SpeakUP! International Inc.

A councillor’s job sounds big, but most residents feel it in small moments: the email that never gets answered, the neighbourhood problem that sits for months, the sense that decisions happen somewhere else and you only hear about them after. We sit down with Neil Simon, a community leader, pastor, and small business owner running for Toronto City Council in Ward 9 Davenport, to talk about what local leadership looks like when it is built on responsiveness, visibility, and trust. Neil explai...

Black History Month in Canada feels permanent now, but it was never guaranteed. We talk with Rosemary Sadlier, researcher, author, and longtime leader with the Ontario Black History Society, about the unglamorous, determined work it took to move Black History Month from community celebration to national recognition. She walks us through the reality of advocacy before social media: missed deadlines, long-distance calls, mailed letters, and the patience to keep pushing even when no one re...

Join us on SpeakUP! International for a deeply moving episode with Kwanza Msingwana! Kwanza opens with “Old Woman, Sing Me a Song,” a breathtaking spoken-word tribute to his mother who held on to her wisdom, resilience and grace. From there, we follow the poetry back to its origins and forward to our own responsibilities. In this episode, we explore: How a music-making trip to Jamaica completely reshaped his perspective on culture and gratitude.The heart of African oral tradition, where folkt...