Hubs in Regent Park – the Daniels Spectrum

In the first of these series, Jamelia explores various hubs available to young people in Regent Park.

On September 2012, the Daniel’s Spectrum opened up its doors to the public. Located in the heart of Regent Park, on 585 Dundas Street East, the building was designed specifically as an arts hub, and it shows. The outside building décor is illuminated with vibrant colours and a digital display, symbolizing that there is something bold going on inside.

To get more insight into this boldness, I had a conversation with Jermyn Creed, the Community Manager of the Daniels Spectrum, about the role it plays in the community and the broader city.

According to Jermyn, Daniels Spectrum is an important part of the Regent Park community because it gives low-income residents of Regent Park access to a wide variety of arts programming that normally would be out of their reach. The building not only gives youth a place to hang out after school but also offers opportunities for children and youth to get involved in visual arts, dance, theatre, poetry, music and film.

One example of the centre’s creative programming is the Ada Slaight Mentorship Program. This program annually connects youth interested in the arts with professional artists – people who are making a living off their art. Jermyn believes that this program dissolves the misconception of the “starving artist” syndrome. “Programs like these are important because it tells youth that they should not be afraid to go after their passions, contrary to popular belief,” says Jermyn.

Daniels Spectrum is not only open to residents of the Regent Park community, its programming is available to people from all over the city, and even the world through hosting events such as film screenings, music concerts and festivals, theatre performances, conferences and weddings.

If you are starving for the arts – the Daniels Spectrum is the place to be. 

Watch Video:
https://youtu.be/HVS2do0_QmM

 

By Jamelia Parnell

Jamelia is a youth journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre.

Youth Activism in An Adult World

Throughout history, the youth have always been at the forefront of activism, boldly demanding change. Today’s youth, Generation Z, is just as passionate in taking a stand as those who stood before. In today’s time, we have passionate, articulate activists such as Greta Thunberg, Emma Gonzalez, and Amariyanna Copeny. Due to the capabilities of social media, the youth also can create a tightly knit online community. This is especially beneficial when it comes to activism, as plans for action, and calls for support are easily shared to many people. However, outside of the social media bubble, the outlook of youth is often criticized and mocked by adults. The main contradictions fall under youthful naivety, or the lack of education. Through speaking out for climate change, Greta Thunberg has been wrongfully ridiculed by President Trump, amongst many others twice or triple her age. This response from so-called leaders breeds frustration, especially as this generation is the one that will be most impacted by the issues that they speak out about. These perspectives of today’s youth must be challenged, instead of stifled. Instead of looking to humiliate, social media posts should create respectful and thoughtful conversations. As this generation will inevitably inherit the planet, why should they not have a say in what state they will inherit it in?

Backlash against youth activism is found within both the physical world, and what lies within our phone and computer screens. Regardless of the source, the message is clear: stay silent. Though someone can easily post a picture in support of a cause, another can just as easily make an ignorant or hostile comment. Though anger should not be deterred for the sake of a comfortable conversation, the anonymity of social media can enable extreme toxicity to fester, to the point where the receiver of these comments feels physically unsafe. It is difficult to realize what is merely a threat on the internet, and what is a threat in real life. With society’s integration of technology in every aspect of life, the online world has molded into the physical. For example, those who have been attending the BLM protests have been urged not to take photos of other protestors. Past activists have been identified and tracked down from social media pages, then hurt (and killed) due their support of BLM. This danger may not be entirely commonplace, but it is real.

There are also society's own biases that make it challenging for, not only activists, but everyday people, to speak out against inequality. The stereotype of the “angry black man/woman” is especially relevant, as it twists an individual’s rightful anger into an “overreaction.” Those in opposition turn the problem against the individual, questioning their composure and mocking their lack of articulation, instead of evaluating the cause of anger in the first place. This is dehumanizing, as it condemns a whole person into a single characteristic, while allowing everyone else to continue about their lives. In our defensiveness, we, as a society, consistently do not address the problem. Those who speak out are discouraged, and we do not move forward.

