On Tuesday Feb 25, from 2 to 4 pm, two storytellers, Bushra Junaid and Wendy Vincent, will enthrall us with two very different tales that tie historic and contemporary Black History to real persons’ lives.
Artist and author BUSHRA JUNAID will read from and discuss her children’s book The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor, based on the 19th-century sailor's skeleton and uniform she found in a Newfoundland archive. This powerful narrative poem ponders the identity of the sailor, whose remains were found on the Labrador coast in the late 1980s. Junaid explores who WH, a sailor of African descent, might have been, and the range of experiences that might have brought him to a remote Atlantic shoreline. In the process, she claims him as kin, and shines a vital light on the history of the African diaspora in the North Atlantic. Included in the Globe & Mail’s list of the top 10 children’s books of 2022, The Possible Lives of WH, Sailor (Tors Cove, NL: Running the Goat, 2022) was named a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards Children’s Non-Fiction award. She has exhibited across Canada and the US, and her work is in public, private and corporate collections. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture from the Technical Univ. of Nova Scotia.
WENDY VINCENT is a Toronto based PR and Media Relations expert with specialization in equity based strategic communications delivery. A seasoned professional with specialties in media relations, communications and events planning, Vincent’s expertise spans the creative industries. In Spring 2024, she curated the Migrant Stories exhibit at the St. Lawrence Market, Market Gallery. The exhibit told the story of 6 migrants, their challenges, triumphs, and resilience. One of the people featured was Vincent's 96-year-old great-uncle. She will bring his old suitcase and other artifacts to tell the story of "Uncle Lloyd," a member of the "Windrush Generation" a group who moved to the UK from Caribbean Commonwealth countries between 1948 and 1973, to help rebuild the country after WWII. The term includes the passengers of the HMT Empire Windrush, which was the first ship to arrive in 1948. Lloyd Lindo’s life and story, spans three continents and many decades.
Bushra and Wendy share different stories, with images and artifacts, that tie historic and contemporary Black History to real persons’ lives. Half the tickets for this performance are reserved for students ofJesse Ketchum Public School. 60 tickets are available at $10 members and $15 for the public. This event introduces the children of the community to Heliconian Hall. Come and meet them.
