February 3, 2012

Black History Month kicked off Wednesday, and we took a few opportunities to mark the occasion on our show this week.

Last night, Pam Grier was in the red chair, and George had a chance to talk to the film icon, who defined a new kind of screen presence for African-American women in the 1970s, about what Black History Month means to her:

On Wednesday night's show, our very own Sheldon Neil started things off with his take on where he thinks the annual event should be headed: Black to the Future:

Also on Wednesday, we heard from Toronto's global hip hop superstar Drake on what Black History Month means to him, which he shared with George when the two of them got together at the NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa last weekend:

George also heard from CBC News's Kim Brunhuber, who told the story of engineer and inventor Elijah McCoy, the real Real McCoy, for Something You Might Not Know About Canada:

Earlier this week, we posted a guide to some of the events taking place across the country to celebrate Black History Month, and asked our readers for any other suggestions you think we should share.

On Facebook, reader Michelle V. Pierson shared a link to the website Letters of Note, which reproduced a letter written in 1865 by Jourdon Anderson, an emancipated slave, in reply to his former master's request that he return to work on his property. Click on the image below to read his powerful and dignified response:

Also on our Facebook page, Neela Gajjar reminded us of Walter Peters, the youngest of six children in a family from Litchfield, Nova Scotia, who went on to become Canada's first black jet pilot. You can see a video interview with the retired Major Peters on the Veterans Affairs Canada website. Click on the image below:

Related Stories on Strombo.com:

It's Black History Month - What's Happening Across Canada?

The Black-Jew Dialogues