As Gen Z is born in a different time, they are bound to have different perspectives. It is time that these perspectives, with all its complexities, contradictions, and shortcomings, are embraced and integrated within conversations. Those born of past generations must do its part to create challenged thinkers instead of attempting to train simple, obedient students. This generation already has a clear understanding of our harsh realities, as it quite literally grew up with tragedy. From terrorist attacks, to school shootings, to greedy politics, there is a distrust that society’s leaders truly have our best intentions in mind. However, instead of growing cynical and turning their backs on this world, the youth attempt to better it. Therefore, it is only right that we do not turn our backs on them.

Written by
Minerva Navasca

Youth Journalist
FOCUS Media Arts Centre

Introduction to new MP for Toronto Centre MARCI IEN

Born in St. Jamestown, the newly elected Liberal MP, reflects on her core beliefs and lived experiences.

In this episode of Regent Park TV, reporter Dimitrije Martinovic, introduces Regent Park and Toronto Centre to their new Member of Parliament. On September 17, 2020, Marci Ien was announced as the Liberal candidate for the by-election to the 43rd Canadian Parliament for Toronto Centre, following the resignation of Bill Morneau. Marci won the by-election on October 26, 2020, defeating Green Party of Canada leader Annamie Paul and NDP candidate Brian Chang.


Marci Ien is a Black Canadian of Trinidadian descent. Ien graduated with a degree in radio and television arts from Ryerson University in 1991. She began her journalism career at CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ontario in 1991 as a news writer and general assignment reporter. In 1995 she began reporting from Queen's Park in Toronto, with her reports appearing both on CHCH's local news and on WIC's national newscast Canada Tonight. In 1997 she moved to CTV as a reporter for CTV Atlantic, covering major stories including the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia. In 1995, Ien won a Radio Television Digital News Association Award for her news serial Journey to Freedom, a look at the Underground Railroad. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Black Business and Professional Association Harry Jerome Award in the media category. In 2014, she was granted the Planet Africa Award for excellence in media. In 2015, Ien garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination in the Best Host category for her work on Canada AM. In 2016, she was honored with an African Canadian Achievement Award for her journalistic achievements.


It was while Marci Ien was still a professional broadcaster (CHCH-TV in Hamilton and on CTV’s The Social and Canada AM 1991 - 2020) that the idea of moving to politics slowly began to dawn her. Being a woman of colour gave her reportage a unique perspective and platform to both comment on what was happening, and to help shape an image of a positive and successful person of colour operating in the public spere. 

Marci Ien’s entry into politics is precipitated by the vacancy left by the resignation of Bill Morneau (17 August 2020) the previous Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of Toronto Centre. Born in St. Jamestown, the character of the downtown east side was all too familiar to Marci, and she knew that this was a community she could represent. In the recent interview she did with RPTV News, Marci Ien described the neighbourhood as, “diverse in every single way … there is socio-economic diversity, race, origin, ethnicity … but I would call it eclectic, diverse, beautiful.”


As the new MP for the riding Toronto Centre (which includes Moss Park, Regent Park, Cabbage Town, Church-Wellesley Village, and St. Jamestown), Marci Ien is keenly aware that the coronavirus pandemic has drawn out the systemic inequalities that underscore the lives of many low-income people, indigenous people, immigrants, homeless people and people living with mental health and substance abuse issues. Attending to these matters Marci intends to continue listening to what her constituents are saying to her, to pool the resources of many of the already existing social service providers, and to better channel initiatives that might be coming from Federal, Provincial, and Municipal coffers to the hard-hit neighbourhoods of the area.


In today’s political landscape The Black Lives Matter Movement has become a pivotal point for politicians to contend with, as a woman of colour and now MP, Marci Ien has a long history of dedication to challenging the representation of Black people in the public roles. She lists her own thirty-year career in journalism and its many firsts, such as the first Black woman to co-host a national morning show. And furthermore, it is her lived experience as a Black woman that motivates her to keep the concerns of race front and center at all times.




