WIBCA's Legacy: Carrying the Torch from Elders to Youth in Montreal's Black Community

The West Island Black Community Association (WIBCA) was founded in 1982 as one of Montreal's first Black Anglophone associations. The film is guided by the oral histories of WIBCA's founding elders, who recount their grassroots efforts to support Black communities in Montreal for over forty years.

Despite challenges like school bus drivers refusing to transport Black youth and increased policing, WIBCA engaged with politicians, educators, and law enforcement to develop essential programs. Through intergenerational dialogue, the film showcases how WIBCA youth continue to champion justice and unity amid the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement, highlighting WIBCA's vital role in Black Canadian history and its commitment to celebrating and supporting diverse communities in Montreal.

The film was produced by the Decolonial Perspectives and Practices Hub (DPPH) and was funded by the SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation. Directed by Jamilah Dei-Sharpe, with Ray Resvick as director of photography, Rania Salawdeh as videographer and Rebeccah Redden as video editor.

The Decolonial Perspectives and Practices Hub (DPPH), is a nonprofit organization based in Montreal. It creates spaces for collaboration between faculty, students, and community organizations to address the systemic challenges marginalized groups face in academia.

About the Decolonial Perspectives and Practices Hub (DPPH)

The DPPH makes higher education more equitable and inclusive by incorporating decolonial approaches into curricula and the learning environment, including integrating oral histories, community knowledge, antiracism education, and promoting student leadership. The DPPH engages in various initiatives to transform teaching and learning, such as syllabus deconstruction events, enhancing collaboration between students and faculty, an online library of antiracism educational videos, and offering a credit-based experiential student internship program. This program connects Concordia University students with community organizations involved in social justice projects. Notably, the WIBCA short film was produced as part of this internship program, linking Concordia film studies students with the West Island Black Community Association.

About the filmmaker

Jamilah Dei-Sharpe is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at Concordia University, specializing in Black Canadian studies, gender studies, and decolonizing higher education. As an undergraduate instructor and community organizer, she is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of students and scholars. Some of Jamilah’s work for community advancement includes serving as co-chair of the Race and Ethnicity Research Cluster at the Canadian Sociological Association, founding the Decolonial Perspectives and Practices Hub, and co-founding the National Black Graduate Association.