February is Black History Month. Every year, organizations, including media outlets, take extra time to represent black histories, arts, and ideas. Throughout February, CJSF will be broadcasting interviews, lectures, music, and art that presents and engages the people, events, and history of the African diaspora. Visit CJSF.ca for more information.

Black History month is celebrated in Canada, US and United Kingdom. In Canada, Black History Month was officially recognized as a holiday in 1995, although its practice can be traced to as early as 1976, and even earlier, to celebration of the Black History Week in 1970s and Negro Week in 1926. Black History month (or weeks) was created to educate people and to raise awareness about the history of the people of African American descent.

This year is particularly significant in that the United Nations (UN) has declared 2015-2024 as the International Decade for People of African Descent, which marks a decade of political advocacy to address the racism, discrimination, social, political and economic issues faced by people of African descent throughout the world.

Thank you to CJSF Board Member Obediya W. Jones Darrell for coordinating Black History Month celebrations at CJSF this year! You can hear more from Obediya at the premiere of his latest project "The Monk of Adwa: a Black History Month Radio Drama" on Feb. 18th at World Arts Theatre (Woodwards).

New content this year includes:

Spiritual Jazz & Funk - Minutes of Funk (Suns 12p) - featuring primarily USA and UK artists who are members of the African diaspora.

Wayde Compton - SFU Ideas & Issues (Weds 12p)- Wayde reads his work and chats with Obediya W Jones-Darrell about poetry, black history and radio).

Afro-Futurism - Culture Club (Weds 1p) - Beau Bridge explores the Sun Ra Archives (Culture Club Weds 1p).

Ethiopian Human Rights - Tana Radio (Thurs 9pm) (re aired from Int'l Human Rights Day)

Tune in live to CJSF 90.1FM or CJSF.ca, or check out our programming archives for from this and past years on SoundCloud.com/cjsfradio.