By Dimitrije Martinovic

Dimitrije is a staff at FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

Regent Park Town Hall on Confronting Anti-Black Racism on Daniels Construction Sites

The following is a summary of the November 24, 2020, Regent Park Town Hall on Confronting Anti-Black Racism on Daniels Construction Site as reported by Adonis Huggins, staff member of the FOCUS Media Arts Centre. The entire Town Hall Meeting can be viewed on the Regent Park TV YouTube Channel or click this link:

https://youtu.be/gBEPb0aPMAA

In the week following a hate crime incident at DuEast Condominiums’ Construction Site on June 26th 2020, the Regent Park Neighbourhood Association (RPNA) reached out to The Daniels Corporation (Daniels) requesting information on Daniels' response to the incident. In response to this request, Daniels prepared a comprehensive Report outlining the steps it is taking not only to address the hate crime incident but also confront systemic racism in the construction industry more broadly. The report was released in a Town Hall co-hosted by RPNA and Daniels on November 24, 2020. Daniels and RPNA were joined by Carpenters Union Local 27, LIUNA Local 183, RESCON - Ontario’s leading association of residential builders, Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam and others. The following is a summarized report of the meeting.

In the hours following the June 26, 2020, discovery of a hate noose on a Daniels construction site, President & CEO Mitchell Cohen released a public statement. Cohen was unequivocal in his condemnation of the incident as a hate crime, an act of harassment and racism targeted at the Black community. He also confirmed that there was a zero tolerance for racism, prejudice and hate within the Daniel’s organization as a whole.

In addition to Cohen's statement, Daniels filed a report with police and fully cooperated with their investigations including providing access to security cameras and records of personnel on site. Daniels also initiated its own internal workplace violence investigation including interviews with supervisors and workers on site in an effort to identify the person or persons responsible. Unfortunately, investigators to date have been unable to identify the person or persons who tied the noose. Daniels is partnering with Crime Stoppers to launch an awareness campaign in hopes that an anonymous witness to the crime will come forward with information to aid the investigation. Daniels has not ruled out the possibility of offering a financial award for tips that lead to the arrest of a suspect.

In following up to this immediate response, Daniels organized a series of all workers meetings held on each of the organization's construction sites across the GTA starting with the Regent Park site where the noose was found. These meetings began on the Monday June 29, 2020 and included senior management of Daniels team, construction site management, representatives of partnering construction unions and associations as well as all the workers on the site. No one was allowed to go to their work area without first participating in the meetings. In total over 900 workers attended. As far as the content of these meetings goes, Daniels reiterated their disgust over the incident and reinforced their zero policy for racism at its construction sites and within the organization. Furthermore, it was announced that anyone found of committing a hate crime would not only be reported to the police and fired from the organization, but would be removed from their associated union making it difficult to work in the industry. Anyone with information about the hate crime was also encouraged to come forward.

According to Toronto Police Superintendent, Peter Moreira, at 51 Division, over 20 similar hate crime incidents have taken place on other construction sites around the GTA since the discovery of a noose at the Daniels site. Acknowledging the need to address the systemic nature of racism, senior executives of Daniels attended a meeting with the Mayor's Office and senior construction industry leaders to discuss incidents and prevention policies.

As part of this work Daniels industry initiatives include: signing the BlackNorth Initiative pledge, which includes commitments to diversifying the workplace and senior management (Daniels currently has no Black representatives on its executive team and admits it needs to do better in this regard); and working with Daniels’ trades, contractors and consultants to better design and implement anti-racism policies and creating a requirement for these groups to have a diversity and inclusion policy prior to working on Daniels construction sites.

Internally Daniels is also:

• working on an additional anti-racism policy separate from their Workplace Violence Policy;

• has initiated an employee survey that will include demographics to identify employee concerns;

• reviewing its hiring policies to better identify and outreach to visible minority and indigenous candidates;

• continuing its efforts to identify, hire, offer apprenticeships and train local residents in partnership with TCHC, and construction unions;

• implementing diversity and inclusion and bias training;

• implement a site signage policy around all its construction sites informing workers of Daniel's zero tolerance policy for racism;

• and procurement of local artwork that prioritizes the representation of members of the Black community to be displayed in lobby of the condominium building where the hate crime took place;

Other follow up actions from the meeting were:

• the need for Daniels and other leaders in the construction trades to work collectively with government around industry wide anti-racism policies;

• the need for Daniels to better collaborate with contractors and sub-contractors to ensure that they have progressive hiring and anti-racism policies in place prior to working with Daniels;

• the need for Daniels to conduct better data collection and tracking of the 195 Regent Park residents hired through the Local Labour Initiative and 179 youth that participated in training and employment programs in Regent Pari including demographic data, and duration of employment.

