Honourable senators, it was an honour to see so many of you here at noon today for the opening of the Tales exhibit. This exhibit, which echoes the 2023 Black History Month theme, “Ours to tell,” is produced under the patronage of the African Canadian Senate Group. This Senate group is composed of the honourable senators Wanda Thomas Bernard, Sharon Burey, Bernadette Clement, Amina Gerba, Mobina S. B. Jaffer, Rosemary Moodie, Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia and myself.

I want to thank my colleagues and their teams for their invaluable support.

Tales is the result of a collaboration between the Centre culturel afro-canadien de Montréal, represented here by its president, Allen Alexandre, and Mosaïque interculturelle in Ottawa, represented by its president, Nicole Baptiste.

These “tales” that the artists are sharing with you in the Senate foyer will be on display throughout the month of February. I admire their talent — and some of you do, too, based on the wonderful comments you shared with me — and I recognize the significant contribution they make to our nation’s culture.

I am proud to introduce them to you. They are Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman, Ojo Agi, Dominique Dennery, Laurena Finéus, Antoine Jeune Dimanche, Helmer Joseph, Komi Seshie, Pascal Smarth, Shanna Strauss, Gloria C. Swain and Stanley Wany.

Their inspiring works tell the stories of artists of African descent through their works on canvas or other mediums. These creators use their work to express their reality and world view, draw on their inner images and pass them on to future generations.

The exhibit curators, Emmanuel St-Juste and Allison Roberts, brought all of these artists together to present their art to us. I sincerely thank them.

The Tales exhibit invites us all to explore and peruse the rich and fascinating history of today’s African-Canadian artists.

Please join me in congratulating all these artists.

I wish all of you here and all Canadians a happy Black History Month.