Black Canadian history is something Guinness World Record-setting rapper Duane “D.O.” Gibson is passionate about it.
Gibson, who set a Guinness World Record for the longest freestyle rap — eight hours and 45 minutes — has always used his platform to educate and inspire others and recently began a tour of schools across Canada to speak to students about Black history in Canada.
The tour began Jan. 8 in Surrey, British Columbia and has two stops in Newmarket — Jan. 26 at Terry Fox Public School and Feb. 2 St. John Chrysostom Catholic Elementary School — before concluding March 7 in Mississauga.
Gibson has been doing school presentations for two decades and loves going to smaller communities across Canada to deliver his message.
He said that while there has been more education on Black history in Canada in recent years, he finds many students know the names of great Black Canadians, but don’t necessarily know their stories.
“I think it’s a powerful thing for them to hear these stories,” he said.
When he goes on these tours, Gibson said he likes to kick things off with a freestyle rap to get the students engaged and set them up to know that it’s going to be entertaining on top of the educational aspect.
Gibson said that when he asks the students about important figures in Black history, he often hears the names Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, but rarely hears Canadians mentioned.
“I ask them if there’s such a thing as Black Canadian history,” he said. “And I bring up Jean Augustine because she was the first Black female Member of Parliament.”
Following a motion in December 1995 by Augustine, Black History Month was recognized by Canada. Gibson feels it’s important to get across to students that it wasn’t long ago that Black history wasn’t celebrated each year in Canada.
Being in these classrooms and engaging students on important topics in a fun way helps it better imprint on their minds, added Gibson.
“I grew up as the only Black kid at my school and one thing I realized was that people weren’t necessarily racist toward me, they were ignorant,” he said. “They didn’t really know, and by being in these classrooms, it helps educate.”
During a stop on the tour in Victoria, B.C., Gibson had a Black student approach him to ask if he had ever dealt with racism and how he deals with people who are racist toward him.
“I saw him in me, I know what it’s like to be that kid,” he said. “The N-word is being used a lot nowadays and how does a racialized kid stand up for themselves? My hope is by doing these presentations it helps all students realize certain things shouldn’t be said, and the reason why they shouldn’t be said.”
In the middle of the tour, on Feb. 13, Gibson will be holding his third annual virtual Black 365 Conference with schools across the country.
The conference is expected to pull in more than 50,000 students and a highlight of it will be Gibson's exploration of the history of Birchtown, Nova Scotia, where the community embarked on a journey to Sierra Leone, Africa.
“These cool stories help tie everything together,” he said.
Gibson will also be releasing his new EP Songs of Freedom during the tour on Feb. 9. The EP is a collection of four tracks that focus on resilience and freedom inspired from Gibson’s commitment to educating others about Black Canadian history.
“I wanted there to be a message in it,” he said. “It’s cool to be able to release an EP like this during Black History Month.”
Learn more about Gibson here.