To view the full Report entitled, “Report Back to the Regent Park Community” please visit the following link: https://danielshomes.ca/media/2020-11-20-Daniels-CABR-Report-to-RPNA.pdf

By Adonis Huggins – Staff of FOCUS Media Centre

Regent Park Does The Monster Mash

The Monster Mash, a cultural mash-up, a cultural breakdown, a cultural icon of inclusivity.

Regent Park in Toronto’s downtown east side is known for many things; however, it is the lingering and often misleading stereotype of being “one of the poorest neighbourhoods,” that shapes most people’s perspective of this area. Despite this misperceived backdrop of despair, the area has always maintained an unshakeable sense of community with generations of families calling the area home. Demographically the area has changed substantially, from a predominantly working class and low-income Irish composition during the early 1900s, to a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic make-up brought on by changes in Canadian Immigration policies from the 1960s and 1970s.

Today the make-up in Regent Park (based on ethnicity) consists of the following: Aboriginal 1.52%, Black13.64%, Recent Immigrant 6.06%, White 13.64%, South Asian 19.70%, African 45.45%, Southeast Asian 12.12%, Hispanic 3.03%, West Indian 1.52%, and Arab 3.03%. These figure help to distinguish shifts in the cultural landscape that suggest long-standing Euro-centric traditions, like Halloween, are almost destined to experience a certain amount of bifurcation or hybridity if they are to continue. And it is precisely at this point that cultural traditions become all the more interesting.

“The Monster Mash” a song by Bobby Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers, at first glance sits firmly entrenched in the Anglo-European tradition of Halloween, but does that bare out under closer scrutiny? Written in the early 1960s, in a period in American musical history that was heavily influenced the black musical traditions of “gospel, jump blues, boogie, rhythm and blue, and country music” (Christ-Janer, Albert, Charles W. Hughes, and Carleton Sprague Smith, American Hymns Old and New (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980), p. 364, ISBN 0-231-03458-X). The Monster Mash, in fact, owes as much to the musical styles of Dee Dee Sharp and other performers such James Brown, Carlton“King”Coleman, and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, all whom recorded some version of the Mashed Potato (a song very similar in structure to The Monster Mash). And so, from the beginning, The Monster Mash, is a product of hybridity. One trend interacting with another, creating an offspring that is the mix of both.

Therefore, embracing The Monster Mash dance and the traditions of Halloween, becomes for newcomers an avenue for integration – the term Mash itself refers to a mix, or a melange – an appropriate metaphor for the mix of cultures and traditions that underpins all celebrations, be they religious, political, or secular.

Integration and inclusion are at the heart of what the Friends of Regent Park, a community-based organisation made-up of people that work together to support green space, cultural, and recreational activities in Regent Park is all about. And this year, as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts our social fabric, the Friends of Regent Park organized a virtual Halloween celebration. A mash-up of old and new, they mixed, pumpkin carving video tutorials, with pumpkin recipes that incorporate Asian flavours, and last of all that icon of the Halloween tradition, The Monster Mash Dance, presented by three members of Square Circle (a Regent Park non-profit) dedicated to engaging, educating and empowering youth through the use of Social Circus and creative arts.

In a short video, Jacob, Zahra, and Bayle, breakdown and breakout the unique dance moves (The Frankenstein, The Mash, The Crank, The Wolf, and The Rip) that make the song so mesmerizingly appealing. While Jacob and Zahra perform standing up, Bayle offers a version of the movements sitting down, demonstrating, how someone with mobility issues need not feel excluded.

The Monster Mash, a cultural mash-up, a cultural breakdown, a cultural icon of inclusivity.

