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<div>Now that Constitution (2019) is done, we—The Afro-Métis Nation—require an Anthem!
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<div>By George Elliott Clarke
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<div>Dear Comrades in the Arts &amp; Progressives in Politics:
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<div>8 years back, in 2016, challenged by my then-teen daughter to do so, I assembled a group of African-Nova Scotians and/or Black Maritimers to record a CD. At our first meeting, we discovered our shared, Indigenous bloodlines, and decided that we would write songs based on our Afro-Métis identity.
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<div>The recordings occurred in the winter and summer of 2018, and our first CD, Constitution, was born in April 2019. Reviews were excellent, and three of us—GEC, Sugar Plum Croxen, and Shelley Hamilton got nominated as “Best Indigenous Songwriters” at the Canadian Folk Music Awards of 2020.
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<div>Best of all, other Afro-Métis people, from all around Turtle Island, adopted this identity too. They wrote to tell us how this “naming” has given them a sense of belonging, a sense of peace.
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<div>Now, post-COVID, but also post-haste, we are recording our follow-up CD, titled “Anthem.”
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<div>I—GEC—applied for and received a Toronto Arts Council grant of $9200 to produce the second CD. While a significant sum, we need at least $7000 more to produce a top-notch record.
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<div>(If we receive more, we’ll use it to pay small honoraria to the volunteer musicians and singers AND to stage a public performance of the CD’s music.)
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<div>SO, we are appealing to YOU to donate whatever you can afford to this Go-Fund-Me campaign to help us raise the money to put out a first-class CD. WE THANK YOU for whatever you give—even if just your attention!
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<div>Who are we?
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<div>Sid Ameen (instrumentalist par exemple),
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<div>Karen Ashton (the Jimi Hendrix of the Grand Ole Opry),
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<div>Ricky Atkinson (harmonizing the harmonica with the heart),
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<div>Linda Carvery (Haligonian songstress who sculpts the rhythm and delivers the blues)
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<div>GEC (georgeelliottclarke.net),
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<div>Sugar Plum Croxen (maestro of downhome, "bucktime" rhythm),
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<div>Russ Kelley (former Head of Music at the Canada Council),
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<div>Chris White (founder of the Ottawa Folk Festival),
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<div>Sheila White (author, composer, pianist, singer),
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<div>and Ken Whiteley (Uber-producer extraordinaire).
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<div>We also need to laud our very heard-working and committed volunteers: Giovanna Riccio (style &amp; skill incarnate), and Keith G. Sujo (the master of the Web).
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<div>We invite you NOW to help us write our Anthem.
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<div>For more information, our website is <a href="https://www.afrometis.ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.afrometis.ca</a>
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Dr. DaBeth Manns

Joe Bowden

Yeshim Ternar

Patricia Reynolds

T Plant

Mary Ferguson

Anonymous

Tony Turner

Susan Hartman

Leah Callen

Yang Wang

H. Masud Taj

Keith Garebian

Linda Dahms

Donate and help us record the Afro-Métis album: The Anthem!!

Donate and help us record the Afro-Métis album: The Anthem!!

Still $7,453 to go. Help us build momentum.