Nick Krewen
Special to the Star
It’s an ugly truth, but racism is more prevalent in Canada than we’d like to admit, say two Black Canadian artists who are illuminating the issue in their current and powerfully candid works.
“There’s definitely a problem in Canada,” says Ruth Berhe – better known as Ruth B. – who recently wrote and recorded the moving ballad “If I Have A Son” in the wake of the May 25th murder of George Floyd at the hand of a former Minneapolis police officer.
“I think that racism is prevalent everywhere, not just in the U.S., but it’s definitely a problem here. Police brutality happens here, all of it happens here and it’s something that definitely needs to be paid attention to.”
In a separate interview, Brampton rapper Haviah Mighty, who releases a formidable animated music video on Canada Day for her song “Thirteen” that parallels the history of U.S. slavery with modern times, is even more blunt.
“It’s bad here,” she says. “I can’t speak to the specifics of how bad, but a little background and research on our history here of the things that we’ve done to different ethnic groups here – Black people, Indigenous people, different alien groups, but it’s bad. It’s very bad.”
While Berhe’s poignant tune is freshly inspired by recent events, Mighty’s song is not new, as it’s part of her 2019 Polaris Music Prize-winning effort 13th Floor.
However, the Theo Kapodistrias-directed video for “Thirteen” is, completed just a few months ago, marrying ball-and-chain illustrations with the shackles of a race that has found slavery abolished, yet continuing to exist within the confines of modern society.
“Somebody posted that it was a three-minute history lessons and I always thought that was a cool way to look at it,” says Mighty.
On Canada Day, Mighty releases the video to her Instagram and YouTube channels, and will perform “Thirteen” on two previously filmed Canada Day celebrations: an online presentation by the City of Toronto between 7p.m.-8p.m and another airing on the CBC and SRC TV networks and digital platforms between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
“I’ve always thought that this song is not so much my opinion, but me just transcribing what the facts are. It’s in the rhetoric, it’s in the constitution, it’s in the narration, it’s in the language and it’s in the truth as well.
“’Thirteen’ is a powerful, non-confrontational song and I think if people have an issue with this on Canada Day, it speaks to part of the problem anyways.”
Mighty says she found parallels between the North American systems of incarceration and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Despite the abolition of slavery in 1865, Mighty said that “reading about the 13thamendment in the U.S. constitution really painted for me that those actual parallels that still exist.”
And its effects are still lingering, although she tried to remain objective with her lyrics.
“I can see how transgenerational trauma has impacted us,” she notes. “ I can see how law and legislation that have been introduced to hold us down have done so.
“For me, it was important to tell that story that sounds very much like non-fiction. It wasn’t a Black woman’s opinion on what slavery is like: It was what the U.S. constitution said and how that has impacted Black people globally, from then to now.”
She hopes that “Thirteen” will enlighten.
“To understand where you came from allows you to understand where you want to go,” she explains. “And I think for our lot of our people, we don’t know where we’ve come from, so we don’t know where we’re going.
“And that’s why I think it’s such an important song for Black people to get a better sense of how they came to be very much a part of Canadian history and U.S. history.
“The sooner we start telling that story, the sooner that other people will realize that that history is also theirs.”
Mighty says that initially she wasn’t looking at releasing “Thirteen” as a single until the end of summer, but the escalation of tension and fallout from the Floyd incident changed her stance.
“It felt like an important moment in time.”
Timing also played a factor in the creation of Ruth B.’s “If I Have A Son,” which was written and recorded within two weeks of Floyd’s murder.
Consisting of Berhe’s tender phrasing as she sings over a simple piano accompaniment, “If I Have Son” addresses a potential mother’s future fear for the welfare of her children.
In one stanza, she tells them that while “your skin glitters like gold” and praises “the love inside your soul,” she warns: “But no matter what you say/No matter what you do/This world will never be as friendly to you.”
In the song, she prays that a simple trip to the corner snore to get a snack doesn’t end in tragedy due to bigotry.
“I saw a man lose his life all ‘cause his skin looks like mine,” she sings during the bridge, “I hope the world makes a change so when you get here it’s not the same.”
Berhe says witnessing the video of Floyd’s death prompted the music to come pouring out of her, although she admits it wasn’t her sole inspiration.