You can watch the video below:

https://youtu.be/zJK70KWY08c

By Dimitrije Martinovic

Dimitrije is a staff member at FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

The Friends of Regent Park Carve Pumpkins

Regent Park is a community of communities. Demographically the area has changed substantially, from a predominantly working class and low-income Irish composition during the early 1900s, to a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic make-up brought on by changes in Canadian Immigration policies from the 1960s and 1970s. The shifts in the cultural landscape suggests that long-standing Euro-centric traditions, like Halloween would steadily be in decline, especially in a multi-ethnic community such as Regent Park. Halloween, however, remains one of the most celebrated days of the year and thanks to the Friends of Regent Park, will continue to be a fun filled custom in the Regent Park community in spite of Covid-19.

Halloween is observed annually on the night of 31 of October. The celebration, marking the division between the light and dark halves of the year, when the boundary between the living and dead was believed to be at its thinnest, is believed to have originated primarily as a Celtic tradition. In pre-Christian times, may people believed that spirits from the underworld and ghosts of dead people could visit the world of the living. These beliefs were brought to Canada by Scottish and Irish immigrants.

One of the most popular customs of Halloween is the jack-o-lantern. A jack-o-lantern is commonly a candle-light lit, carved pumpkin that usually sits on a window still or porch during the evenings of the Halloween season. Despite its popularity, few people know of the origins of the jack-o-lantern and would be surprised to hear that originally turnips not pumpkins were used. Pumpkins are native to North America and at the time did not exist in Ireland. The original jack-o-lanterns were hollowed-out turnips, beets or potatoes, carved to show a demonic face and lit from the inside by a candle. These vegetables were placed in a window or doorstep to frighten away evil spirits.

The term jack-o-lantern is derived from the myth of Stingy Jack, which is believed to have originated in the 17th century. According to Irish folklore, Stingy Jack was a drunkard and a cheat who was refused entry into heaven, because he was a miser, and hell, because he played tricks on the devil. Stingy Jack was condemned to roam the dimension between the living and the dead until Judgement Day with only an ember from hell to light his way. Jack kept the ember in a carved-out turnip as a lantern and thus was known as Jack of the lantern, or Jack-o-Lantern.

As years went by, the religious and spooky history behind pumpkin carvings has been forgotten, and the making of a jack-o-lantern is now consider a secular activity to bring families closer together. It’s for this reason that Friends of Regent Park have made a concerted effort to explore safe, fun ways that families in Regent Park can celebrate Halloween even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of the Halloween celebration this year, Friends of Regent Park gave away 50 free pumpkins to community members and worked with Regent Park TV to present this free Jack-o-lantern pumpkin carving workshop, as a way of engaging newcomer families in this Halloween tradition.

Friends of Regent Park is a community-based organization made-up of people that work together to support green space, cultural, and recreational activities in Regent Park.

By: Adonis Huggins with contribution by Jamelia Parnell

(Adonis is a staff member while Jamelia is a youth journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre)

Centre for Social Innovation to end CSI - Regent Park’s Co-sharing Facility

CSI is pivoting from a co-sharing facility to a community support and development model.

On Monday October 26, 2020, after eight years of occupancy, the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) announced that they are ceasing operations of CSI – Regent Park. Established in 2012, on the third floor of the Daniels Spectrum building in Regent Park, the CSI co-sharing workspace, is sadly closing its doors.

Although CSI has not publicly indicated the actual reasons behind the closure, it is speculated that the cost recovery model for operating the Regent Park facility was not working, and the operating expenses was significantly exceeding the revenues. The closure of the facility due to COVID-19, combined to make a bad situation, only worse.

Since its inception in 2004, the Centre for Social Innovation’s vision of facilitating co-sharing spaces that put “people and planet first” has grown to include over 3000 members generating a combined annual revenue of $270 M. The idea of “co-sharing” or “co-working” means that people, not-for-profits or companies, co-habit a neutral work space while working on different projects, but through sharing the same amenities (including meeting rooms, lounge areas, kitchens, washrooms, printers, private offices, shared offices, and work desks) they are able to keep overhead cost down - for a developing or fledgling start-up, this arrangement holds a lot of promise.

