Goodbye 2024: Our Look Back at What Made Us Cringe, Cry, and Celebrate
1. Canadian Men’s 4 x 100 Metre Relay Team wins Gold at Paris Olympics
When the teams for the 4 x 100 Metre Men’s Relay final took to the Parisian purple track on August 9th, 2024, nobody expected the Canadians to win (except, well, Canada). The fact that the almost exact same team had won silver in Tokyo (2020) and bronze in Rio (2016) did not prompt the American track and field analysts on NBC to bother to mention the dynamic foursome of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney, and Andre De Grasse as they took to the track. The biased coverage led the world to believe that all eyes should have been only on the US team, who sadly botched their baton passing yet again. Meanwhile, our triumphant team – composed of Canadians of African Caribbean descent (three Jamaican Canadians) rocked the rain-dampened track to bring home the gold in 37.50 seconds. Congrats Men. Boom – GOLD!
Canadian Men’s 4 x 100-metre Relay Team in Paris, France
2. Black Women Rise, but Suffer Harm in Western Federal Politics
Annamie Paul: Green Party of Canada Leader (2021-22)
Kamala Harris: Vice President and Democratic Party Nominee (2024)
Kemi Badenoch: Leader of UK Conservative Party (2024)
These three political superstars rose to the top of their federal parties, but two suffered mighty slings and arrows along the way. Is their ascendency a sign of progress? Surely, but do we still have an uphill battle ahead? We suggest that you grab your pickaxes and climbing gear and hold on for the ride! Racism + Sexism = a Very Bumpy Ride ahead.
(Left to Right): Annamie Paul, Kamala Harris, and Kemi Badenoch
3. Advances in Sickle Cell Disease Treatment
Of the deadly diseases that disproportionately and negatively impact black folks, Sickle Cell is near the top of the list. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), also known as Sickle Cell Anemia, is a group of inherited disorders that affects hemoglobin, the major protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. A gene mutation resulting in a sickle shaped cells leads to a host of problems including severe pain, organ damage, eye and lung problems, stroke, infections, and kidney disease. People with SCD and Thalassemia often develop anemia (the lack of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin), another dangerous condition which is of course only exacerbated when a female patient has other conditions like fibroids. But thankfully, help is finally on the way in the form of new cell-based gene therapies which were previously approved in the UK, USA, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, and one of which – Casgevy – has now been approved in Canada.
Artistic rendering of Sickle Cell Disease
4. Slavery North Welcomed its Inaugural Cohort of Fellows
If you are a faithful reader of Black Maple Magazine, by now you already know what Slavery North is. But if not, don’t worry. Just think social justice + academic research + Transatlantic Slavery, and you’ll soon get the picture. Created by our fearless leader, Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson, Slavery North is a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind academic initiative at UMass Amherst which supports the research of cohorts of fellows who examine the un(der)studied histories of slavery in Canada and the US North. Why is this so important? Because the racism that black people still suffer today (like that in the Canadian federal government discussed below) is not a product of the twentieth-first century, but remnants of Transatlantic Slavery that were never cleaned up. After garnering a $2.65 million dollar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (the largest grant ever awarded to UMass) Slavery North moved into its newly renovated space in Amherst, Massachusetts in August 2024 and Charmaine welcomed the first cohort of fellows. Needless to say, they are brilliant and all doing cutting-edge, transformative research. But this game-changing work must continue long after the Mellon grant is spent. So, learn with us and donate if you can!
(Left to Right): Slavery North Fellows David Montero, Chris Gismondi, Jennifer DeClue, and Julia Jorati
5. American Women Harmed and Killed by the Repeal of Roe V. Wade
When the conservative leaning US Supreme Court repealed the landmark 1973 ruling (Roe v. Wade) in 2024 that had previously recognized the right to abortion, they set off a cascade of far-reaching, dangerous repercussions which have proven lethal to American women and girls. In the new patchwork of the even more unequal American healthcare system, healthcare providers and patients must navigate state laws designed to withhold abortion and miscarriage care and to persecute and prosecute both patients and providers alike who seek and deliver this often lifesaving care. While states like Massachusetts moved to enshrine abortion care access in their laws ahead of the Supreme Court decision to protect women, girls, and health care workers, other states have doubled down on the draconian measures forcing people to seek at-home medicines, back-room procedures, or flee their states altogether in the quest for care.
According to Ms. Magazine, 21 states now ban or restrict abortion access, and in 13 states, it is completely illegal. As was predicted and as is completely preventable, several women have already died after being denied lifesaving healthcare. Perhaps the best example of the defective logic of the supposedly pro-life mob is that several women have died after being denied access to Dilatation and Curettage (D & C) after suffering missed or partial miscarriages. The punitive move to prosecute healthcare providers for any procedures that removes any biological material from the uterus or tubes whether blastocyst, embryo, or fetus, has resulted in many medical providers refusing to intervene, causing patients to die of hemorrhage, infection, and sepsis.
