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TORONTO QUEER CULTURE NOW.                 FEB 17 2021

Queer, Gifted And Black: Faith Nolan

COURTNAY MCFARLANE

In celebration of Black History/Futures/Liberation Month for Yohomo I’ve connected with some of my favorite Toronto-based Black LGBTQ+ artists to get their take on this most contested month. Through our virtual dialogue, they answered 10 questions. Selected responses from these artists will be posted weekly. 

Courtnay McFarlane: Who are you? 

Faith Nolan: Faith Nolan. I am a Musician/activist. I am proudly descended from Africa to Nova Scotia, descended from Black, Indigenous, Irish Coal miners.  Hardworking poor people.

What, if anything, does Black History Month/African Liberation Month/Black Futures Month mean to you? 

A: Born in Africville and growing up in Toronto I never learned anything about the history or contemporary struggles of Black people on Turtle Island. I had no idea how we arrived in this part of the world. In my twenties, I researched the history of Black people in a few books Blacks in Canada and Rella Braithwaite’s The Black Women in Canada I used this information to write songs and record the first Afro-Scotian history through music on my first album, called Africville*. 

BHM Fact: Africville was an African-Canadian village formerly located just north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Founded in the mid-18th century, Africville became a prosperous seaside community, but the City of Halifax demolished it in the 1960s in what many regarded as an act of racism after decades of governmental neglect and the placement of undesirable services there. The former residents were forcibly relocated and their descendants were scattered. The mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality apologized in 2010 for Africville’s destruction. A settlement was reached that established the Africville Heritage Trust that extends to the Africville Museum. For many people, Africville represents the oppression faced by Black Canadians and the ongoing efforts to right historic wrongs.

(thecanadianencyclopedia.ca; africvillemuseum.org)

Name your Black LGBTQ+ ancestor/idol/mentor/inspiration and explain why.

I would say there are so, so many but to name a few: Angela Davis, Dionne Brand, Robyn Maynard, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry are my inspirations because they have dedicated their work to speaking and writing true Black liberation, critiquing the ravages and intersectionalities of racism, sexism, capitalism, indigenous land claims, (and oppression against) refugees, queers, differently-abled, immigrants, and they, like Black Lives Matter, WOKE up the peeps not for money or fame but for the upliftment of humanity.   

Share your personal Toronto Black LBGTQ+ history moment. An anecdote. What image is associated with it? 

A moment that reoccurs to me over and over is us laying around on pillows in a room in our house on Ossington with the Black Women’s Collective* and feeling a profound love that we, most of us lesbians had created ourselves, our radical lives and created a shared intersectional politic. This was and remains a historic moment for me.

BHM Fact: BLACK WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE (1984 – 1989) The Black Women's Collective was a Toronto-based group of Black feminists who and participated politically in local and national activism and engaged in the struggle to end the oppression of sexism, racism (particularly anti-Black racism), homophobia, ageism, class exploitation, capitalism and imperialism. The BWC advanced intersectional feminism and planned and held protests, educationals, events and campaigns against systems of oppression, working in solidarity with other progressive groups, and calling for broader representation within progressive organizations. The collective included scholars, activists and artists such as Carol Allain, Angela Robertson Dionne Brand, Linda Carty, Afua Cooper, Grace Channer and Faith Nolan. The BWC published Our Lives: Canada’s first Black Women’s newspaper from 1986-1989.  More info: riseupfeministarchive.ca

What is the change that you want to see that you embody, or strive to embody?

“Change is gonna come” with me or without me it is inevitably human. To be one of the many who stand to stop the killing wars, stop the greedy land theft hoarders, abolish prisons and the police. To be one of the many who will struggle to be love caring, kind, sharing, peaceful. To be one of the many who can leave this world better than we found it.

Ongoing or upcoming project to share? Social media handles? 

This fall two Gatherings one for women prisoners and one for  Healing through Music. Building two tiny homes for the homeless. Daily songwriting, creating videos for my songs of freedom and struggle. Sending out love daily to the peeps and planet.  Check out Faith’s website. 

One more thing…

Peace, joy and justice… we are changing the world. We can because we must change the world.

BLACKNESS, COMMUNITY

faith nolan, africville, black queer singer, singer songwriter, black history month toronto

Robyn Maynard

@policingblack

Sharing again the #HistoricDeclaration  to divest from policing and prisons snd choose real safety by investing in our communities. Sign on and support work to end policing, prisons and border controls in your own community #AbolitionInOurLifetime http://choosingrealsafety.com

5:46 PM · Feb 16, 2021

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Name your Black LGBTQ+ ancestor/idol/mentor/inspiration and explain why.

