February and Beyond: Moving the Work

This year, as Ontario’s Poet Laureate, February asked me something deeper. How are you moving the work when no one is watching? This question has followed me everywhere. P.E.A.C.E. People Everywhere Actually Coexisting Equally has been doing this work for 15 years. Not as a slogan, but as a practice. Through education, empowerment and community connection we leave footprints everywhere we go. The work is done through workshops, assemblies, trainings and keynotes—yes. However it’s also hallway conversations, eye contact, silence held with care and a person realizing their story matters.

This month, my footsteps trace a living map. Starting early in the morning on February 2 as part of my annual free program give away, arriving at Holy Rosary while the day is still stretching awake. Then off to the afternoon energy at JM Deynes—two different rooms, the same intention, plant something that lasts and kickoff the month strong. I head to St. Bernard of Clairvaux on February 3 then to a couple correctional institutions on February 5 and 6 where poetry becomes less about performance and more about survival. These are the moments that remind me that Black history lives in bodies. It lives in choices. It lives in whether or not we choose to see one another fully.

When I stand at Bishop Allen on February 11, I’ll be offering two assemblies back-to-back, where I’ll keep the energy high and consistent. On February 12 at Queen’s Park, Black History Month carries formality, P.E.A.C.E. teaches us that legacy isn’t what you say once; it’s what you practice daily. So like we say in Hip Hop, Keep It Moving to the K.I.M.!

The journey continues with Wilclay Public School February 13 with three artists brining our styles together. I’ll be at the Jonathan Davies Youth Hub in Malton February 17 for an after school poetry writing workshop, where participants can share their own voice. After that I’ll get a small break from the driving as I do a Halton event virtually February 18, proof that connection doesn’t require a shared room, just shared intention. Next stops are St. Margaret of Scotland February 19 in Mississauga and Ogden Junior PS February 20 in Toronto.

By the time I reach St. Monica February 23 in Brampton, it will be my 44th birthday and I can’t think of better way to celebrate than being with a school to bring them my contagious energy. Then I’ll be with Sts. Peter and Paul February 24 as the month starts to close. This year I’m thinking deeply about footprints. About what we leave behind when we exit a room.

February 25 carries me from St. Francis De Sales in the morning to John Dryden in Whitby by noon—different cities, but the work stays the same. February 26, beatbox and poetry meet at Joseph A. Gibson Public School. We’ll be teaching what textbooks can’t as we have some students participate in the show with us! On February 28, at the Mississauga SDA Church, February doesn’t end—it exhales.

Footprints: It’s All About the Journey. Exploring Black excellence. Honouring resistance. Making room for joy. Reflecting on legacy, not as something we inherit, but something we actively build through everyday actions. This is why the conversation cannot live only in February. No not just in February, but for every day that comes after.

Black history doesn’t clock out, so let us keep the fire burning.

Sincerely,

Matthew-Ray Jones

Ontario’s Poet Laureate