Since screening my short documentary Burgundy: Petite-Bourgogne at the 2012 JHR and CMHR Rights Media DocFest, I thought now is as good of a time as any to re-post the film in its entirety on YouTube for those who couldn’t make it to the screening. I introduced the film to everyone in attendance as a passion project. Walking through Burgundy one day I noticed this beautiful, old building. Being an Montreal architecture nut, I stopped to take a few photographs and read the sign saying “Negro Community Centre.”
I thought what a tragic loss for a city, to have this gem sitting there unused. The more research I did on this building, I found out it’d been there laying fallow for quite some time. My idea was to put a short film together, having members of the community recount their stories about the centre and how it helped them become leaders. My true intent was to learn more about the history of the black community in Montreal and the important role blacks played in making Canada what it is today, a cultural mosaic.
Adam Bemma is a journalist, humanitarian, and media consultant based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Adam Bemma 
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