Celebrating Black History with Gusto 54
Gusto 54 Restaurant Group is proud to celebrate Black History Month with our team members and the communities where we operate.
The 2023 theme for Black History Month in Canada is "Ours to Tell". In response, we have curated a collection of interesting content about Black History in Canada, from a Toronto events calendar and African Canadian book list, to historical facts and thought-provoking films you can watch.
We are also showcasing Black History facts and profiles on all of our social media channels and giving away tickets to a special screening at the Toronto Black Film Festival that our team members can attend together.
Black History Month Events
Free Tickets - Toronto Black Film Festival
Gusto 54 Restaurant Group is proud to celebrate Black History Month with you. Join us for an evening at the Toronto Black Film Festival. We are giving away a limited number of FREE tickets to the Black in Canada screening of 10 short films on February 16 at 9:00 pm to Gusto 54 team members. Tickets will be distributed on a first come basis so click the button below to submit your request today! You will be contacted by email.
Did you know?
Thornton Blackburn owned the first taxicab in Upper Canada. He called his one-horse drawn carriage "The City" and painted it red and yellow – the colours were eventually adopted by the City of Toronto's transit system. Lucie and Thornton Blackburn were enslaved African Americans who escpaped and made their way to way to Upper Canada in 1834. Shortly after they arrived, the Blackburns built a small one-storey frame house at 54 Eastern Ave at the corner of Sackville Street, located steps from Gusto 501 in Toronto's east end, where they lived for more than 50 years. The Blackburns became abolitionists and pillars in the city's Black community. Today you can find the Lucie and Thornton Blackburn Conference Centre at George Brown College.
films to Watch
This month on CBC Gem you can watch a series of thought-provoking documentaries online, including Deeply Rooted. It’s a film that chronicles Hip Hop artist Cazhhmere’s perspective as an Indigenous African Canadian living and growing up in multicultural Toronto with deep family roots in Halifax.
Books to read
In honour of Black History Month in Canada we are sharing a select reading list featuring books by African-Canadian authors. Curated by the Toronto Public Library, it includes fiction, poetry and nonfiction titles that are all available online via Toronto Public Library.
Did you know?
The first settlers of Salt Spring Island off the coast of British Columbia were formerly enslaved people from the United States who had bought their freedom. Sylvia Stark's family made the trek to Canada more than 150 years ago – on foot! Most of these pioneers faced hardships typical of the time. Today there is little evidence of the community beyond historical plaques and street names. Read more about the Black pioneers who helped settled BC.