Hamilton summer camp preparing Black kids to return to school with confidence

This summer, a unique camp taught Black kids in Hamilton about their history, culture, food and music.

Now, as the eight-week-long summer camp concludes this week, kids are ready to return to school with cultural pride" and self-confidence," said Evelyn Myrie, president of the Afro Canadian Caribbean Association (ACCA) in Hamilton, which runs the camp.

The idea for the summer camp was to empower Black children, address issues of cultural pride, and also, make it fun.

We wanted (kids) to have a positive experience, where they were the centre of the engagement, where we could shower them with lots of positivity," Myrie told The Spectator.

Given the discrimination some Black children face, Myrie said, centring the importance on themselves" to build their self-confidence would help them get ready for September - to get back to school, and feel good about themselves and who they are."

The camp hosted about 40 kids aged six to 13 weekdays from July 4 until Aug. 26 at New Vision United Church in downtown Hamilton.

Kids engaged in cooking classes - learning about African and Caribbean delicacies - played cultural games, read books about cultural history, and went on field trips.

Myrie said the camp used the framework of the seven principles of Kwanzaa in conceptualizing and implementing" the program. Kwanzaa is a weeklong annual celebration of African families, community, and culture during the last week of December.

ACCA Hamilton charged $30 per week for kids, while some of the expenses for the summer camp were covered through funding from the Hamilton Community Foundation, and the province's Guns, Gangs and Violence Reduction Strategy.

But instead of talking about crime prevention, the team designed the summer camp programming with a focus on the positive assets that they (the kids) are."

I don't share that narrative. I don't see the kids as liabilities," Myrie said about the name of the provincial funding strategy.

Myrie said the summer camp was a place to engage kids in building a great cadre of young Black (youth), feeling positive about themselves, making great choices (as we support) them in their life's journey starting at an early age."

The program collaborated with local community partners, including people from McMaster University to talk about science, math, and other education pieces.

Aaron Parry, ACCA's summer camp organizer, told The Spectator the post-pandemic summer camp has been a great opportunity to see kids playing in-person" and see younger kids connect with older campers as mentors" who are also Black and members of the same community.

It's just a different camp experience," he said.

Parry looked at the camp as an opportunity to provide a safe space for Black kids, as he recalled his own experiences as a kid, dealing with a lot of bullying in these spaces, and targeting me because of my Blackness."

Myrie shared some kids' surprise at being around so many children from their own racial background."

The ACCA team is now preparing for a party on Friday as the summer camp comes to a close, inviting parents to say a little about what else we can work with them on to build their children's sense of who they are, and also help them to guide them in the area of making healthy positive choices," Myrie said.

Branching out from the summer camp, ACCA also has other mentorship programs lined up for kids and parents as a part of their youth development educational program.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com