Written by Mary Ann Boateng, DM&C writer
As an archivist, community organizer and creative writer, Jonsaba Jabbi wears many hats. Her love of writing was nurtured from a young age when she wrote stories about friendships, particularly connections between young Black women. Fast forward more than 20 years later and her interest hasn’t wavered: she’s focused on telling stories about Blackness and the Black identity in Toronto, specifically during the era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“I want to give life to what life is like here in Toronto, especially for recent Black immigrants or Black folks who have been here for centuries,” said Jabbi.
In 2019, Jabbi co-founded a collective called Building A Black Archive, or BABA, alongside fellow archivist Alannah Johnson. The project, which has received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Youth Opportunities Fund, creates programming for Black youth interested in learning more about their Canadian heritage. Jonsaba’s project will prioritize stories from Canadian Hip Hop and RnB stars such as Kardinal Offishall, Choclair and Jully Black to create blog posts and podcasts that will be launched as a digital archive later this year. It’s her way of training youth to learn while also appreciating the value of learning and archiving Black Canadian stories.
Growing up in Toronto’s west end, Jonsaba often wondered why there wasn’t a wider range of stories about the diverse experiences of being Black in Canada. With BABA, she wants to disrupt that narrative by differentiating and including Canada’s story into the diasporic picture. “There are a lot of misconceptions about Black Canadians that I’ve heard especially from African-Americans. Claims like there was no slavery here and that we’re not impacted by racism in the same way as our brothers and sisters in the States,” said Jabbi. “With BABA, we are interrogating our history and experiences as Black people living in Canada. We want Black youth to know that we have a rich history that exists outside the narratives of Canadian slavery and 1960s immigration. As Marcus Garvey says, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” We are rooted here and no one can change that.”
BABA’s Logo and Look
Picture, 1992, English
Toronto Star Digital Archive, Toronto Public Library
Mary Ann Boateng is a PhD candidate in Communications and Culture..
