If you’re reading this, you were probably just as shocked as I was to hear that Harlem Underground was closing for good. The place has been known for the soul food and unforgettable Caesars, but it’s also been a hub for black culture in Toronto for the past ten years. It’s one of three restaurants successfully owned and operated by cultural icon, Carl Cassell, over the past 18 years. The decision to close didn’t come easily but, as Carl puts it, he’s “ready for something new.”

Nancy Falaise has over 18 years experience as a hairstylist, with a particular passion for curly hair. She’s on a mission to eradicate the stigma associated with the Afro/curly texture. It is a passion born out of hardship and loss. As a young Black Canadian girl she was constantly rejected for being biracial, with extra insult added because of her tight curls. It would take a life altering experience to make Falaise take a deeper look at herself and see the beauty of her natural curls.

More and more Black women are going natural and embracing their kinky-textured hair. But this was not always the case.

Growing up black in the ’80s and ’90s, most of us can remember times of playing video games with our friends for hours on a Saturday afternoon (of course, only if our mom let us!). Back then, hours would pass like minutes. Deeper friendships were formed, and pacts were made to do it all again next weekend!

For section leaders, artists, DJs, and promoters alike, carnival season is big business. Blood, sweat, and tears literally accompany each and every year of carnival preparations for the professionals that make it what it is, and you truly can’t imagine a carnival season without the pillars of music, mas, and fetes.

The Principals Of Silvertrust Media and Afroglobal Television Are Also Making A Difference Through The Transformation Institute For Leadership And Innovation.

Imagine walking into a store where everything on the shelves is made by a black person. Such a store is a reality, thanks to Michael and Mak, proud owners of Melanin MRKT in Pickering, Ontario.

Ajoa Mintah, daughter to Ghanaian immigrants and founder of Four All Ice cream in Kitchener, Ontario, started off her career in what was a stable, secure field as a licensed engineer doing product development in the automotive industry. After about six years of working in that field she moved into consulting. Almost a decade later she made a major shift.

PHOTO CREDIT: Katherina Limo You could write a novel length interview on someone like Jibola Fagbimye. An entrepreneur and artist of Nigerian descent who immigrated to Canada at the age of 21, he seems to be constantly juggling all the parts of his being in a successfully rhythmic orbit.

Jamaican-born Chedwick Crieghtney has always been the entrepreneurial type. It’s not unfamiliar to find him looking for opportunities to use his wealth of business knowledge and experience to build something unique and fresh from the ground up.

2017 was recorded as the worst year for traditional retail shopping in the U.S., with more than 6,700 brick and mortar stores closing their doors.

Peter Odle is a busy guy, a native Torontonian who makes his living making big cities like Toronto, Montreal and New York more accessible for clients.