In Canada, where abortion was nationally legalized in 1988, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made it known that Canada is open to Americans who must travel north for abortion access. However, foreigners seeking medical care in Canada must pay out of pocket in the absence of private insurance and the already long waiting lists for health access for Canadians mean that for Americans, abortions may mean more than a few days abroad. Executive director Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada points to travel and hotel costs, procedure fees, and the need for a passport, all of which might make such trips difficult or impossible.
Indeed, as Canadians already know, abortion care within Canada, although legal, is often inaccessible. A 2013 study found that 18.1 per cent of women travelled more than 100 kilometres to access abortion and that Indigenous women were more adversely impacted, being three times more likely than white women to have travelled this distance. At present, no academic or media organization seems to be keeping stats on the number of Americans seeking abortion care in Canada. So, it remains to be seen how these urgent issues will be addressed.
6. Dominican Men Rock the MLB
We loved seeing Teoscar Hernández rock the Home Run Derby to claim the trophy at the MLB’s 2024 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Monday, July 15th. Cheering him on was his loving family and devoted friend, Blue Jay Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (affectionately known as Vladdy). Yes folks, even Teoscar’s departure from the Blue Jays to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 could not break up this enduring Dominican bromance. It was Vladdy by Teoscar’s side, coaching him through the home stretch, and fittingly handing him his gleaming double-bat trophy. But the year of Teoscar did not end there. The superstar outfielder went on to have a stellar performance in the World Series, winning it all with his Dodger teammates in October 2024.
(Left to Right): Teoscar Hernández and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Not to be outdone, another Dominican superstar (and Yankees World Series contender) also took the MLB by storm in 2024. Hailing from “The Capital” (a.k.a. Santo Domingo), the 26-year-old left fielder Juan Soto made history with the New Yorks Mets who signed him for a record setting $765 million, 15-year contract! With their own powerhouse league (LIDOM) and MLB players like Vladdy, Hernández, and Soto, the Dominican Republic continues to demonstrate why it’s the baseball mecca of the world.
Juan Soto in Mets Jersey
7. Anti-Black Racism Runs Rampant in the Canadian Federal Government
The tarnished, ill-fitting, never-deserved (take your pick of negative adjectives) halo of “Canada-the-good” is finally slipping. We are referring, of course, to the tried and untrue, and toxic rhetoric of a colonialism-free, slavery-never-happened-here, pervasive national misperception which keeps Canadian race dialogue stuck at an elementary level where white Canadians ask black Canadians, “what are you talking about?”.
The national news coverage of the “cesspool of racism” in the federal public service will hopefully put the lie of Canadian racial innocence to rest forever – or at least make a dent in the relentless false narrative of a racism-free nation. (Well, we can dream can’t we?)
According to an internal report on workplace racism and harassment, even the highest levels of the Canadian government are not immune. Well, go figure! (Please excuse our sarcasm, but the news reporting stated what we black folks have known across years, decades, and generations.) The government-funded report about the experience of senior black workers in the federal public services detailed racist remarks (like the casual use of the N-word), harassment, intimidation, and threats that have especially harmed black women.
Sadly, this type of systemic racism is not isolated within the Canadian government, but a pervasive problem in all areas of Canadian society including academia, corporate Canada, the health care system, and education, as our own editor-at-large Maxwell B. Nelson has recently detailed.
The peer-reviewed report was authored by Saint Mary’s University Associate Professor Rachel Zellars (whose PhD was co-supervised by our fearless leader, Prof. Charmaine A. Nelson). As is typical of workplace racism, employees reported being actively denied opportunities that were routinely extended to others, like language training, which is necessary for promotions. As with Maxwell B. Nelson’s experiences in the 1980s as a Vice Principal for over a decade in the Durham Board of Education, black executives reported career stagnation often spending years in acting positions or training subordinates who were eventually promoted above them.
While Zellars’ important report offers several recommendations (including a zero-tolerance policy on anti-Black racism) it remains to be seen if the federal government will take the report and its calls to action seriously. Far too many people are obviously implicated in this culture of rampant racism for these entrenched toxic attitudes and racist behaviours not to have been widely witnessed and widely condoned for far too long!
8. We said Good-bye to African American Greats: James Earl Jones, John Amos, and Quincy Jones
African American superstars have been dominating global stage and screen for decades. They shine across national borders with their stirring music, gripping onscreen performances, and moving theatrical work. This year we celebrate and mourn the loss of some greats. On September 9th, 2024 the incomparable James Earl Jones – star of stage, screen, and voice over work – passed away and we lost his unmatched stirring “basso profondo”. Born in Mississippi, in 1931, Jones had a life of incredible firsts, overcoming a debilitating stutter before going on to become one of the most celebrated acting talents of the twentieth century.
