This question was posed to the members of Black Pearls: Living in Pickering, I feel the racial strain and little things like Black movies not showing at the cinema has gone along way in affecting how comfortable I feel in Canada. Can you tell us more about your work in this sector? Monique answers.

Posted by Monique

A majority of Black Pearls members either grew up in Durham Region or currently live there. I spent my teenage years — which weren’t so long ago — in Whitby. The number of Black students at my high school was fairly small. I was an athlete and played on a number of sports teams. From my experience, I can honestly say that I did not feel a “racial strain” there. I didn’t feel like I was treated differently by my class/team mates because I was Black. There are others, however, that have been treated differently. I know that another Black Pearls member who spent her teen years in Pickering and witnessed racism first hand in dealing with skinheads at her school.

My opinion is that no matter where you go in your city or the world, there is the possibility you will face a racial strain. There is even strain within the Black community that we have to deal with. Although there are challenges, they shouldn’t affect how comfortable you feel in your city or your country. When my family first moved out to Durham, finding a West Indian grocery store or hair salon was difficult! We always went to Scarborough or Eglinton Ave. W. to get what we needed.

According to Pickering’s most recent census, 8,800 of the city’s total population was Black –that’s around 10 percent. Neighborhoods in Scarborough and North York are densely populated with Blacks and it’s easier to access certain products and services. The beautiful thing about Toronto is that there are different areas of the city that reflect different cultures. My friends can attest that I love food and there are many neighborhoods that feature authentic cuisine from a number of countries which is something you can’t get in many cities.

With regard to Black movies being available, the only Black movie I remember seeing in Durham region was The Original Kings of Comedy in Oshawa. In Scarborough, the Black population is 60,000 people. Comparing Scarborough to Pickering, if we are trying to make some money, it makes more sense to go show a movie featuring a Black cast in Scarborough than in Pickering.

But this isn’t just a Pickering issue — this isn’t even a Canada issue. This issue is far deeper rooted down to society and the film industry. Throughout history some Black films have seen great success; however Black filmmakers have struggled.

Tyler Perry once vented, “For some reason, I have never been able to get my movies to play in more than 2,150 theaters. I have fought until I’m blue in the face and nobody can give me a clear cut answer.” Now I’m no film industry expert however I understand that theatre companies purchase the films from studios to show on their screens. Most movies open on between 3,000 to 5,000 screens.

People may argue that Lionsgate is not a major studio and may not be able to command the maximum number of screens to meet demand in the face of competition from larger studios. Unfortunately, we may never get a straight answer as to why Black films aren’t being seen on more screens. Could it be the movie industry that is shafting Tyler and other Black filmmakers just because they are Black or is there less demand? What do you think?