A new legacy

Prime-time event celebrates Black talent in Canada

Sprinter Andre De Grasse, sports anchor Kayla Grey and filmmaker Fabienne Colas were among the honourees at the Legacy Awards Sunday night, billed as the first major prime-time awards show to celebrate Black talent in the country.

Actors Shamier Anderson and Stephan James, brothers from Toronto’s Scarborough neighbourhood, founded the Legacy Awards in order to spotlight exceptional Black Canadians with a platform they felt was lacking.

“This whole idea began when Shamier and I would go to all these award shows and see little to no people of colour,” said James, who kept the night of accolades and performances flowing alongside Anderson. “So we decided that things need to change.”

Each award recipient was chosen by an advisory committee made up of experts across music, film, TV and pop culture, in addition to The Black Academy.

The only exception was the digital creator fan choice award voted on by the public.

De Grasse, a six-time Olympic medallist, was honoured as Athlete of the Year for his “exemplary accomplishments in sport in Canada and the world along with his contribution to the Black Canadian Identity.”

De Grasse took home medals in all three sprinting events at the 2016 Rio Olympics and later at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

He also founded the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation in 2018 to inspire and empower youth through access to sport, education, and health care.

Joining the recipient lineup was Grey, a Toronto-based sports broadcaster and producer who became the first Black woman to host a flagship sports show with SportsCentre. For her “unmistakable talent and activism,” she was honoured with the first ever Jahmil French Award award — named after the late-Canadian actor of the same name for his role in “Degrassi: The Next generation” — given to a “rising star” within the Canadian media landscape.

Meanwhile, film festival founder, actor and Haitian-Canadian director Colas was honoured with the Visionnaire Award for supporting diversity on and off the screen through organizations including the Fabienne Colas Foundation.

Colas thanked former governor general Michaëlle Jean, who was on stage to present her with the Legacy’s visionary award, citing the importance of having a Black mentor in such a prominent position.

Colas stressed the lack in inclusivity in Canadian media.

She said change could happen through massive inclusion and the support of Black-led and BIPOC organizations and festivals.

Capping off the night came the digital creator fan choice awarded to Ika Wong.

Apart from the awards receivers themselves, the evening was decorated with rousing live performances by a manifold of Canada’s most prominent Black music artists such as Kardinal Offishall, Deborah Cox, Fefe Dobson, Alicia Mighty and Melanie Fiona.