Connecting Cultural Links

Meet another member of our CaribbeanTales team, Denise Herrera Jackson

By Tumelo E. Phali | Posted: March 16, 2005

If professional titles had weight, Denise would not be able to lift a finger: television, print media, theatre, dance, producing, marketing, writing - you name them, Denise has juggled all of them between her two hands and she is still counting.

Denise arrived in Canada in 1980 from Trinidad and, like many black immigrants, faced an uphill struggle re-constructing her life, battling twice as hard for basic necessities. With the useful grounding from her paternal grandmother, she overcame many obstacles to realize her dreams and, at the same time, be a towering, shining inspiration to her black communities in Canada - after all, who better to follow than a “Who Is Who Of Canada?”

She did Journalism at the University of Western Ontario (B.A),
Resource Management at York University (Masters in Environment Studies) and is “in the progress” of completing Information Technology Management at Ryerson University.

This genial, unassuming social figure would much rather let her work speak louder than she can.

Although her long-term involvement has been in Information Technology, working since 1992 for IBM, HP Canada and telecommunications giants like Bell Canada (amongst many others), Denise has had the same uncompromised passion for the arts.

Currently a member of the programming committee at Toronto’s Harbourfront Center after starting as a member of the Board in 1995, she still promises to work even harder to ensure her community attains the recognition it deserves, not just in the arts but many other areas of their involvement as well.

caribbeantales.ca had a chat with this dedicated community builder about her work and everything else…..

Could you briefly share with us your childhood background and your experiences as a member of the Caribbean community living in Canada?

I grew up in a family of nine – six kids, two parents and a paternal grandmother who, I think, was way before her time as an independent woman. She got along very well with my mother – her only daughter-in-law (my father was an only child) and loved my mother’s siblings. The values that she and my parents imparted to me through words and actions continue to help me survive as a member of the Caribbean community living in Canada. I feel proud of my Trinidadian heritage although I am equally proud of being a Cari-Can.

From your own perspective as Member of the Board of this project, has the website and newsletter, in your assessment, met or achieved the objectives for which it was created?

The website and newsletter continue to showcase the organization to an audience that is far-reaching. In terms of a return on investment, both products are capable of raising the profile of caribbeantales.ca in a cost-effective way and helping the organization achieve one of its objectives of reaching a diverse and global audience.

Storytelling, heritage, oral culture and oral history are the core elements that caribbeantales.ca nurtures, what do all these issues mean to you personally as a member of the Caribbean community?

A good story becomes a great story when a gifted orator imparts it. The oral tradition is and continues to be the way that children are introduced to ideas, themes, people, and culture. Visit a day care at reading time and you will see the oral culture at work. Read to any child and you will see the wonderful response to the spoken word. And I have some fantastic memories of this oral culture through the stories that I heard as a child – because the memories of those stories evoke a range of emotions, sounds, sights that I will always carry within me.

Everyone at caribbeantales.ca has done a spectacular job pulling this together: has this venture and your interaction with your colleagues brought about any significant change to you as a person? If yes, what is it?

I am so proud of the staff at caribbeantales.ca and their commitment to the organization. I always enjoy working with people who respect what they do and are prepared to work hard. I have found that everyone who is involved is enthusiastic – and that enthusiasm keeps me very excited and dedicated to the organization.

Looking at your professional history, it mostly reveals an expansive involvement within the science and technology field – how do you reconcile this with your involvement in the cultural programs and the creative arts?

My involvement in the Information Technology field is just part of my life. I have always been interested in cultural programs and the creative arts. I used to co-produce commercial theatrical productions several years ago in Toronto. When I was growing up, I started playing the piano at age 7, sang and competed in several music festivals, and was also a member of a dance company. My aunt, who was also my godmother, used to teach ballet and up to now, I still see the results of that background in ballet because she walks so upright and beautifully. Dance is my most favorite cultural product.

What does your participation as member of the Board of the Harbourfront Center entail? Were you able to influence or establish discourse into matters of Carribean cultural interest?

Currently I am a member of the programming committee and the mandate of that committee is to ensure that the programs offered at Harbourfront Center reflect the diverse background of the Toronto community. So that includes programs of cultural interest to our community. There are also initiatives to ensure that the staff at the center also reflects the community.

Can you tell us about your involvement in the Harriet Tubman Games and what the games are about?

The annual Harriet Tubman Games was another initiative that members of the Caribbean community used to engage young talented people. The games gave competitors from different sporting and training clubs the opportunity to showcase their young and upcoming athletes. Donovan Bailey was one of the athletes who competed and won in track and field and he went on to win gold for Canada. I got involved because I was asked to come up with marketing and promotional plans that would get the mainstream media onside with the Games. And yes, I was successful (smile).

You were involved in the very first event honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s memory here in Toronto? Would you like to share with us your experience in the event?

My knowledge of the equal rights struggle and Dr. Martin Luther King was based on what I saw on television. The images that I saw were most horrifying and dehumanizing. But when I remember Dr King’s reactions to all the injustices and his ability to look beyond the inane stupidities of government politics and policies, I knew that I had to become involved in the first event honouring him in Toronto. It was also fantastic to work with people like the Hon. Jean Augustine, Dr. Rita Cox, and Charles Roach and contribute to that unique event which came off in a way that made us all proud and lifted us up another notch.

Finally, is there any new project that Denise is currently working on or just begun?

Funny you should ask that, I’m just starting as a mentor at "The Mentoring Place", an organization that deals with professional immigrants trying to break into the job market. Knowing from personal experience how difficult it is to transfer skills into the Canadian job market, I decided to offer my time to a new immigrant. I was fortunate to have a number of mentors so I know their value.

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