Michèle Stephenson’s ‘True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power’ Now Available On PBS App
Revealing the largely untold history of anti-Black racism in Canada, “True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power” premieres Monday on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS. Through historic archives and the voices of those who lived through 1960s Montreal, “True North” explores pivotal events that impacted the global movement for Black liberation. Directed by Michèle Stephenson, the film is now available on the PBS app and PBS Documentaries YouTube Channel.
In 1968, the war in Vietnam was escalating, African nation-states were decolonizing, and revolutionary activity was increasing in the Caribbean. Civil unrest reverberated throughout the Western Hemisphere. In Montreal, protests were led by taxi drivers, teachers, and police officers. During this politically charged climate, a group of students converged, hailing from Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad, and elsewhere in Canada. Their anti-colonial ideas merged with Montreal's Black communities’ long-standing spirit of social change. As student protests ignited the Sir George Williams Affair at one of the city’s anglophone universities, Black youth faced violent repression, unfolding a powerful chapter of the global Black Power era.
Featuring never-before-seen footage and centering the voices of Black students and activists who lived through these events, “True North” weaves intimate personal accounts with historical analysis. The film illuminates a pivotal chapter in the Black Power movement and its lasting impact on the global struggle for Black liberation.
“Celebrating America’s 250th anniversary means acknowledging our history, and sharing the stories of people committed to the idea of equality,” said Lois Vossen, INDEPENDENT LENS Founding Executive Producer. “True North shines light on a critical chapter of the Black Civil Rights movement and helps us understand current events, including how activism took hold on college campuses.”
“True North” also revisits the convergence of Black liberation movements at the Congress of Black Writers, held at McGill University in October 1968. Widely regarded as the largest Black Power conference held outside the United States, it featured speakers including Stokely Carmichael (a.k.a. Kwame Ture), Alvin Poussaint, James Forman, and C.L.R. James. These titans of thought and politics discussed the meaning of Black Power and the challenges faced by communities across the Black diaspora.
Montreal’s Congress of Black Writers later fed into and influenced the Black student leaders of the Sir George Williams Affair. In 1969, incensed by a racial incident involving a white faculty member, over 400 students and activists occupied the school’s computer labs in protest. What ensued was a violent reaction by the Canadian government and Montreal's police against Black youth seeking justice.
Black Public Media provided critical funding for the film, which was produced by Leslie Norville.
“True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power” will premiere on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS on July 6 (check local listings) and will be available to stream on the PBS app and PBS Documentaries YouTube Channel.