's so much that we have to offer."

In 2021, Assoé co-founded the Black Healing Centre with Samanta Nyinawumuntu, whom she had worked with on the Black Girls Gather project. The centre is a space which provides free and subsidized therapy tailored to Black people and their experiences.

As the centre's creative director, Assoé revels in the likes and shares her social media content generates, but she says the gratifying part of her work comes when people reach out and ask for information — or help.

"We've kind of opened the door for people to say that it's OK for me to not be OK, and that there are services there for me," said Assoé.

Launching the centre during the pandemic was a challenge, but the impact of COVID also got people talking about their mental health, Assoé said.

"The Black Healing Centre kind of came at the right time," she said.

Steve Cheldy Assoé, who was named a Changemaker last year, started hearing about the Black Healing Centre from his sister before the groundwork had been laid, and he's blown away by how far it has come in such a short time.

He said even though as a law student, Katya has had little spare time, she always seems to be able to manage juggling several projects at once.

"At the end of the day, it's more than just talent," he said. "It's really just discipline, hard work and consistency."

With her bar exams still ahead of her, Assoé isn't sure what comes next, but she said she's always ready for a new challenge.

"I hope that whatever I'm doing in one way or another, I'm still contributing to the betterment of the Black community," she said.

Her challenges as a teenager continue to motivate her.

"That's kind of the goal: reaching that Black girl," she said. "Whether it's Black Girls Gather, whether it's the Black Healing Centre: there is a space for you."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

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.