culture | The Harriet Tubman Institute

Obebinaru Favour Obhuo

rebsl — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 15:56:33 +0000

Born in Kolo Town (Ogbia), Bayelsa State, Nigeria; Obebinaru Favour Obhuo holds a Master's degree in Sociology (Criminology and Penology) from the University of Ibadan and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Port Harcourt (UniPort) all in Nigeria respectively. He also holds a Faculty position in the Department of Sociology (Criminology and Security Studies) where he lectures undergraduate students since 2023.

Mr. Obhuo is currently a doctoral candidate at the Department of Sociology (Criminology and Police Science), UniPort, where he focuses his research on female gangs and substance (drug) abuse in Ogbia, Bayelsa State. His interest are on gangs, African history/archives, politics, human rights, secular humanism, and cultural preservation.

Keywords: Sociology, Criminology, History, Secularism, Culture

Christopher Donshale Sims

rebsl — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:48:40 +0000

Christopher D. Sims is a cultural bearer and leader in all things African diaspora. Committed to African American and/or Black liberation, his contributions to Black people spand from writing, public reading, research, and serving on committees and the like representing the best of Black vision and creativity. A scholar, Christopher is a published author with content that details our shared Africaness. As a writer and researcher, he has written scholarly publications about the history of Black people worldwide.

Keywords: Anti-Blackness, Reparations, Black Diasporas, Black History, African American History, Canadian Black History, Canadian Indigenous People's History, African Diasporas Travel, Community, Culture, and African Diasporic Music and Performance Arts

Henry Gomez

rebsl — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 05:29:45 +0000

Henry Gomez is an educator, who was formerly employed by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) as a high school teacher; and was nominated for a Teacher- of-The-Year award. He specialized in English Literature, Media Studies and Drama. He holds an MFA in Theatre and a BA in English from 91��ɫ and obtained his B. Ed from the University of Toronto. He believes in lifelong learning. After retirement from active teaching, he returned to 91��ɫ, where he recently defended his master’s thesis in Interdisciplinary Studies.

He was born and grew up in Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago, where he began his career in education. As an actor, composer, recording artiste and radio host, he has an extensive background in various aspects of the performing arts in Canada and internationally.

He has worked in radio, television, film and theatre; and has hosted shows on CFRB 1010 and CIUT 89.5 FM. He has also worked as a theatre director and Master of Ceremonies. Under his sobriquet, King Cosmos, he became a Canadian Calypso Monarch, the winner of a Canadian Urban Music Award and a Canadian Reggae Music Award. He is also a Sunshine Award nominee. His community service includes helping to develop the Caribbean cultural arts in Toronto. He is a founding member and first Chair/Secretary of the Organization of Calypso Performing Artistes (OCPA) and a past Chair of the Caribana Arts Group. For the period 2012 to 2014, he led the team that produced the Flags and Colours children’s carnival for residents of the Jane and Finch community in Toronto. Henry looks forward to working for the betterment of the Harriet Tubman Institute.

Keywords: carnival, calypso, music, culture, Caribbean, Toronto, Africa, Canada, Trinidad, Tobago, Trinbago

Ola Mohammed

rebsl — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 19:29:22 +0000

Ola Mohammed is an Assistant Professor of Black Popular Culture in the Humanities Department at 91��ɫ. Her research is in the areas of Black Studies, Black Popular Music, Sound Studies and Diaspora Studies. She specializes in interdisciplinary research exploring Black cultural production, Black social life and Black being as sites of possibility.

Desirée de Jesus

rebsl — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 02:28:45 +0000

Dr Desirée de Jesus is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at 91��ɫ. She was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at UBC. She holds a PhD from Concordia University and an MA (with Distinction) from Kings College London. Dr de Jesus is also a video essayist and moving images curator. Her videographic work analyzes films centering girls, women, and folks of colour. Her previous curatorial work supported the Visual Collections Repository (Concordia University) and the Toronto International Film Festival. Dr de Jesus’ research and teaching explore the intersections of race, gender, aesthetics, and technology in narrative film and media through traditional, creative, and curatorial methodologies. She is currently a co-investigator for a Connection Grant participatory filmmaking project about racialized girls, their futures, and experiences of COVID-19 inequalities. Her previous research was supported through various awards.