Stephen Onyango speaks in front of a crowd at the University of Lethbridge on Feb. 27.
People stared as he walked down the street, making him wonder what was wrong. Am I dressed funny? He wondered, until his friend explained that people stare at him simply because of the colour of his skin.
“Oh, we have white people in Kenya — we don’t look at them like that when they are passing,” said Stephen Onyango, owner of Legend Production and Films.
As Onyango delivered the final line of his anecdote, a small crowd at the University of Lethbridge laughed softly. He was one of three speakers at an event that marked the end of Black History Month. It was put on by the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work and the theme was resilience in the face of adversity.
“When we think of [being] resilient, we think of someone bouncing back quickly after facing adversities, but I just want to highlight that black people continue to face advertises,” said Patrina Duhaney, a faculty member and organizer of the event.
Each speaker shared their unique story of challenges they face in everyday life. Onyango moved to Canada from Kenya 12 years ago — he shared challenges he has faced getting an education, raising a son and starting a business in Lethbridge. When he got to Canada, Onyango took the New Media degree program at the university and was the only black person in his classes. He recalled a memory from his student orientation, which he said he will never forget.
“I expected different, but not being asked if I live in a tree — so when this guy asked me if I lived in a tree, I remembered that ‘cause my dad was called a monkey. Monkeys live in trees and since we are black, maybe we live in trees,” he said about a question he was asked after telling someone where he is from.
After a year of being at the university, Onyango said people began treating him as an equal. He was happy and things were going well for him. Then he faced a new challenge — being a single father. After having a son, he found himself in court fighting for equal custody.
“When I went to court, I would stand in front of a judge. When you stand up — you’re black in the middle of all these white people and you’re in a family court. You know it’s going to be hard,” he said.
Onyango said he had to deal with stereotypes because of his skin colour. He said people think black men do not take care of their children. It took him two years to get half custody of his son, who is now 10 years old.
“Since I was the only black person in his life, I had to be the best dad that he could have,” said Onyango. He passed a photo of his son around the room as he continued his speech.
“When he is with me, I teach him how to be black. When he is with his mom, he’s taught how to be white — So he is very confused.”
When Onyango decided to start his own production company, he faced challenges with clients because of his skin colour. When he was working on a video involving local businesses, he said he had one business owner spread rumors about him — this damaged his reputation. He has had people not want to work with him because he is black. He said he is proud of who he is and he posts photos of himself on his website.
“I want to be as loud as possible, so you go there, you know you are hiring a black person,” he said. He wrapped up his speech by tracking down the photo he passed around of his son and tucked it safely into his wallet.