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Caribbean Excellence on the Road to the King's Plate
Written by Felicia Gopi
If you’ve ever visited Woodbine Racetrack located in Etobicoke, Ontario, you’ve been privy to the exhilarating sounds and often distinct smell of horse racing in the air. The stands are filled with excited fans who’ve put their money on their favourite racehorses, anxiously awaiting that starting bell.
For Caribbean fans of the sport in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) horse racing is a common past-time - yet if you take a closer look at the owners’ boxes or the winner’s circle you would never be able to tell just how much our community makes up the fabric of the sport altogether.
Chris K. Manohar is the current owner of three race horses although he’s had as many as six prior. Chris’ Canadian Sweetheart (which he claimed for $25,000), is notably one of the top female horses of the year at Woodbine.
So how does a first-generation Canadian, born to immigrant parents from Guyana become a race horse owner and King’s Plate contender? Well, for Chris the key to his success comes from a long line of hard work and knowing when to bet on yourself....Read More
Written by Felicia Gopi
Natasha Prasaud is a Canadian Lawyer-turned-Director of Associate Programs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (Stikeman Elliott LLP) who was born to Guyanese parents that migrated to Toronto after leaving Guyana citing political conflict.
Before Natasha got her start in the legal world she was a young 3 year old who attended school in Barbados up until age 7, when she moved back to Canada, settling in Markham, Ontario. Natasha’s parents were young professionals who went to high school here in Canada and always instilled the importance of education and attaining a professional-grade job in their children. Her father spent some time working for Caricom in Barbados before moving back to Canada where he worked for the Ontario Government and where her mom works as the Superintendent for the Toronto School Board.
Natasha’s story is one that takes us through the stages of her coming to new realisations as it relates to heritage, surprising experiences as a brown girl working in elite corporate circles and driving changes in uncomfortable situations.
Navigating Truth and Reconciliation as a Descendant of Migrants
Written by Ayesha Khan
September 30th in Canada is now named the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It’s a statutory holiday, born out of the annual commemoration of Orange Shirt Day, in haunting memoriam of all that was lost to the Canadian residential schooling system. Throughout the month, many Canadians host conversations and events around Indigenous history and justice. Those who have been paying attention for years may be sharing a thought: that finally, this is being given the attention it deserves.
Within recent years, mainstream society has begun meaningfully reflecting on the sordid open secret of Canadian history--that it rested on the genocide of Indigenous peoples. (Now, whether or not it is meaningfully acting is another story. But we'll come back to that later.)
This September, we all must acknowledge that we are settlers on stolen land. This is a catchy phrase. I hear it a lot these days. It is pithy, and aphoristic. Perhaps on the verge of turning into a cliché. But it's the truth....Read More
Story is an Indo-Caribbean newsletter designed to bring Canadian Caribbean culture to the forefront. Explore Indo-Caribbean news, identity, and culture online.