“Like everybody else, I was really moved and impacted by the death of George Floyd,” says Berhe, who is based in Edmonton.
“But this song has kind of always been in the making for me, I guess, because this is something that I, along with people who look like me, are always dealing with. It’s not something brand new.
“It took that video and this moment in history to definitely get it out of me, but it’s something that I’ve always felt. I’ve had conversations with my friends about it and just said that fear for our future.”
Berhe said she was “stumped and confused” the week the video went viral and turned to music to “process my feelings.”
“I’ve definitely gone through racism – my brother, my family, my parents, everyone that I know,” she admits. “I got thinking – what do I want the future to look like? A future where I have kids? How do I want them to grow up?
“And I was just thinking about all the things I would warn them about and tell them about what this exact person is going through…just hoping that the world is in a better state by the time they get here.”
Incorporating images from recent Black Lives Matter demonstrations by New York photojournalist Flo Ngala for the song’s video, Berhe said she wanted to provide a snapshot of history to accompany the music.
“A lot of us have either been to protests or are seeing protests online – and it’s a big moment, especially for my generation, because I don’t know if we’ve ever seen anything like this before,” she explains.
“I just thought it would balance out the song and be a good visual. All the messages on those posters and the kids holding their signs up are been exactly how I’ve been feeling, so I thought it did a good job carrying the song.”
Available on YouTube and streaming services, Berhe says she’s donating all proceeds of “If I Have A Son” to four charities: Campaign Zero, Black Youth Helpline, Hope Ethiopia and True North Aid.
“I just wanted to incorporate things that matter to me, so I picked organizations that are based in the U.S., Canada and Ethiopia, where my family is from.
“I just wanted to give back and be a part of helping and being part of the change.”
Both Berhe and Mighty have been encouraged by the public outcry against systemic racism, both in the forms of protest and discussion.
“I definitely feel more hopeful,” says Ruth Berhe. “There’s such a long way to go, still, but to see the unity that has come amidst all this…even here, where I’m from in Edmonton, we had this huge protest with 15,000 people that was just super-inspiring and uplifting.
“To see that people are eager to support and be part of something – I think that’s just give us some sort of hope for the future.”
Berhe also says she’s glad that Canadians are also opening their eyes to their own backyard reality.
“It’s been nice to see people acknowledge that it happens in Canada, too, because I think a lot of times it’s swept under the rug and something that people don’t want to talk about and acknowledge.”
Haviah Mighty is hoping for action – especially when it comes to racial profiling by police.
“We’re talking about it, but it’s still happening,” she states. “When I see officers on the road, I almost feel a sense of agitation – and I don’t know if what we’re fighting for is happening yet. It’s scary, you know, because I’ve always felt it.”
Both women says Canadians can take steps toward a positive solution.
“For me, the thing that always overwhelms me is, what can I do, as an individual, because there’s obviously a lot of policies that I think need to be reformed in government,” says Berhe.
“But as people, the normal thing is to teach love and talk about racism issues with kids.
“Everything starts when you’re a child and teaching kids about what it means to be a good and accepting citizen is worthwhile, because essentially they’re the ones who grow up and become what they become.”
Berhe also says it’s important to “keep aware and stay updated.”
“It’s hard sometimes to read these things and watch these things, but turning a blind eye is like the worst thing you could do,” she observes. “Even I’m learning to be better.”
Mighty says recognition of the problem is crucial.
“I think acknowledgement is the biggest thing and must come first,” Mighty advises. “After that, a discussion should follow where people learn to eliminate guilt.
“Straight up, I will tell you if what you’re doing or have done, has added to the problem. If you’re not willing to hear, then you’re not willing to make the change. Approach is everything; for me, my approach is with the intention to have someone to see something at the other end.
“And from there, having an intellectual discussion where you’re trying to bypass ignorance.”
But Mighty also has additional concerns, considering the hardships that people are going through in relation to the pandemic, job loss, political instability south of the border and just about every other threat and distraction that is making 2020 a banner year for the unexpected.
“I’m interested to see who will still have the time to pay attention to this fight that we’re having right now,” says Mighty.
“Will those people still show up? Will they still care?”