The full title of this article is “Shahaddah Jack (First Poet Laureate of Toronto) on the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade.” Here, United Nations Web TV shared a video of remarks by Shahaddah Jack, first Youth Poet Laureate of Toronto, at the 75th plenary meeting of the 80th session of the General Assembly on the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade. To get an idea of how her Caribbean heritage influenced her, the poet expressed it best in an opinion piece (Beach Metro), “I grew up in a household where I was raised by a hardworking single Black mother and a resilient Caribbean immigrant grandmother. Within our four walls, it was instilled in me that the identity of being a Black woman is a beautiful reality and that it is a privilege to have a culture as rich as ours.”
In her speech at the General Assembly, Jack speaks about slavery as a living legacy that continues to shape the world and our understanding of justice and humanity. In that framework, the poet underlines “memory” and “possibility,” and the power of poetry to speak back to silence, honor truth, and imagine freedom. Before reading her poem, “Reclaiming Our Past,” Jack explained the importance of spoken word, as “it is considered to be the closest and most foundational to African storytelling.”
Listen to her 8-minute speech at https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1m/k1m0i17p9i.
[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for sharing all links related to Shahaddah Jack.]
See more about Shahaddah Jack in the following articles:
“Shahaddah Jack is Toronto’s inaugural Youth Poet Laureate”
CP24, February 5, 2026
https://www.cp24.com/video/2026/02/05/shahaddah-jack-is-torontos-inaugural-youth-poet-laureate
“The spoken word artist who’s helping young poets ‘say it loud’”
Aajah Sauter, CBC Arts, February 20, 2026
https://www.cbc.ca/arts/toronto-youth-poet-laureate-shahaddah-jack-9.7097906
“‘Black history is 365’: BGC National Youth Of The Year Shahadda Jack shares her thoughts on Black History Month.” Al Shackleton, Beach Metro, February 27, 2026 https://beachmetro.com/2023/02/22/in-my-opinion-black-history-is-365-bgc-national-youth-of-the-year-shahadda-jack-shares-her-thoughts-on-black-history-month
Follow her on her website https://shahaddahjack.com and @shahaddahjack on Instagram.
[Photo above from the Toronto Star, https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/she-was-just-named-torontos-first-youth-poet-laureate-heres-why-shahaddah-jack-cant-just/article_816040a4-9620-11ef-b4e1-d3ff5460656b.html.]
The full title of this article is “Shahaddah Jack (First Poet Laureate of Toronto) on the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade.” Here, United Nations Web TV shared a video of remarks by Shahaddah Jack, first Youth Poet Laureate of Toronto, at the 75th plenary meeting of the 80th
