The defining factors of corporate regulation such as strict adherence to the written rule, rigid mandates that structure shift work, and a pyramid of assigned roles, are all perpetuating a system that was shaped by the process of enslaving people in order for them to be exploited for their physical labour.

This curated list of Alberta-based businesses is a resource for anyone who prioritizes buying Black. Whether as an ally supporting us, or as a member of the diaspora practicing group economics; this holiday season you can elevate Black enterprises.

This doesn’t have to be awkward. You can say it super casually and move right along. For example, you just get your hair done and some curious Becky says “ohmygod I’m LOVING this look,” and reaches out to touch it. You move your head away gently, say “hair touching is actually a boundary for me, but thanks for saying you like it,” and move right along to the next subject of conversation.

Most of the time one thinks of metalheads, or the phrase “Black Metal”, satanic visions of sweaty white men with long greasy hair screeching and growling in wintry Norwegian forests at dusk (or one of their basements) come to mind. But there have always been, and will always be, Black metalheads. We need to shift and expand our ideas of what a metalhead looks like, because Black metalheads are metalheads like anyone else, if not more stylish in this case.

I wish that I’d been prepared to deal with racism, but not even overt racism, I’m talking about micro-aggressions. All the subtle ways that I was told by “friends,” peers and social institutions that I’ll never be good enough. Some people don’t believe that micro-aggressions are a thing, but here’s my two cents: they are. I wish I had someone to tell me that “It’s not you, it’s them.” Maybe, then, the apology wouldn’t have felt as necessary, in that moment.

Who would have thought that at 29 years-young I would be sitting in the eccentric backyard of a Calgary cafe, smoking a legal spliff and discussing business opportunities in cannabis? If Curren$y could see me now. It’s not quite a Verde Terrace, but this garden space, this moment, inspires me like Spitta did when he spoke in rhythmic duality; his bars are laced with business acumen.

Colonization is rarely cited as the cause for our climate crisis, when in reality, it’s the origin of it. So while white activists are out here promoting environmentalism (and subtly, their own moral excellence), they’re actually just perpetuating the exact thing that got us into this mess — white supremacy.