Black History Month ceremony highlights Montreal’s diverse communities

The City of Montreal honoured the 12 laureats for Black History Month at City Hall on Thursday night.

The Black History Month Round Table and the City of Montreal honoured its 12 laureats for 2025 in a ceremony at city hall on Thursday night.

The men and women chosen for their unique contributions to their communities signed the Montreal Golden Book.

Retired teacher, writer and racial justice facilitator Nancy Oliver was the first to sign.

“I’m very surprised to have been named a laureate this year,” she said. “It’s a great honour to be amongst all these people who’ve achieved so much in the community. That’s what I do. What I do is for the community. I’m seeking to dig up untold stories and share them with the community.”

The 12 laureats each correspond to a month of the year and come from the world of policing, psychology, music, theater, advocacy and others.

Psychologist Régine Tardieu-Bertheau founded the Centre Professionnel Alter-Natives, and said it is important to recognize the diversity in the Black community.

“It means a great deal for me because it’s a group of very skilled people and people that are engaged in the community, so it’s a real honour for me to be here tonight,” she said. “We are a diverse population and being recognized for the positivity we bring in the community and have a different image is something that is good for the future generations.”

In 2006, Quebec adopted “An Act to proclaim Black History Month,” which recognized the Black presence in the province for the past three centuries.

“We’re here to celebrate Black excellence and it’s important that we recognize the long, fruitful history of Black people in Quebec, in Montreal, in Canada and we’ve had a presence here since the beginning of Confederation and it’s about telling those stories, remembering those stories but also finding ways to move beyond those stories and building a better future,” said Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism Christopher Skeete.

Skeete is one of just six Black cabinet ministers in the history of the province.

“I don’t think people realize that we’ve only had six Black ministers. I’m one of three that this premier has named,” he said.

Laureat Ayanna Alleyne grew up participating in activities at the Cote-des-Neiges Black Community Association and the NCC in Little Burgundy. She continued to participate in the community, volunteering and is now the executive chair of the association.

She admitted that she is typically not a fan of awards and ceremonies and that “our work should stand for itself” in “the impact that we have in the community and what we have on people.”

However, she said highlighting Black people’s stories helps show the broader public that struggles remain across race or culture.

“What we saw with the murder of George Floyd was that no one was paying attention to what was happening to visible minorities, especially Black people, in the United States and Canada, and we’ve been propelled into the spotlight willingly or unwillingly and that our stories are not that much different than anybody else’s,” she said.