I would say there are so, so many but to name a few: Angela Davis, Dionne Brand, Robyn Maynard, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry are my inspirations because they have dedicated their work to speaking and writing true Black liberation, critiquing the ravages and intersectionalities of racism, sexism, capitalism, indigenous land claims, (and oppression against) refugees, queers, differently-abled, immigrants, and they, like Black Lives Matter, WOKE up the peeps not for money or fame but for the upliftment of humanity.   

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/570289bb62cd94d3a2b5d821/…" alt="OurLives2.jpg" />

Share your personal Toronto Black LBGTQ+ history moment. An anecdote. What image is associated with it? 

A moment that reoccurs to me over and over is us laying around on pillows in a room in our house on Ossington with the Black Women’s Collective* and feeling a profound love that we, most of us lesbians had created ourselves, our radical lives and created a shared intersectional politic. This was and remains a historic moment for me.

BHM Fact: BLACK WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE (1984 – 1989) The Black Women's Collective was a Toronto-based group of Black feminists who and participated politically in local and national activism and engaged in the struggle to end the oppression of sexism, racism (particularly anti-Black racism), homophobia, ageism, class exploitation, capitalism and imperialism. The BWC advanced intersectional feminism and planned and held protests, educationals, events and campaigns against systems of oppression, working in solidarity with other progressive groups, and calling for broader representation within progressive organizations. The collective included scholars, activists and artists such as Carol Allain, Angela Robertson Dionne Brand, Linda Carty, Afua Cooper, Grace Channer and Faith Nolan. The BWC published Our Lives: Canada’s first Black Women’s newspaper from 1986-1989.  More info: riseupfeministarchive.ca

What is the change that you want to see that you embody, or strive to embody?

“Change is gonna come” with me or without me it is inevitably human. To be one of the many who stand to stop the killing wars, stop the greedy land theft hoarders, abolish prisons and the police. To be one of the many who will struggle to be love caring, kind, sharing, peaceful. To be one of the many who can leave this world better than we found it.

Faith Nolan 

Box Factory

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Faith Nolan · Box Factory

Ongoing or upcoming project to share? Social media handles? 

This fall two Gatherings one for women prisoners and one for  Healing through Music. Building two tiny homes for the homeless. Daily songwriting, creating videos for my songs of freedom and struggle. Sending out love daily to the peeps and planet.  Check out Faith’s website. 

One more thing…

Peace, joy and justice… we are changing the world. We can because we must change the world.

BLACKNESS, COMMUNITY 

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No Bottled Water original Faith Nolan.                              

{ water is  life  and must be free like the  air, sunshine).           

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I'm On My Way to freedom Land- Trad.   Stop the  Highway of Tears  -Faith Nolan 

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Chat Bout Work. 

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I'II Fly Away Traditional 

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Dear  Friends , I continue with a love  filled heart laughing joking and voicing my opposition in my songs and actions because I know the 1% can nevr overtake  me  and  my mother  earth, I know the  sun  will outshine, the waters  will flow and the earth will grow  regardless of the  foolish greed of the 1%. As  always as  capitalism dies of its greed, in it's struggle  to survive it must  continue  to more  and more  voraciously gobble up  and hoard all the  earths  resources for the  pathological greed of the 1%.  Art. music, dance, theatre, being a powerful voice/outlet  for  social change is ,  being  bought up more and more  by bankster gangsters, they hope to control ouroutlet  for democratic dissent , Toronto Pride is  now Toronto Dominion Bank Pride, Carribbana is now  Toronto is  now Scotia Bank Carribbean festival,  the heat  is  on, the shit is happening, cutbacks to healthcare, education and  good jobs being replaced  by part timers,house prices are  sky high  and rent is inaffordable, publically  owned hydro is  being sold  along with out  school, Harpers  conservative new  budget gives the 1% more tax deductions- right wing policys. For decades I have  watched  us working , poor, artists  lose more  and more  hospitals, homes, health, services and  wars or really  they  are genocides against poor people in Africa, on Turtle Island, in the middle east, religion is used to grab oil, womens  equality is used to  grab oil, minerals from land  which si turned in to paper$$$$$ of the 1%. In all of this we continue because  we have  unending love  to work  for  a better  world  for our  children our  families our, communities and I want to thank you for all you do is for me  and  for you. I wish you strength and power , and give thanks  for you and  all the  beauty of  love kindness and sharing that still eminates from east to west, north to south , sky and  water. 

