Daybreak broadcasts from Inhairitance salon in St-Henri

CBC News | Posted: February 12, 2015 11:57 PM | Last Updated: February 13, 2015

Benaiah McDonald, Stephen Hennessy, Sylvia Stewart, Kai Thomas and Marc Parent joined host Mike Finnerty

Media | Daybreak celebrates Black History Month at Inhairitance salon in St-Henri

Caption: In honour and celebration of Black History Month, CBC Montreal's morning radio show Daybreak visited Inhairitance salon in St-Henri for a look at the issues that are important to Montreal's black community.

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Daybreak was live from Inhairitance salon in St-Henri Friday with a special show in honour of Black History Month.

We invited members of Montreal's black community to come tell their stories and give listeners a sense of the events and issues that are important right now.

Montreal's chief of police and CRARR

Montreal police chief Marc Parent joined us for an interview on the relationship between officers and the black community in Montreal. He also took questions from members of the audience on issues that matter to them, like diversity training for police officers and sending a positive message to youth.

We also looked at issues of racial profiling with Benaiah McDonald, a Montrealer who was involved in a years-long effort to have a police operation gone wrong condemned as racial discrimination. Fo Niemi, from the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations spoke about taking the case to the Quebec Human Rights Commission.

Media Audio | Daybreak Montreal : Center for Research-Action on Race Relations takes on racial profiling case

Caption: Just before Christmas, Benaiah McDonald got some bad news. He learned that his years-long effort to see condemned as racial discrimination a police operation gone badly wrong had been denied by the Quebec Human Rights Commission.

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Politics of hair

Our writer-broadcaster Shari Okeke explored the politics of hair for black women with Abisara Machold, the owner of Inhairitance.

Image | Sabrina Burke Inhairitance

Caption: Sabrina Burke gets a flat twist at Inhairitance, a Montreal salon that specializes in natural hair styles. (Shari Okeke/CBC)

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Machold encourages women to embrace their natural hair texture and says that learning to take care of natural hair after many years of using chemical treatments to straighter hair can be an emotional learning process.

Inhairitance salon owner embraces natural curly hair

Daybreak's arts reporter Jeanette Kelly met the Wilson family, who are keeping the tradition of playing the steelpan alive.

Media Audio | Daybreak Montreal : Keeping the steelpan tradition alive in a family full of musicians

Caption: Jeanette Kelly speaks with the Wilsons, a Montreal family who are keeping the tradition of playing the steelpan alive, as part of Daybreak's remote broadcast at Inhairitance salon in St-Henri.

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Community members highlight important issues for the future

To close off the show, host Mike Finnerty held a panel discussion on the issues and future of the black community of Montreal.

He was joined by guests Stephen Hennessy from the Westhaven-Elmhurst Community Association in NDG, Sylvia Stewart, an actress, filmmaker and member of the National ACTRA Diversity Committee and Kai Thomas from the DESTA Black Youth Network.

Media Audio | Daybreak Montreal : Daybreak panel on the future and issues of Montreal's black community

Caption: We are joined by Stephen Hennessy from the Westhaven-Elmhurst Community Association in NDG, Sylvia Stewart, an actor, filmmaker, and member National ACTRA Diversity Committee and Kai Thomas, with the DESTA Black Youth Network.

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Thank you to our CBC Daybreak listeners!

We want to thank all our listeners who came by with their warm greetings.

We appreciate your continued support for CBC Montreal's radio, TV and online programming and invite you to interact with us on the web. Tweet us, send us a note on Facebook, and e-mail us your ideas or stories for our next Daybreak remote.