Man, I'm not sure when my attraction to them Quebec women began but I'm thankful for it. My name is Steve Beauchamp. A big and tall young Black man of Haitian descent living in the City of Nepean, Province of Ontario. In 2007 I moved to Ontario from my native City of Cap-Haitien in the Republic of Haiti. I had just graduated from College Notre Dame Du Perpetuel Secours, an all-male Catholic school located at the heart of my hometown. Moving to Canada forever changed my life, folks.
I began attending Algonquin College. I had visited the City of Ottawa before and I was fully bilingual, the result of spending every summer either in Canada or the United States of America. I took up business administration at the school and I excelled in my classes. By 2009 I had graduated. Carleton University was my next stop. It's where I met a lovely young woman who changed my life forever. Elisabeth Saint-Martin. A lovely gal from the City of Montreal in the Province of Quebec. She was studying Criminology at Carleton University. We met at the campus bookstore, and the rest as they say is history.
Now, dating a person who is of a different race is tricky, especially in Ottawa. You have to understand the racial politics and power dynamics. Canada is a White supremacist country. White men and White women maintain their domination by controlling the worlds of business and politics. Thus they prevent Africans, Asians, Hispanics, Arabs and Natives from making a difference. That's what Canada is all about, though its people consider themselves multicultural and tolerant. When people of colour seek to rise to power, they're swiftly put down. In Canada, the discrimination is systemic rather than purely racial.
Well, I'm a proud son of the first independent Black republic in the New World. My Haitian ancestors proved once and for all that White folks are not invincible. They defeated the French colonial forces on our island centuries ago. An act of defiance that the western world is still making us pay for. Why else do you think all of those big corporations and non-governmental organizations are treating Haiti like their own playground in the aftermath of the January 2010 Earthquake? I was fully aware of all these things when I began living in the Confederation of Canada. I knew exactly what I was up against. Racism is alive and well in this day and age, folks. Especially in Canada. Don't let the country's image as a bastion of friendliness fool you.
Where am I going with this? I want you to know why I had trouble allowing myself to fall in love with a White woman from the Province of Quebec. I was raised to believe that strong Black women are the only possible choice of mates for a decent Black man. My parents are a prime example of Black Love, folks. My father Cyril Beauchamp is a police officer in the City of Cap-Haitien. My mother Beatrice Gaston Beauchamp is a schoolteacher. They raised me to be proud and strong. Their faith in me is what drives me to excel in my business administration classes at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.