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Wimmin in JAIL UPDATE

I was at the jail 2 days ago and  a young women  said shey was wrong. I said she was  perfectly  human and i learned  this  from Dionne Brand to whom I am eternally grateful. to be human is to make mistakes so to be perfectly human is  to make  a mistake as we all do.  This is the last year I will recieve  any funding for the prison arts  program which I will continue to do out of my own pocket and with the help of  family , friends  like  you. Comrades all, we will expand. I will continue because I cannot  bear not to see and know the joy of women in jail sharing singing , free in that space to just emote, to be . Music is a time  for healing and so much more necessary  in dire  circumstance.

NEWS

1.Patricia Allard has  joined me sharing mindfulness, acheiving peace of  mind , happiness thropugh positive thinking , I have  also  been lucky  enough to be  joined  at the jail by  Bo Yih Thom a harm reduction councillor.  

2.This summer we will be hosting an in the woods  women of  colour only  music, health  retreat (September 11th, 12 13th),  

 3.Gals  with Guitar weekend  August 7th. 8th. 9th.open  

Please contact  me  at faithnolan@xplornet.com if you wish to registar  

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Wimmin in JAIL UPDATE

I was at the jail 2 days ago and  a young women  said shey was wrong. I said she was  perfectly  human and i learned  this  from Dionne Brand to whom I am eternally grateful. to be human is to make mistakes so to be perfectly human is  to make  a mistake as we all do.  This is the last year I will recieve  any funding for the prison arts  program which I will continue to do out of my own pocket and with the help of  family , friends  like  you. Comrades all, we will expand. I will continue because I cannot  bear not to see and know the joy of women in jail sharing singing , free in that space to just emote, to be . Music is a time  for healing and so much more necessary  in dire  circumstance. 

 Dear Friends, thank you ache, welalien for  contining our struggle for peace joy and justice  Please note if you want to get hold of me, my email is no longer faith@nexicom.net is no longer,  My new  email is  faithnolan@xplornet.com or  faithnolan@yahoo.com FYI : I am continuing my music collaborations with women in prisons and homeless/marginalized women,learning more frailing banjo - writing a song about corporations who beg money from customers for their foundations  and get free advertisemnt -til we free , loving in the struggle, Faith 

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Hi Welalien Ache, thank you, everyone again for your love and solidarity in getting The Jailhouse Blues released, YAY! we got the album recorded pressed and  distributed to women prisoners  and there allies. Hope your  summer was sunny and I gave thanks everyday for  the sun, earth and sky, Well  Summer is over. you can see my new goodtimes banjo  in the pic. The  album launch  is finished and I am getting the songs out to media, slowly. I did a week of kids and adult choir music at  Camp Naivelt  this summer which was great fun and what a wow  weekend of  concerts with wonderful Naivelt performers where we  celebrating Pete Seeger who  performed at Naivelt and had the annual peace tea..

As I approach sixty I  am so happy to have been building decks(3) and a new porch , feeling joy and strength in the piney woods. Now I am back and forth from Toronto to the Piney woods.

 To start the Fall I will be two new music empowerment programs  at two womens jail in Ontario. Along with songwriting, voicing and learning ukulele , guitar and banjo  we will be trying out some musical theatre.Thanks to ETFO and Kathleen Loftus for this ongiong support of the programs. Toyin, Pamela,Dinah,  Pat A, Bo-Yi,Nadan, and Ash and I met as  group  over the spring and have corordinated  six new volunteers women to come into one jail this fall to begin  new writing, yoga, music and support programs for our sisters inside. Some women are  working on  getting transportation together so women and children can visit and arranging for rides for sisters  who are released. One exciting Toronto Community  event we will hold later this  Fall will be   a  coat raising ( bring a coat  to come to the concert , these coats will be  given to women in jail ) 

I am also looking forward to doing music workshops  at Native Womens Centre with 2 spirited trans sex workers in Toronto. 

I also begin music singing workshops  this fall at  Sisteringa safe space for women who are marginalizeds, poor, isolated on Thursdays.

