ByBlacks.com

08/07/2025

The “Yes, And” campaign by didn’t just land. It lingered.

At its core, “Yes, And” is about rejecting binaries: straight or curly, loud or soft, activist or artist. You can be serious in one photo and radiant in the next.

SheaFest reminds us that you are not just one thing. You are everything. And that message matters, especially now, when joy and nuance can feel like luxuries.

Click the LINK IN BIO to read more about at by

08/01/2025

In reality, only those below age six were emancipated. (They were too young to be put to work anyway!) Former slaves aged 6+ were re-baptized as “apprentices,” then condemned to unpaid, forced labour for 4 additional years. They had no rights, and were still subject to whips, r**e and other forms of terror at the hands of their masters.

If you’re finding it difficult to ascertain the difference between slavery and British “apprenticeship,” it’s because there is no difference.

LINK IN BIO to read full article by

07/30/2025

Damilola was completely burnt out physically, emotionally, and mentally. “Unfortunately, towards the end of winter, we had great challenges keeping up with our monthly rent of $6,900, alongside utilities and operating costs.”  Later the same year Dalas African Cuisine closed. 

Damilola also got feedback from some customers that the food was too expensive. There is sometimes an expectation that “ethnic” food should be cheap. However, most people are unaware that many ingredients used in African and Caribbean cuisine can be challenging to source. 

Sophie Anglin operates Ellis Kitchen, a Jamaican-themed Caribbean restaurant located in Hamilton, Ontario, on Ottawa Street North. “We often have to travel outside the city, sometimes for hours, just to source the ingredients we need. It’s exhausting and adds stress to an already demanding schedule.” 

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07/24/2025

The caucasity of it all. 🙄

LINK IN BIO.

07/17/2025

With all the hype surrounding AI, it might seem like a recent breakthrough in technology; however, the origins of what we call “AI” date back to 1950–1956, the period when Alan Turing published “Computer Machinery and Intelligence,” which introduced a test for machine intelligence called The Imitation Game. You might have seen the movie. 

In 1955, John McCarthy held a workshop at Dartmouth on “artificial intelligence,” marking the first use of the term. And in 1956, he coined the term to attract more attention and funding to his existing research. He explicitly stated years later, “I invented the term artificial intelligence to get money for a summer study.” Effectively, marketing and capital raising needs are behind the name AI, similarly to what is being done today with OpenAI and AGI. 

So we still lack a definitive scientific consensus on what ‘artificial intelligence’ is, relative to authentic human general intelligence. Both AI and AGI (artificial general intelligence) remain undefined.

Consequently, when people refer to AI today, they are typically talking about a broad category of things they don’t fully understand. However, the term is catchy and seems reasonable enough, a suitable label for technologies that mimic various human behaviours or tasks, and if enough people use it over and over again, the uninformed and wilfully ignorant masses begin to adopt it, like a new religion.  

Nevertheless, these systems operate very differently from how humans think, reason, and behave. Terms like machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks are also invented labels to support nice theories, but are void of any scientific bedrock to stand on, so a group of guys create a belief and call it whatever suits their agenda.

This is the long and short of AGI.   

So when AI advocates mention AGI, it is mostly a rebranding of AI. This is what major AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta are doing: marketing and rebranding, because they all effectively produce the same thing, just different shades of pale grey.

07/14/2025

07/14/2025

It’s 30 degrees ☀️today and the UV index is “very high”. 🥵

07/04/2025

Does this mean prices will stay low? Not necessarily. Experts say the housing market is still in trouble. Even though some prices are falling, the country still faces a significant problem.

Are you buying or renting? What have you been seeing?

06/29/2025

40 Acres is a powerful new thriller that centers Black and Indigenous voices in a gripping story about land, family, and survival.

From acclaimed director R.T. Thorne (Shoot the Messenger, Utopia Falls, The Porter) and award-winning producer Jennifer Holness (BLK: An Origin Story), premieres in theatres across Canada on July 4th.

This is more than just a film—it’s a bold statement about legacy and resistance. Show up opening weekend and be part of the movement.

🔗 http://40acres.film/

06/25/2025

Most people cannot understand exactly what is wrong with me, and it seems to make them uncomfortable. So imagine what it’s like for me living with this condition.

It has now been over two years since I had a relapse and probably got another concussion after I collapsed at work. I was working at a normal capacity as an Educator and Outreach Coordinator. Though I was comfortable talking about my brain injury, and my manager and supervisor expressed some concerns, I was still being reprimanded for only coming into work one day a week and not two.

On March 29, 2023, I collapsed at my job because I did not understand my brain injury, I did not have any accommodations, and I also did not understand the severity of what was wrong with me. -

June is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Click the link in bio or leave a comment to get the link in your DM.

06/24/2025

“We have been through hell just to get the spaces that we’re taking up now,” says Lue-Tenn, with West in agreement.

“Four years ago, we would have never imagined being in these spaces. We’ve been able to take q***r DJs and put them in spaces that they never thought they’d ever be able to play in. They’re so used to playing in these underground spots and these hole-in-the-wall spots, but we’re taking up spaces all over the city now. Like no other q***r parties have happened there.”

Joy, resistance and affirmation. These spaces are built with intention and care, and stand as vital sanctuaries against systemic neglect and hostility.

In her latest for ByBlacks, chats with just a few of the awesome people creating safe Black q***r spaces in the city.

Leave a comment to get the link in your DM or hit the link in bio! 🌈

06/20/2025

SROs (school resource officers) do not make schools safer: studies show that having police in schools results in no improvement in school safety, but they do facilitate more punishment.

Removing SROs has improved outcomes for vulnerable learners: youth arrests in Toronto have decreased since the removal of SROs, especially in low-income neighbourhoods.  Research shows overall improvement in outcomes for students in TDSB schools since moving away from punitive zero tolerance education policies: suspension rates are down, dropout rates are down, graduation rates have increased, and admission to University and College have increased.

In one police response to a non-violent incident involving Indigenous children in Ottawa:
“several patrol cars arriving, and the children being forcibly restrained face down on the floor, handcuffed and dragged across the floor during a struggle. It resulted in several of the students facing criminal charges for resisting being restrained by the police and it significantly and permanently impacted on the children’s family status, relationships, housing security and education.”

The proposed legislation—to return to the failed policy of stationing police in schools—endangers the safety, health, and well-being of Black, Indigenous and racialized youth. Generations of young Black people have been harmed by SRO programs, and Bill 33 rolls back the clock on racial progress, threatening to expose a new generation of Black learners to harm and violence in their schools. This must be stopped immediately.