The Black Academy (Canada)

The Black Academy is a Canadian academy for the recognition of talent and fostering of Black Canadians in various industries.[1] It is a division of B.L.A.C.K. Canada (Building a Legacy in Acting, Cinema + Knowledge), an organization founded by Canadian actors Shamier Anderson and Stephan James in 2020.[2]

The organization has partnered with Insight Productions to launch an annual Legacy Awards ceremony to honour Black Canadian achievement in film, television, music, sports, and culture, which launched in 2022.[3] The awards ceremony was held on the last Sunday of September and have already secured a commitment from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to broadcast the ceremony for at least the first three years, from 2022 through 2024.[4]

The first Legacy Awards were broadcast on September 25, 2022,[5] with the honorees announced as Andre De Grasse, Kayla Grey and Fabienne Colas.[6] The honorees in 2023 were Tonya Williams, Director X, Jully Black, and Lu Kala,[7] with the 2024 ceremony honoring Kardinal Offishall, Cameron Bailey and Weyni Mengesha.[8]

The Legacy Awards were discontinued in 2025,[9] with the CBC instead collaborating with Anderson and James on The Legacy Lounge, a new talk show profiling and interviewing Black Canadian figures to air during Black History Month.[10] The series will feature interviews with businessman Wes Hall, actress Amanda Brugel, singer Fefe Dobson and social media stars Basement Gang.[10]

References

  1. ^ Dowling, Amber (3 December 2020). "Shamier Anderson, Stephan James Launch The Black Academy, Celebrate Black Excellence in Canada". Variety.
  2. ^ Victoria Ahearn (3 December 2020). "'The time is now': The Black Academy launched by actors Stephan James, Shamier Anderson". Global News. Canadian Press.
  3. ^ Victoria Ahearn, "The Black Academy to launch Black-focused awards show in Canada". Global News, January 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Victoria Ahearn, "CBC to air The Black Academy’s upcoming awards show, starting in fall 2022". Toronto Star, May 31, 2021.
  5. ^ Greg David, "CBC UNVEILS 2022-23 PROGRAMMING SLATE". TV, eh?, June 1, 2022.
  6. ^ Jackson Weaver, "Andre De Grasse, Kayla Grey, Fabienne Colas to receive inaugural Legacy Awards". CBC News, September 23, 2022.
  7. ^ Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Legacy Awards unveils honourees for 2023 edition". Playback, August 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey among 2024 Legacy Awards honourees". Toronto Star, September 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Alex Nino Gheciu, "Canada’s all-Black awards show The Legacy Awards ends, shifts to interview series". CityNews, December 10, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Andrew Tracy, "Inaugural honourees set for CBC’s The Legacy Lounge". Playback, January 29, 2026.
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