A portrait of Portia White, hanging outside the auditorium. Brendyn CreamerTRURO, N.S. — Out of all the chatter before the ceremony to rename the
"In education today, we find spaces where we recognize the contributions of all segments of our society, and this is just a fitting reality for us to honour such a great person as Portia White, by dedicating our auditorium in her name and memory," said Douglas Sparks, principal of CEC."The students were the ones that lead this push to get a petition signed to rename the auditorium the Portia White Auditorium.
What followed was a ceremonial libation led by students Abisola Oshikoya and Jenaya Barton-Pictou, where the crowd shouted out the names of notable black figures who have passed.Student Mackenzie Wright then gave a brief history of Black culture and how Black History Month came to be, followed by a video on the origins of hip hop, a genre that Wright said has surpassed rock as the most listened-to music according to streaming metrics.
CEC student Lola Oshikoya offered a brief history of Portia White's life and achievements. Brendyn CreamerWhite is heralded as being one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. Born in Truro in 1911, she often sang in her father's devotional radio broadcasts in the 1930s, as well as taking lessons at the Halifax Conservatory of Music."Imagine ... she learned to play the piano at age five. Her mother was very involved in music and taught her daughter.
"Somebody, Ms. Elizabeth Reed, heard her and said, 'you should not be singing only in the Maritimes. You've got such a great voice that you should be able to go onto bigger stages.'"