Going clothing shopping in Canada as a Black man in a fat body can be a depressing experience,

Rummaging through theses stores shelves and no pants or jeans waistline over size 38 or 40, and a extra large shirt is the biggest you can find at some stores.

Going into the malls singing the refrain “I do not belong here”,

I learned from an early age that other than accessories, like glasses or hats “Club Monaco” is not targeting me or my body,

Canadian fashion designers are not making their clothing for people in my body. Continue reading →

As the summer heats up, the dialogue in the first three Black Daddies Club: Breaking Bread Brunches gets more personal.

Thank you to Michael Went, Nicole Angela and Belinda Ageda, who co-hosted and co-facilitated some really important and meaningful discussions in the June edition of Breaking Bread Brunch, which was focused on the “Importance of Black Space in Toronto.” Also, a deep thank you to the attendees who came out to June Edition, who broke bread with us, shared their intimate stories and collectively began thinking about strategies to move forward with for the 2017 Black Love Matters: Un-Conference.

This discussion is open to all genders who are interested in being apart of the dialogue regarding the lived experience of Black men in Toronto. This month’s discussion will not have a online streaming component, as we want to honour the intimacy of dialogue that we are hoping to create during this upcoming dialogue on Black masculinity. The admission for this event is pay what you can or Potluck, so if possible, please contribute by bringing food or donating something at the door.

Breaking Bread Brunches are a monthly discussion series of where we eat and discuss issues in the Black community in Toronto. These brunch conversations will inform the upcoming Black Daddies Club 10th anniversary co-created initiative, Black Love Matters Un-Conference, taking place in locations across the Greater Toronto Area from January 2017 to December 2017.

Looking forward to seeing you in the space and hearing your stories in the dialogue.

CARIBBEAN TALES & BLACK DADDIES CLUB PRESENTS

Where: CUPE Local 4400 Office
[1482 Bathurst St. Toronto, ON] – 4th Floor
Cost: $20 Entry
When: Friday, June 17th [7pm to 9pm]
This event is open to the community.
Light meal will be served.
Children under 10 are free.
RSVP here: https://goo.gl/SX4at5

Continue reading →

Thank you to everyone that came out to the Breaking Bread Brunch session in April, and a special thanks to Kyla Farmer and Sarah Beech who facilitated the session — so much rich dialogue and learning came out of the discussion.

As we prepare for next Breaking Bread Brunch session, we want to inform you that the date has been changed from May 29th and will now be held on Sunday, June 26 th, 2016 due to some scheduling issues. With the exception of May, we will continue to hold our brunches on the last Sunday of every month.

June’s brunch will be talking about “Creating Black Spaces” in our community. Continue reading →

Black Daddies Club (BDC) is delighted to announce its partnership with the Caribbean Tales International Film Festival (CTFF) for the short film challenge based on the theme, “Black Love Matters.” Starting April 24th, 2016, this online campaign, led by the hashtag #BlackLoveMatters, will run until November 2017.

The videos from the campaign will be screened at CTFF 2016 and 2017 and theme for CTFF 2016 is “Caribbean Love.” The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness for Black Daddies Club’s 10-year anniversary event, entitled Black Love Matters: 2017 Un-Conference that will bring together people who are active in their community and advocating for positive change. The Un-Conference will also provide a platform for discussions around the topic of “Black Love Matters.” Continue reading →

Black Daddies Club presents, Breaking Bread Brunches: Conversation with Black Leaders, which is a monthly gathering in Toronto on Sunday afternoons to discuss a broad range of topics that are relevant to the Black diaspora within Canada, under the themes of Black Identity and Black love. The purpose of these gatherings are two-fold: to create Black spaces within Canada where the community can network and speak about relevant issues, and to use the dialogues from these conversations to inform the Black Love Matters Un-Conference in 2017 taking place throughout different communities with the Greater Toronto Area.

Continue reading →

Black Men Loving is a documentary that explores black fatherhood. It addresses the issues black men face on being fathers. The film showcases different fathers across Toronto on their stories and perspective of being a father and the challenges on dealing with stereotypical images of the absent black father which has be portrayed on many forms of media. Black Men Loving was produced in partnership by the Regent Park Film Festival and the Black Daddies Club.

The film debuted at the Regent Park Film Festival in 2014. The film festival is a free multi-cultural community film festival, dedicated to showcasing local and international independent works relevant to marginalized communities across Toronto. The film was directed by Ella Cooper, who is a multidisciplinary artist, community facilitator and media arts educator. Continue reading →