It is impossible to move on from the past without admitting and addressing what had happened. The future is bleak if the mistakes of the past are not recognized, addressed, and compensated for. Canada’s multiculturalism policy is set to fail because the country has failed to address the way it has marginalized several groups. Canadians compare themselves to the United States and convince themselves that they are better because they are not as bad. A long history of slavery, racist immigration policy, segregation and violence against Black people in Canada is continually disregarded because it is not taught nor talked about.

I love being Black. I love the depth of my melanin; the versatility of my hair; the broadness of my nose, and the richness of my culture. Most importantly, I love that all my academic, professional, and personal achievements add to the oeuvre of Black history, coupling my recent Black experiences with those of my ancestors and Black icons of the past.

Shireen Ahmed was born to immigrant parents who were both avid hockey fans, in particular supporters of the Montreal Canadiens. She spoke about how she grew up surrounded by sports but it was not until the Olympics that she saw women’s sports being presented on the same level as men’s. Ahmed received a MA in Journalism from Ryerson University (now TMU) and worked as a freelance journalist until she joined the CBC. In 2021 she was the first hijab-wearing and racialised woman to appear on TSN and remains one of only four hijab-wearing sports reporters in the US and Canada.