Apparently 2.9 is the percentage of Black people in the Canadian population-- whether their origins and identity are Caribbean, African-American, Afro-Canadian, Nigerian, Somali, South African, the whole diasporic range.
Last year Casey Palmer launched a website called Tales from the 2.9 to post daily during February, which is Black History Month here Tales is not really focussed on history, more on Black Canadian achievement and experience in general. But it's a lively site, based on a lot of interviewing, and looks to be active throughout .
Here's one response from last year's daily tales,when a standard question to his interviewees was about Black History Month:
Black history to me when I was younger was all about the culture. I grew up in the 80’s RnB and soul, 90’s hip-hop era. Hip-hop was conscious. Artists like Public Enemy, KRS 1 and the Boogie Down Bronx, X Clan, Brand Nubian; and great female artists like MC Lyte and Queen Latifah were the teachers of black history.And another:
Anytime I think about Black History Month, I tend to think about why schools don’t teach about Canadian Black History. I can’t believe that all this time, everyone was having tea meetings or skipping rope. Why isn’t Canadian Black History taught here or mentioned? We only learn about the major stories, from Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Mandela or slaves escaping to the North.Take a look or 2 (.9) during February.