Until the recently announced closure of the Regent Park facility, CSI operated three locations in Toronto, including one at 192 Spadina, and one at 720 Bathurst. Additionally, in 2012, CSI opened a new branch in New York City.

In Regent Park, CSI has partnered with social mission driven businesses and not-for-profits like Square Circle, Green Thumbs Growing Kids, Tastelig, Youth Empowering Parents, Peace Builders, African Women Acting, Dare Arts, Visions of Science, INTENT, Interiors by Art of Living Inc., Due Good, Canada World Youth, Career Skills Incubator, the FOCUS Media Arts Centre and many others. It is estimated that 150 different groups called CSI-Regent Park home.

Now, as the facility in at the Daniels Spectrum building is closing down CSI’s commitment to its members and the neighbourhood is far from over.

Over the next six months CSI will work with the existing 150 co-working members at Regent Park to consolidated them into the two other buildings on Spadina and the Annex.

Additionally, CSI will continue its presence in Regent Park. As Denise Souedian-O’Leary (Community Manager-CSI Regent Park) puts it, CSI is pivoting from a co-sharing facility to a community support and development model.

Over the next three to five years, CSI will preserve its involvement in Regent Park by maintaining Denise Souedian-O’Leary in the role of a community resource – connecting and strengthening partnerships with residents, grassroots groups, organizations and stakeholders to ensure that for example, the work of the Social Development Plans continues. CSI will also continue their community development project known as the Everyone Everyday Project – a project that aims to engage residents in variety of DIY activities that focus on the betterment of the community.

Click the link below to watch the full video:

https://youtu.be/of6lw2ODbGM

 

By Dimitrije Martinovic

Dimitrije is a staff member at FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE

WHY RENAME DUNDAS STREET IN TORONTO – what’s in a name?

Place naming, de-commemoration, commemoration and a more truthful rendering of the past, present and future.

Dundas Street cuts across an immense swath of neighbourhoods including the community of Regent Park, as it circumnavigates the eastern and western boundaries of Toronto. Beginning in the east end at Kingston Rd. and working its way westward, Dundas Street travels through The Beach, Leslieville, Riverside, Regent Park, Cabbagetown South, ChinaTown, Alexandra Park, Trinity Bellwoods, Little Portugal, Brockton Village, the Junction Triangle, Lambton, Chestnut Hills, Islington, Summerville, Appelwood Heights, Mississauga Valley, and to Erindale at its western edge where it becomes Hwy 5. Each of these neighbourhoods has a distinct cultural vibe and demographic make-up, urban, residential, commercial, suburban and in some case semi-industrial, each locale a mix of rich identities and histories that begs out to be confirmed and celebrated.

So, when Andrew Lochhead, an ally of the Black Lives Matters Movement and a Toronto artist, envisioned the idea of petitioning the City of Toronto to rename Dundas Street, he could not have known that his idea would resonate with so many people, in fact his idea garnered 15,000 signatures in just a short period of time.

The issue with Dundas Street is that it commemorates Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount of Melville, and a significant political figure in Great Britain during the late 1700s and early 1800s. Among the positions he held during his career are Lord Advocate, President of the Board of Control of the East India Company, Minister of War, Secretary of State for War, and First Lord of the Admiralty. Henry Dundas opposed the abolishment of African slavery and his position as an influential politician is credited for delaying the abolishment of slavery for 15 years during which time it is estimated that approximately 600,000 more Africans passed into slavery.

It is also important, despite his name and memory been celebrated in numerous public places across Canada, Henry Dundas never set foot in Canada.

Why name matters? Toponomantics is the study of names, and historically the naming of places has been associated with the founding of that place, for instance; New Castle, Los Angeles, Novi Grad. Historians may deduce from these names social or cultural aspects that refer to past occupations by different people who have settled in that place including the languages spoken there and other temporally definitive characteristics. Most often what has happened in terms of place names is that with every successive intrusion of new people in a given area, meant that there was some sort of displacement that occurred there – such as a conquest or political over-throw. And so, the naming and renaming of places has always consisted of the notion of “de-commemoration” on the one hand, while on the other hand it celebrated a new “commemoration” that supplanted the previous event/person/place.

