This month’s BCC member spotlight is Charmain Emerson, a passionate advocate for racial justice and equity in the workplace. Alongside Akinkunmi Akinnola, Joshua Dyer, Paul Taylor, Angelina Williams, and Erica Russell, Charmain brings a unique skill set and perspective to The Drake’s Black Community Council. As a co-founding director of Black Opportunity Fund in 2020, … Continued
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Hey Everyone, I’m Emily Mills and this is my first collaboration with The Drake Hotel. The timing couldn’t have been better. So many people are feeling stretched and stressed right now. I can relate. I’m the founder and CEO of How She Hustles. We’ve been connecting and amplifying diverse women leaders and entrepreneurs in Canada … Continued
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Continuing with our monthly intro to Drake Black Community Council members, let us introduce you to Akinkunmi Akinnola, a senior DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) practitioner with global corporate experience. Along with Charmain Emerson, Joshua Dyer, Paul Taylor, Angelina Williams and Erica Russell, Akinnola brings a particular skill set and spirit to the Council. As a … Continued
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Meet Paul Taylor, a non-profit leader, educator, and activist. Paul has dedicated his time to building up the next generation of leaders as the Executive Director of Food Share Toronto, Canada’s largest food justice organization. He’s also one of the six council members who along with Joshua Dyer, Charmain Emerson, Angelina Williams, Akinkunmi Akinnola, and Erica Russell, … Continued
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Critically-acclaimed, self-produced artist Clairmont the Second describes the creative process for his latest album as “naked and unfiltered”, arising from a period of personal growth during which he was “forced to fall back in love with music at its root”. At age 25, the Toronto rapper has an impressive six albums to his name, culminating in … Continued
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Meet Erica Russell, one of six incredible humans who along with Joshua Dyer, Charmain Emerson, Paul Taylor, Angelina Williams, and Akinkunmi Akinnola form The Drake’s Black Community Council. Established in the spring of 2021, the council has been actively advising, shaping, and providing feedback on our EDI commitments, initiatives, policies, and opportunities. We caught up with Erica, a Prosci-certified Change Practitioner, who speaks … Continued
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My Night in Nine is a series where we ask some of our friends, collaborators and all-around creatives to show us what a night at The Drake looks like for them in nine photos. Pop-culture wunderkind Chieff Bosompra is seemingly everywhere at once. As the mastermind behind successful marketing agency Undisposable, and owner of Toronto … Continued
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There’s no doubt that the past year and a half has been tough on the arts, so we’re stoked that Unity Charity is coming out of the pandemic swinging. Unity’s pretty amazing — a national charity that helps young people develop resilience through the teaching of hip hop art forms like MCing, breaking, beatmaking and … Continued
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Our friends at Banded Purple know how to put on a show — they’ve been producing provocative, push-the-envelope art and cultural events around Toronto since 2015. For their latest project, the all-outdoors Spaced Gallery (August 24 – September 24), they’re showcasing works by five Black photographers and creatives, with a staggered opening over seven days … Continued
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If you’re looking for a Father’s Day gift alternative to socks, booze or biographies, relax — David King has your back. King, the founder and proprietor of plant shop Promise Supply, has plenty of great ideas for every type of plant dad. (PS: We think a plant-prezzie pairs extremely well with The Drake’s Father’s Day … Continued
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