This summer Camp Sis was lucky enough to have  our 2 spirited elder and caretaker of the land  Doreen Silversmith stay at Camp sis. Doreen hosted the women who visited , camped and  made gardens.  Toyin and family+ friends are  building  a cabin they will stay in. Along with Patricia K. they are helping winterize the main house where Doreen  stays, Patricia K.  is  also making plans to build  a cabin at Camp Sis.Women have been fundraising at Camp Sis to pay the taxes and we  will be  holding a pay the tax event to get Camp Sis taxes together. Next summer 2015  we will once  again hold the Camp Sis Retreat  and Music Festival. 

need any info please email me at : faith@nexicom.net

The Voices of Freedom Choir may start up again in January 2015 so holla back if your interested  and stay tuned.   peace , joy and justice, faith nolan

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I am continually honored and happy to be expanding the Music Healing Workshops for womenm in jail-we are starting a new Program at Vanier detention Centre -the largest provincial jail for women. The results of sharing song and music with women prisoners continues we are working on expanding into two other jails.

       Vancouver’s highway of tears is where over 800 women disappeared it expands across Canada to the Atlantic and weekly more and more women disappear. This is an incredible crime against humanity and must be stopped.

Please check out the song and sign the petitions and attend rallies, demos whenever you can.

More sisters  are becoming involved with our sisters in jail. To this end we are forming an arts collective to do this labour of love. I have spoken to Vanier and we will start another music therapy program and we have a half dozen or so artists committed to doing the music program.

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A big welalien, thanks for the support of community and labour organizations, Sistering, Elementary Teachers of  Ontario, E Fry (Kim Pate) in keeping the music alive for women in jail. This past February was very fruitful,We did two launches of Jailhouse blues, one in New York at the People Voice Cafe, thanks to Marilyn, Steve and Bev. I am trying to use the work to inform and create the impetus for change. Love in struggle  to a better  world  for all of us, Faith P.S. see below the forward and words to Dry Cell(LOAP) A.K.A. -segregation- A.K.A.-loss of all privilidges

                 4.DRY CELL L.O.A.P BLUE (Loss Of All Privileges) 2013  ,Faith Nolan ©2013

Down in a Hole Imprisoned activist Alex Hundert on incarceration and solitary confinement .

This is the kind of place where Ashley Smith died in 2007. It is also the kind of place where Julie Bilotta  gave birth on a cement floor lastyear.It’s the place where prisons send people to punish the already imprisoned.I’m writing with pencil and paper from a solitary confinement cell in the segregation unit – the “Hole” –  at the Central North Correctional Centre (CNCC),a maximum security provincial prison in Penetanguishene, Ontario. Here we spend 23.5 hours a day or more locked in an eight-by-twelve-foot cell. We are allowed nothing  but one religious book and a pencil and paper, in addition to our prison-issue clothes (but no shoes) and toiletries  (disposable toothbrush and toothpaste, a bar of soap, a towel). We get access to the yard – a large caged balcony – for 20 minutes a day, and a shower every second day. On alternating days we’re allowed   a 20-minute phone call.People like me on “administrative segregation,”  isolated for security rather than  punitive reasons, are granted a few extra “privileges.”By contrast, people in the Hole for misconduct are put  on LOAP (Loss of All Privileges). Following adjudication, a fancy word for the extra-legal disciplinary procedures that masquerade as hearings,  one may be put on LOAP for up to 30 days. This means no access to writing materials,   phone, mail, or any reading material but the Bible. The luxuries of a mattress, sheets, and blanket are withheld 14 hours a day.The deprivation of being on LOAP can become a vortex:   a spiral into personal oblivion. At its upper reaches,  spending 30 days in solitary confinement with no stimulus is tantamount to torture.

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                                               Can’t brush my teeth, ain’t got no soap no running water it’s hell on L.O.A.P.

Oh I got the dry cell blues

Could be three days, might be ten sleeping on cold metal, no paper and no pen
. On my hands and knees talking through a crack  hoping and praying please send me back 

Oh got the dry cell blues Oh got the dry cell blues 

Can’t even read the bible, can’t use the phone got to take three craps, before they”ll let me go  twenty three hours locked up alone, my mind is pained my soul cries no Oh got the dry cell blues Oh got the dry cell blues

LOAP loss- of -all –privileges- no !mail and no calls -suspected tobacco, its enough to lock you down there’s no talking, no laughing-  -no crying here, no water- no toothbrush - no mattress,no clothes, in segregation there is no day there no night or night*a baby sized blanket,you feelfrost bite, leaving you vulnerablecold from 72 hour  alone in the dark equals=  4,320 minutes=259,200 seconds alone in the   dark= 15.552 .000 milliseconds alone in the dark that’s 10 days in the  dark all alone,  equals 14400 minutes alone in the dark -no talking-no laughing-no crying-no talking no laughing- no crying- 

Oh I got the dry cell blues, oh got the dry cell blues,Oh got the dry cell  blues oh got the dry cell blues.

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