Among Indigenous peoples, place names for example serve as mnemonic devices, conveying information and knowledge about the land that combines both the spiritual and environmental characteristics of a place. Place names may contain ‘ways of being’, reminding travelers of seasonal resources or they may recall moral teachings. The Aboriginal people of Australia have a belief system known as “songline” or “dream track” according to which a person may travel safely across the land by following a path once traveled by sacred ancestors (handed down through song and ritual), the “songline” would have information about landmarks, waterholes, and other critical survival features.

With the colonization of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia by Europeans, the traditional associations with place names were lost. In Canada, this has meant that most places have names rooted in French and English cultures and histories – past monarchs, religious saints, famous personages, and memorable places in Europe.

Fortunately, there are numerous initiatives across Canada dedicated to restoring the long history of Indigenous place names, like the Ogimaa Mikana Project that seeks to restore Anishinaabemowin place-names to the streets, avenues, roads, paths, and trails of Gichi Kiiwenging (Toronto).

The project of colonizing the new world brought with it another feature that from its earliest beginnings, due to the development of plantation estates and the lack of an indentured work force large enough to do the work, the implementation of slaves becomes the method by which large-scale resource extraction begins to fund the Colonial Empires of Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, and Great Britain. Much has been written on the subject of slavery and the impact of Europeans on Africans, but there is some fundamental knowledge that needs to be addressed regarding the psychology of slavery. Torrance T. Stephens a professor at Clark Atlanta University, Department of Psychology, had this say on the subject:


“Since the main reason for slavery was an economic one, it was essential for Europeans to develop a rationale in support of slavery, which resulted in an attached stigma to African people in the colonies. The logic was based on the view that Africans were sav age and not human and that it was the duty of whites to make Africans worthwhile. Thus, the legal discrimination of African preceded and led to a status of physical and psychological inferiority being attached to slaves in the American South. This attitude may have best been evinced in the disposition of the people involved with slavery at all levels.”

These racial attitudes which were the by-product of slavery from then on become intrenched in the institutional fabric of the United States. It is same these attitudes of racial superiority that are mirrored in the treatment of Native Peoples, allowing Europeans to omit and cast aside the history of both Africans and Indigenous populations – privileging the ensuing years as a Whites only history.

Fortunately, there are numerous initiatives across Canada dedicated to restoring the long history of Indigenous place names, like the Ogimaa Mikana Project that seeks to restore Anishinaabemowin place-names to the streets, avenues, roads, paths, and trails of Gichi Kiiwenging (Toronto). Andrew Lochhead’s petition has also garnered the support of Toronto City Council and as a result, the City has initiated a review of its policies related to renaming and a public consultation process.

It is not that the renaming of streets, avenues, roads, paths, and trails means that suddenly the one historical record will be rendered more important than another, but rather, it will mean that the history that has been omitted will have an equal place, one also worthy of commemoration.

Here in Regent Park, we might take a page of from Andrew and these discussions of naming and renaming public spaces, and along with Dundas Street, reconsider renaming Regent Park. Why should the area bear the name of a dead English monarch, why note instead give it a name that truly evokes the history of its past, present and future?

Reference: Psychology Of Slavery, Torrance T Stephens. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277590029

By Dimitrije Martinovic
Dimitrije is a staff at FOCUS MEDIA ARTS CENTRE 

You can watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jKdqhV4PHY&feature=youtu.be

Understanding the Revitalization Working Group

The Revitalization Working Group, also known as the Revit Working Group or RWG for short, is a committee of Regent Park residents who works with Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) in the development of an engagement strategy for phrases 4 & 5 Request For Proposals (RFP) process. The group is made up of 3 TCHC tenant council members, 3 Regent Park Neighbourhood Association (RPNA) members and 6 community members who aren't involved in either those groups.

The purposes of the Revite Working Group is to 1) understand and prioritize issues related to the revitalization of Regent ParK 2) be informed through lessons learned and 3) create a space for stakeholders to work together and report back to the community on their work.

