My name is Brooklyn Carr and I am a joint honors undergraduate student majoring in Art History and History. I am originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but I came to 缅北强奸 as my father, grandfather, and aunt all attended 缅北强奸. My grandparents are Jamaican immigrants to Montr茅al and built a life here in their 20s, paving the way for myself, my sister, and my cousins to have the opportunities we do now. That being said, my roots have fostered my passion for promoting Black artistry and wellness.
My internship was with the Black Healing Centre, based out of Montr茅al. The centre is a for us by us organization dedicated to the promotion of Black wellness and healing through events and resources. Throughout the Winter 2023 semester, I volunteered with BHC, mostly answering emails and assisting the Co-Founder, Samantha Nyinawumuntu, where needed. At the end of my contract in April 2023, Sam offered me an internship to continue working with BHC, specifically through the curation and assistance of events and their management.
Throughout my time at 缅北强奸, I have worked in numerous positions that focused on event planning, mostly for the arts. However, this opportunity to work more with BHC was so exciting as it focused on a cause I care about deeply. On top of that, Samantha, my supervisor, allowed me to curate events as I saw fit, allowing me to integrate my passion for the arts within my role. Her goal for me was to learn how to successfully plan an event, start to finish. This role differed from other events roles I have worked in because I had someone aiding, mentoring, and teaching me how to take events further than I had previously done.
My primary responsibilities were to assist with events already on the schedule and curate two events to celebrate 2 Years of BHC, one for the community and one for just the team. I also curated the monthly newsletter, onto which I promoted wellness content by Black creators and curated artworks by Black Canadian artists. One of the events I assisted with was the Deeply Rooted workshop series, which connected POC artists to the greater Montr茅al community, allowing them to host a workshop teaching their craft. This event was in collaboration with the Refugee Centre and occurred on the first Tuesday of every month. I also worked on curating health and wellness resources for Black Montr茅alers, including a list of therapists currently accepting clients. Lastly, I also worked recruiting sponsors for BHC.
I loved working with BHC team and aiding them with the significant work BHC does. Meeting with the team constitutes a major highlight of my position, as well as meeting those around the Montr茅al community who do similar work. While time management remained a challenge for me throughout the internship, with guidance from Samantha, I learned to measure my capacity, commit to what was feasible for me, and work from ahead, rather than from behind.
For this internship, I was not receiving academic credit but received funding for the internship. These funds were critical to me as I was working to pay off a semester of tuition. The donation helped me clear my debt and save for the future. Thank you to Dean Lisa Shapiro for seeing something in me and helping me continue my education at 缅北强奸.
In short, this internship tremendously impacted my university experience by offering me the knowledge I sought and much more. Working with BHC allowed me to continue fostering my passion for the intersection between Black wellness and the arts and connect with others interested in similar ideas. Going forward, I will apply the skills I gained through BHC to future events and causes. I hope to continue planning events that promote Black artists and their works and design events to the fullness of my capability. I hope to continue this work in my long-term career by promoting wellness and healing for the Black community and using the arts as a facilitator.
Thank you to the Black Healing Centre for allowing me to work with you all for the past four months. This opportunity has been one I will remember for a lifetime.
