Sprinter Andre De Grasse, sports anchor Kayla Grey and filmmaker Fabienne Colas were among the honourees at The Legacy Awards Sunday night, billed as the first major prime-time awards show to celebrate Black talent in the country.
Actors Shamier Anderson and Stephan James founded The Legacy Awards in order to spotlight exceptional Black Canadians with a platform they felt was lacking. The brothers, who grew up in Toronto's Scarborough neighbourhood, are screen stars at home and in Hollywood, with Anderson starring in "John Wick: Chapter 4" and James set to portray artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in an upcoming project.
De Grasse, asix-time Olympic medallist, was honoured as Athlete of the Year for his "exemplary accomplishments in sport in Canada and the world along with his contribution to the Black Canadian Identity." For her "unmistakable talent and activism," she was honoured with the Jahmil French Award -- named after the late Canadian actor of "Degrassi: The Next generation" -- given to a "rising star" within the Canadian media landscape.
"To everyone in this room, I love you guys so much," said Grey to an audience of still onlookers. "And thank you for loving me right back. "You led me and so many women of colour to dream a bigger dream for themselves," said Colas, noting she moved to Canada from Haiti in 2003, two years before Jean became Canada's first Black governor general.