SPEAK B(L)ACK (2017-19) is a collaborative project with Black History Month at McGill and that has been held annually since 2016. SPEAK B(L)ACK is an evening of spoken word, hosted by Kama La Mackerel, where we open the stage for self-identifying Black folks to rhyme, to spit, to lash out, to rant, to rap, to let their voice boom across winter skies, to breathe in, to breathe out, to cry, to laugh, to make us laugh. SPEAK B(L)ACK is an opportunity to speak black and to speak back. SPEAK B(L)ACK is also a response to Michèle Lalonde’s nationalist poem “Speak White.”
The event is free and includes featured performers followed by an open mic. Any self-identifying Black person may perform any form of spoken word (slam, story-telling, oration, rap etc.), and trans, gender non-conforming, femme, queer, neuro-diverse and disabled Black folks are particularly encouraged to take the mic and speak their truth(s).