James Earl Jones (1931-2024)
A month earlier we lost the versatile actor John Amos who passed on August 21st, 2024, at the age of 84. Unlike many actors, Amos had a storied career that spanned five decades, and he moved seamlessly between small and big screens, between hilarious comedies and gripping, unforgettable dramas. His memorable early work includes powerful characters like James Evans in Norman Lear’s family sitcom Good Times. But according to the New York Times, sticking to his principles when the show veered increasingly towards the stereotypical got Amos fired for being a “disruptive element” (and his character killed off) in 1976 . Amos also made pathbreaking dramas, like his star turn as Kunta Kinte in Alex Haley’s miniseries Roots (1977).
But this Newark, NJ born Hollywood staple routinely delivered the funny. Alongside Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones, Amos played the proud and status-conscious Cleo McDowell in Coming to America (1988) and Edward Boyton, the gay boyfriend of the white Tom (Stacy Keach), the common-law father of Charlie Harper’s (Charlie Sheen) fiancé Chelsea Melini (Jennifer Taylor). Amos’ stunning talent and incredible versatility is largely unmatched in the Hollywood of yester year or today.
John Amos (1939-2024)
While James Earl Jones and John Amos have left gaping holes in the world of stage and screen, Quincy Jones’ passing at the age of 91 on November 3rd, 2024, has left a chasm in the world of music. Whether you’re old enough to collect vinyl or CDs, or you use Spotify or Apple Music, it’s safe to assume to there’s some Quincy Jones-produced music in your collection. (If not, we don’t know what you’re listening to!)
Born on the South Side of Chicago in 1933, Jones who was eventually befriended by Ray Charles at 14-years-old (Charles was 16) and mentored Count Bassie, went on to become a prolific music writer, composer, and producer. Initially, Jones gravitated to the piano and then the trumpet eventually playing with Lionel Hampton and directing, arranging and playing with Dizzy Gillespie. It was music that allowed him to travel the world and see other ways of living and being outside of the deadly racial apartheid of Jim Crow America. In the Netflix documentary Quincy (2018), he fondly recalled his first opportunity at arranging which came with Dinah Washington who used her clout to insist that the then unknown Jones collaborate with her. He also created music for films like In the Heat of the Night (1967) and The Color Purple (1985). The rest, as they say, is history!
Jones went on to produce the music of George Benson, Lesley Gore, Frank Sinatra, and oh yeah, Michael Jackson’s record shattering Thriller album! More still, Jones also produced TVs The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-96) which launched Will Smith’s acting career and was the force behind the star-studded charity record We are the World (1985)which featured Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Steve Perry, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, and Stevie Wonder (to name a few). Amongst Jones’ many honours and awards were 28 Grammys, a Primetime Emmy, a Tony Award, and the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was also a Kennedy Center Honoree.
It is safe to say that we may never see the likes of these three giants again.
Quincy Jones (1933-2024)
9. Black Women Shine at the Paris Olympics
When the world came together in Paris, France from July 26th to August 11th to witness the XXXIII Olympiad, black female athletes did not disappoint. While the small but mighty, 27-year-old, Texas native Simone Biles rocked the gymnastics arena winning three golds and a silver, out on the purple track African Caribbean women were shining.
Simone Arianne Biles Owens
The powerful Julien Alfred claimed 100-metre gold becoming the first Saint Lucian to win an Olympic medal and Thea Lafond of Dominica claimed the women’s triple jump gold, becoming the first person to win any medal for that Caribbean Island. Want more? The Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino won 400-metre gold with her blistering time of 48.17 seconds, breaking the Olympic record in the process, and becoming the first Dominican woman to win Gold! Well done, women!
Julien Alfred winning the 100-metre sprint in Paris, France
10. Black Maple Magazine Keeps Winning Awards
Black Maple Magazine has been shining since our launch in December 2022. In our first year, we scored a silver medal in the 3rd Annual Anthem Awards, six awards of distinction and excellence from the 30th Annual Communicator Awards, and recognition as a Webby Honoree in the 28thAnnual Webby Awards. But the international accolades keep coming! This year we’ve taken home five gold and silver awards from the 19th Annual w3 Awards and nine trophies in the 20th Annual Davey Awards. We are thrilled that this recognition is not merely about how aesthetically pleasing Black Maple Magazine is (we are beautiful, aren’t we?), but for our focus on Social Good, Education, Health, Community, and just being an overall great magazine! Our out-of-the-box thinking is simple. Vibrant and thoughtful black community + academia + pop culture = timely, lively, unique, funny, uplifting, and inspirational media! But none of this is possible without you, our dedicated readers. So spread the words and stay tuned. The best is yet to come in 2025!
Black Maple’s Nine Davey Awards (2024)
Thank you and Happy New Year from Black Maple Magazine!