What if the names that shaped your city never made it into your textbooks? We sit with author and former social worker Christine Smith Gonzalez to uncover the lives of Black Canadian women whose stories deserve centre stage—and explore how one mother’s journey through the West Indian Domestic Scheme built a legacy of compassion, community, and courage.

Christine reads from her new activity book, Black History Worldwide Presents: Canadian Women of Influence, and shares why she chose ten women spanning the 1930s to the 1980s, including sprint icon Barbara Howard and jazz trailblazer Eleanor Collins. Together we trace how accessible tools—colouring pages, word searches, video links—can help families, tutors, and teachers spark curiosity in young learners. Christine explains how to move beyond the same familiar figures every February by using libraries, documentaries, and local archives to surface the hidden history in your own neighbourhood.

We also dig into Christine’s roots: growing up in Toronto as the child of parents from Bermuda and Jamaica, finding identity in small moments of difference, and discovering how empathy becomes action. Her decades in social work reveal the emotional cost of helping professions and the quiet rewards that return years later.

If you’re a parent, educator, or lifelong learner, this conversation is a roadmap: be curious, ask elders for their stories, and write them down. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Canadian history, and leave a review to help more listeners find these voices. Then tell us: which unsung Canadian will YOU research next?

You have the option to hear, listen or both to enjoy the podcast!

https://youtu.be/8mnld1j7Ehc (video)

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1988087/episodes/18759161-why-preserving-black-canadian-history-changes-how-we-see-ourselves.mp3?download=true (audio)

Use the following link to contact Christine Smith Gonzalez:

Linktree: linktr.ee/christinegonsalves

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What if the life you worked so hard to build quietly became a cage? We sit down with Dr. Onaysia Martinez —first in her family to earn a doctorate, the only Latina in her graduating class—to unpack how “success without fulfilment” pushed her to trade a white coat and four clinic walls for a bigger stage, a bolder voice, and a legacy built on alignment rather than optics.

We trace her Dominican and Puerto Rican roots, the dual expectations that shaped her drive, and the moment she named her philosophy: rebelle-ution. It isn’t rebellion for rebellion’s sake; it’s the evolution that happens when you honour the sacrifices of your elders by moving beyond the limits they had to accept. Dr. Martinez shares how she reframed selfishness, launched The Selfish Snob podcast, and distilled her coaching into the BOLD method—Break limiting narratives, Own a clear vision, Lean into your future self, and Dominate indecision with action. Along the way, we dig into identity shifts at new levels of responsibility, why stability is often a myth, and how perfectionism masquerades as excellence while quietly delaying impact.

If this conversation sparked something, grab Dr. Martinez’s CEO guide to clarity and confidence via LinkedIn or Instagram, then hit follow, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help more cycle-breakers find us. What’s the one bold move you’ll take today?

Website: http://www.luvugurl.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dronaysiamartinez/

LinkedIn: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/dronaysiamartinez&ved=2ahUKEwjglfbA4aCNAxUn58kDHRX9FPYQFnoECCAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2W0cK2bWYjxIby8stALleo

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dronaysiamartinez

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What happens when a cancer scientist brings lab precision to the chaos of real‑world care? We sit down with Dr. Eugene Manley to unpack how health equity moves from buzzword to measurable change—through intentional design, diverse data, and relentless advocacy at the bedside. From childhood hospital stays to leading a nonprofit and launching a new consultancy, Eugene shares the through‑line: if a system isn’t built with you, it won’t work for you.

This conversation also hits the ground floor of patient power. Eugene recounts being dismissed after foot surgery and explains how to protect yourself: assign a medical proxy, read your chart, document everything, and escalate with certified letters when needed.

You’ll leave with a playbook for your next appointment: the questions to ask, the right to second opinions, and the confidence to switch providers who won’t listen. Subscribe, share with someone navigating care, and leave a review telling us the one question you always bring to the doctor.

Watch Dr. Eugene Manley explain how you should handle yourself while in the hospital.

https://youtu.be/T7LZ4bYdEvk

Listen to Dr. Eugene Manley explain how you should handle yourself while in the hospital.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1988087/episodes/18702800

#blackpodcasts#podcast#podcastshow#podcastinterview#toronto

#supportblackpodcasts#newpodcast#speakupinternational

Thoughts on the podcast? Send us a text message.

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