Black Canadian talent celebrate — and are celebrated — at inaugural Legacy Awards

As The Handmaid's Tale star Amanda Brugel arrived at the inaugural Legacy Awards on Sunday night, she reflected on what the new awards ceremony — which highlights the achievements of Black Canadian talent — will mean to future generations.

"I think I'm going to get emotional talking about it," she told CBC News on the black carpet.

"To have space, to hold space for the amount of Black talent that we have here, for future generations, will tell them that they matter, that there is so much room for them, to tell them to aim higher. And I can't wait to see what happens with this in 25 years," she said, gesturing to the room full of Black artists, athletes and actors.

The Legacy Awards are Canada's first all-Black awards ceremony. The 90-minute live show, which celebrated accomplishments in film, television, music, sports and culture, featured emerging and established Black Canadian talent.

The event is produced by the Black Academy, an initiative launched in December 2020 by Canadian actors and brothers, Shamier Anderson (Bruised) and Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk).

The Scarborough, Ont.-born siblings hope that, in creating the infrastructure to support and uplift Black talent, they can break barriers in Canada's entertainment industries.

"We come from humble beginnings — Scarborough, you know?" Anderson told CBC News. "So for us to be able to do this, hopefully we can keep inspiring other Black and brown boys and girls."

Joking that he and Anderson spent two and a half year "under a rock" while planning the event, which they will co-host, James said, "We're here, and people gotta know it."

"The power of being able to empower our people, put them on this stage, give them an opportunity to give testimony, share their journeys with Black Canadians all over this country. It's a very, very powerful thing; it's something that's not lost on my brother and myself."

Following an opening performance by Kardinall Offishall, Anderson and James gave a traditional comedic monologue — but then they got serious, sitting down to deliver a cheeky public service announcement to Americans.

"We're here to talk about an issue that's been plaguing Black Canadians," Anderson said. "And that is when Americans are surprised that we actually have Black people in this country," he concluded to laughter from the crowd.

The brothers launched into a rap song describing the unique qualities of the Canadian Black community ("We got more than just The Weeknd, Kardinall and Drake!"), one of several performances that got the audience onto their feet Sunday evening.

Later in the show, Deborah Cox took to the stage in a flashy red jumpsuit with a tassled cape to perform her 2008 hit, Beautiful U R. She was followed by Savannah Ré, who sang Solid. The performances didn't stop with music: spoken-word poet Randell Adjei took to the stage with a few verses.

The musical highlight, however, was an ensemble performance of Andra Day's Rise Up by an all-star lineup of five Black Canadian women — Melanie Fiona, Sate, Jully Black, Fefe Dobson and Alicia Mighty — demonstrating a range of musical styles, genres and talent.