According to a recent August 6, 2020, presentation by Revit Group member, Daniel Amin, the group has had two initial priorities. The first was a development of a fair transparent process for community members to be engaged in the phase 4 & 5 Requests For Proposals to select a developer partner. This work included three pillars of engagement for the request for proposals process. The first pillar was to help the community understand the RFP and ensure that residents were informed about the process. The second pillar was to create questions for the developer presentation involving working with residents to develop a set of questions that were asked of the potential developer partners at the presentation. Lastly, the third pillar was to score the developers at the presentation, whereupon residents had the chance to score each developer opponent based on how they responded to the community's vision for the revitalization of Regent Park.

A total of 227 residents attended the developer presentation last October, 2019. Those that attended, scored the presentations. These scores were incorporated into the overall score for each proposal and will help TCHC determine the shortlisted proponents for phases 4 & 5.

Finally, the other key priority for the working group, which is also the current focus, is the development of a fair process for the selection of an organization or multiple organizations that would use potential community space in phases 4 & 5. So this work is just beginning and they'll be more to say in this in the future.

By Tyrone Maclean-Wilson

Tyrone is a staff member of the FOCUS Media Arts Centre

The Toronto Rent Bank

Neighbourhood Information Post is a not-for-profit organization located in the Toronto Public Library on Parliament and Gerrard in the Regent Park area. The Neighbourhood Information Post (NIP) serves low-income individuals and households living in the Downtown East Toronto. One of the services that NIP delivers in partnership with the City of Toronto is the Rent Bank.

The Rent Bank provides zero-interest loans for people in need of assistance in paying for rent, including those facing evictions, and new renters needing first and last months’ rent. Neighbourhood Information Post provides an array of different services, but the Rent Bank is one of their most widely accessible yet underutilized programs. Despite their grassroots word-of-mouth advertisement, the Rent Bank is rarely mentioned in conversations surrounding Housing Assistance programs in Toronto.

In recent months due to the global pandemic, there has been a rise in applicants to the Rent Bank, as many people have suffered a loss of income. Due to Bill 184, which makes it easier for landlords to obtain evictions, the Rent Bank is predicting more residents facing evictions will be applying, alongside the increase in applicants who have suffered a loss of income due to the Covid Pandemic. In past years, the use of the Rent Bank by residents of Regent Park was very low due to eligibility restrictions preventing tenants already receiving subsidized housing from applying. However, this number is rising as a result of the increase of condos and other market rent home renters in Regent Park who are struggling to pay their rent. All of these converging issues have made the Rent Bank an even higher necessity, resulting in a $2 million grant from the City of Toronto.

 The Rent Bank program first started at Neighbourhood Information Post in 1999. With Municipal Governmental assistance, they provide loans to approximately 100 families each month. While Neighbourhood Information Post hosts the Rent Bank specifically to residents in the Regent Park and downtown Toronto area, Toronto Rent Bank is a joint collaboration between six other agencies across neighbourhoods in Toronto. The Rent Bank has few requirements for eligibility: applicants must be living in the city of Toronto, or, if they are moving, their new residence must be located in Toronto. Applicants cannot be Social Assistance clients, their household should be within low-income guidelines and be paying market-level rent.

Since the pandemic reached Toronto in March, there has been many changes to the application process at the Rent Bank. In efforts to minimize social interaction, in-person meetings and signed forms are no longer being used. Instead, there is a main hotline- (416)-397-7368- that will direct you to neighbourhood branches and local Rent Banks that will assist further in the application process. The rest of the application process is completed entirely on-phone and online. Any loans given past February 2020 are given a repayment deferral of up to a year, which greatly helps applicants that have joined due to job loss. The lowest repayment rate is currently $25/month, and the highest loans are $4000/up to 3 months rent.

Toronto Rent Bank and Neighbourhood Information Post have made several long-term changes to continue helping local residents in need, with preventing evictions and homelessness being their priority. For more information, go to their website at nipost.org/toronto-rent-bank.

All information was found on Neighbourhood Information Post’s website and through an interview with Toronto Rent Bank Program Leader Maja Bryon. To see a full interview with Maja Bryon and learn more about the Toronto Rent Bank, check out the RPTV youtube channel below.

By Nate Gurarie

(Nate is a summer journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre) 

 You can watch the interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r_buDPcyEI