Disrupting the Status Quo: Black History Month Kick-Off at UTM
On Thursday, February 6th, Black at UTM, in collaboration with the Blackwood Gallery, welcomed educator and artist Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste to lead a deliberate, disruptive, and dynamic performance.
As part of the University of Toronto Mississauga’s kick-off to Black History Month, Toussaint-Baptiste engaged with staff, students, faculty, instructors, librarians, and caretakers in a event surrounding the critical interrogation of alternative uses of harmful technology, such as Long-Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD).
LRADs have been used by police against activists who have raised their voices demanding justice for individuals such as George Floyd, Andrew Loku, Regis Korchinski-Paquet, and the many Black and Indigenous people killed through interactions with police, both in the United States and Canada.
A long-range acoustic device (LRAD), acoustic hailing device (AHD), or sound cannon is a specialized loudspeaker that produces high-power sound for communicating at a distance. It has been used as a method of crowd control, which has caused permanent hearing damage, having an extremely high decibel capacity (up to 160 dB measured at one meter from the device).
These audio devices generate extremely loud high-frequency sounds specifically intended for the dispersal of crowds, which can also cause pain, disorientation, and injury to those exposed to them—but in the performance that was ‘Y’All Don’t Wanna Hear Me (You Just Wanna Dance)’- Jeremy presents the LRAD as a technology that might unite and even guide a crowd through sound and dance for Black joy. The discussion with Robyn Maynard, Assistant Professor of Black Feminisms in Canada at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, and additional music by Brendan Philip added to thought-provoking conversations about the reimagining of agency, empowerment, and solidarity.
Throughout the device’s battery life, Toussaint-Baptiste uses its built-in microphone to speak about their artistic practice, recite research into the device’s history, and speculate on alternative uses of this harmful technology. The performance culminates with a collective dance, guided by the directional sound of the speaker.
For those in attendance at this event, such as Efe Eghujovbo, it “was incredible! Combining music and dance with the thought-provoking panel conversation made it a fun and insightful session. I thought Jeremy was very knowledgeable about his lived experience and his work in the music industry; it was indeed a privilege to hear his story.” Abdulsalam Oladimeji, another student, was pleasantly surprised at “how the LRAD speaker box was traditionally used as a means of weaponization; the kind of power in which repurposing the LRAD can have for our own means can be a powerful form of activism and symbolism.”
Other Black student takeaways include:
Art is best when it engages large numbers of people. The event was absolutely amazing. I felt captivated, engaged, and left with a new perspective on art and sources of inspiration. It was a wonderful way to start Black History Month and serves as a reminder of our (Black students and staff) presence on campus.
The event yesterday was amazing. Everything—from the presentations about the power of sound to the connection with the current political climate—made the event feel both necessary and deeply grounded. I loved how Brendan’s music brought people together, even to his own surprise. I also really appreciated how vulnerable the speakers were about their artistic process and what drives them.
Jeremy is leading attendees through a dance in the CCT courtyard.
As Black at UTM continues to create deliberate, dynamic, and disruptive ways of promoting Black flourishing at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, students such as Chuwudum Anozie want to see more cross-campus collaboration of Black speakers and guests to “enhance dialogue, deepen perspectives and insights” on how others are addressing anti-Black racism. As Black at UTM continues to create deliberate, disruptive, and dynamic ways to promote Black flourishing at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, students like Chuwudum Anozie want to see more cross-campus collaboration among Black speakers and guests to “enhance dialogue, deepen perspectives and insights” on how others are addressing anti-Black racism. Kamsiyochi Onekere added, “The event yesterday was amazing. Everything—from the presentations about the power of sound to the connection with the current political climate—made the event feel both necessary and deeply grounded. I loved how Brendan’s music brought people together, even to his own surprise. I also really appreciated how vulnerable the speakers were about their artistic process and what drives them.”
For more info on this and other initiatives as part of UTM’s Black Flourishing Framework, visit https://black.utm.utoronto.ca/black-flourishing-framework/.