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The K-W Titans basketball team is kicking off Black History Month with a celebration during their game Sunday against the Lake Erie Jackals.
The Titans have partnered with Kitchener festival Caribana Ignite for a third year to celebrate Black history and cultural expression before and during their game at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Kate Schooley, chief communications officer for the team, says the event is important to put the experience of players, coaches and staff members “front and centre.”
“This is just really an opportunity where we can take some time to recognize the heritage of many of our players and coaches and just show them that we value who they are as individuals, and also just represent that to the community,” Schooley said.
The celebrations go beyond the team, with pre-game programming set to begin at 2:00 p.m., an hour before the Titans take on the Jackals.
Geraldine Stafford, the festival director of Caribana Ignite, says the main audience is the community.
“This Titans team is for the community and the young people who get to go to the game. They’re so excited to see the players, community leaders come out,” Stafford said.
The programming is all about representation, and Stafford says young people will “see themselves in so many elements of the game.”
That includes the halftime show, a free throw contest, an addition of the Black National Anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing and information about Black History Month on the screens in the arena.
With Waterloo region being so diverse, Stafford says being Black isn’t just one identity. She says there are people from the Caribbean, people of African descent and people who aren’t native from Africa but identify as Black.
“And you know, allies are really important as part of this conversation as well,” said Stafford.
Caribana Ignite is bringing Caribbean rhythms, flavours, and creativity to downtown Kitchener this weekend. But this year, organizers are hoping to give attendees more meaningful interactions through conversations with elders. Organizer Geraldine Stafford and Ted Hudson, founder of Schlegel Villages, spoke to CBC K-W’s John Dalusong about why they are bringing elder wisdom benches to the festival this year.
It’s a game for everyone and Schooley says people don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy a Titans game.
“We really think of it as a party wrapped around a basketball game … just the atmosphere, the non-stop effort entertainment that happens during a game makes this a great experience for everyone, whether they’re a basketball fan or not,” she said.
For those who do enjoy basketball, “this is the best quality basketball you’re going to see outside of the NBA,” Schooley said.
How the celebrations on the K-W Titans court began
The partnership between Caribana Ignite Kitchener and KW Titans began three years ago.
Stafford explained she first became involved with the team due to her day job as the manager of equity, diversity and inclusion for the Waterloo Regional Police Service.
“The Titans organization had reached out to the police to come and meet with the players and do some bridge building, because their experiences many of them had with police in the States would have been adverse experiences,” Stafford said.
Now that they’re in Waterloo region, it was a really great initiative to bring police and the players together to really talk about their experience in Waterloo region.”
The K-W Titan management decided to highlight Black History Month at one of their games in 2024, and reached out to Stafford, who already had connections with the players.
“It actually dovetailed very well because it was actually our first year of launching Caribana Ignite,” she said.
This year, Caribana Ignite is hosting multiple events both in Kitchener and Toronto.
“A lot of the preparation for Caribana and other festivals really culminates this month because it’s not only Black History Month, but it’s the Carnival season, like in Brazil and Trinidad and parts of Grenada,” said Stafford.
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