Legacy Awards unapologetically honour Black Canadian talent | CBC News

“Put your melanated hands together,” actor Shamier Anderson announced onstage on Sunday at the Legacy Awards in Toronto. In front of him was a sea of mostly Black faces, a sight rarely ever seen at an awards show in this country.

Smiling widely, Anderson made no attempt to hide that.

“We’re back, and still Black!” he said, to a round of cheers and applause.

This was the second year for the Legacy Awards, Canada’s first awards ceremony dedicated to honouring all-Black talent. It ran again at the venue History, but founders Anderson and his brother Stephan James set this show up as something different.

Hosted by musician Keisha Chanté instead of the brothers themselves, this year’s event sought to broaden its appeal and increase its production value as the awards moved from first-show excitement to becoming an established institution in the Canadian media landscape. 

WATCH | 2023 Legacy Awards: 

Celebrations of strong words

This was largely accomplished by recognizing protest, activism and political statements — something that traditional award shows can struggle to acknowledge head-on.

The 90-minute show was produced by the Black Academy, an initiative Anderson and James launched in December 2020. But Anderson and James were quickly ushered off-stage by Chanté, who noted she took on the hosting role for three reasons: the opportunity for “fire pics for Instagram,” a work visa that requires her to work part of the time in Canada and the opportunity to celebrate Black talent in a country that often fails to do so. 

“Growing up, for me, I didn’t really see myself on television,” Chanté told CBC News on the show’s Black carpet. “You want to feel like you’re counted, like you’re part of things. So it is important to see yourself on television and know that it’s possible. 

“When you don’t see it, you don’t think it’s possible.”

After the hosts’ rat-a-tat introduction came the night’s first performance, from honouree Jully Black. Supported by a glittering, gold-bedecked band, Black ran through three of her hits: Queen; a rendition of Sweat of Your Brow dedicated to Jamaican fans in the audience; and Seven Day Fool. 

She was followed by Lu Kala and her hit Pretty Girl Era; a rendition of Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson’s Hymn to Freedom performed by Jackie Richardson, Thompson Egbo-Egbo and ballerina Jasmine Renée Thomas; and a rendition of the Rascalz classic Northern Touch by Taaylee G, Tamir, YSN Fab and Zach Zoya to end the show.

There was even a Jamaica-versus-Trinidad rap battle between Anderson, James and Chanté. That section included a partial reference to last year’s show, in which Anderson and James gave out Jamaican patties to audience members. This time, Chanté rapped, “You axe a Trini girl host, you ask for trouble / Two versus one but I’m used to eating doubles,” a reference to the similar street food from Trinidad & Tobago.

‘Forget all the naysayers’

While interspersed with performances and tributes, the show was primarily dedicated to honouring award recipients.

Professional basketball player Kia Nurse was presented with the Athlete Award, given to her onstage by her sister Tamika Nurse. This was followed by the Visionary Award, presented to Tonya Williams, the actor, activist and founder of the Reelworld Film Festival (now Reelworld Film Institute), by Toronto International Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey. 

Williams spoke about the importance of a night that recognizes Black talent. She said she first entered the field of acting to increase “positive portrayals of people who look like [her].”

The more she worked in that industry, the more she realized Black people and people of colour were poorly depicted, because “those sets were filled, primarily, with white men.”

Next to hit the stage was Lu Kala, a Congolese Canadian singer whose track Pretty Girl Era became one of the most popular songs of the last year. Taking home the Emerging Artist Award, she spoke both on stage and on the carpet about what a show like this would have meant to her as a child — and how being recognized as a pop star, rather than being miscategorized as an R&B singer, can help make the next generation of singers feel more accepted.

“We want other little Black kids to be pop stars. I just want them to keep going,” she said on the carpet ahead of the awards. “Forget all the naysayers that said you can’t make it. I’m living proof. I’m on my way up and you can be there, too.”

Next was the Icon Award for Jully Black, who gained international attention after replacing the words “our home and native land” with “our home on native land” while singing the Canadian national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game earlier this year.

Finally, filmmaker Director X, real name Julien Christian Lutz, received the 2023 Trailblazer Award. Known for working with stars like Drake, Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar, Lutz spoke about how, in the recent past, there were effectively no Black programs, radio or awards shows in Canada. 

“Sometimes we forget how far we’ve come, because we’re too in the moment,” he said. “Because … it wasn’t that long ago we were fighting to be considered human beings. So stand up, Black Canada, hold your head up high, speak with your powerful voice, and say, ‘This is our history, this is our legacy, this is our country.'”

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.