Black on Bay Ball – Celebrating 20 years of change on the Street
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| Award winner - Daouli Abouchere - sweir photo |
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| Dr. Fearon interviewed in hall by Planet Africa TV |
Black on Bay Ball – Celebrating 20 years of change on the Street
By Stephen Weir
On Saturday night the
Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals (CAUFP) marked 20 years
of toiling mightily for the advancement and inclusion of black leaders in the
Canadian financial services industry with what else? A black tie ball on Bay
Street. It was one part looking at the
future, another part looking back to when diversity was an unspoken word on the
Street but for the most part, it was a blowout party amongst hundreds of colleagues
and friends!
The Black on Bay Ball was a
sold-out fete in Toronto’s famed Arcadian Court. The iconic art deco hall is on
the 8th floor of the Hudson Bay building at the corner of Bay and
Queen Streets.
The
Ball ticked off all the right boxes. A red carpet reception. Caribbean style
haute cuisine food stations. Moko jumbie stilt walkers swished through the room. African and Mas dancers and
models wowed the 500 guests. There was an inspirational speech by Dr. Gervan
Fearon, the country’s first Black university president. Oh, and just for fun,
the Honourable Justice Donald McLeod (the emcee for the evening) adjudicated a
tuxedo dance-off between executives from Scotiabank, RBC and CIBC banks.
Men wearing bow ties and tuxedos,
and women in full-length gowns, poured into the hall. This was not a sit down events. Michael Carter of LeapAgents and Kwesi
Thomas of ForthK transformed the large room into a fancy night club with
couches, bottle service and face painted wait staff serving ox tail Hors d'oeuvre and
shark n bake inspired canapés.
“Tonight is really an evening of
affirmation that we all hold a vision of the Canadian financial services
industry where Black people are active, included and successful,’ said CAUFP president Abdul-Aziz
Garuba, as he officially started the party.
In between
performances by the Crawford Academy Adventist Academy Concert Winds Orchestra
and the African Dance Troupe, Dr. Fearon was helped to the stage to address the
crowd. He is the new President & Vice-Chancellor, of Brock University
in St Catharines.
Like
many Canadians of Jamaican ancestry, Fearon was born in England. His parents
took him to Jamaica, their birthplace, where they lived until he was 9. The
59-year old then settled with his family in Canada in 1968.
It was an amazing address given by Dr. Fearon that
took the audience on a wild 10,000 year ride that started with the building of
pyramids, touched on dinosaurs who never figured out how to stop asteroid
induced climate change and ended with his wondering what would happen to racial
inequalities when mankind finally meets space aliens!
"I see it (evolution of society) as
transformative for individuals, communities and society," he told the
crowd. "At an early age it became very clear to me that with education all
dreams become possible.”
There was a
point to this time-travelling talk. Dr. Fearon told the men and women
working in the financial industry to expect major technology advances and job
turmoil over the course of their careers. “Don’t fear change. When the ATM was introduced everyone feared
major job loss in our banks. That hasn’t
happened.”
The Brock
president said he was in a room full of successful people but cautioned them
not to forget the people who have been left behind. “They don’t forget and when times are tough
they can (bite back)”.
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| Caribbean entertainment for after-party - Gerard Richardson photo |
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