Volumes

Who is TRAD?
TRAD is a grassroots educational organization. We create African centered educational experiences, publish tradmag.ca a bi-weekly ideas magazine, and create educational resources for learners, teachers, and community.
Latest
Land Stories: Letters I never sent
As I write this my legs crossed on the chair my fingers tap gently on a keyboard my lips take alternative sips of orange juice and a berry smoothie both reminding me that neither fruit was ripe or birthed from this soil I attempt to warm my hands in my partner’s comfy sweater it’s incredible how rubbing our hands together, …
Grey face studded by mineral – stoned, as her pockets bleed
The freezing temperature of water is zero degrees Celsius. Mercury falls below this threshold; water molecules slow and coalesce into one solid structure. Ice will not form unless there is some sort of impurity in the water: specks of soil, bubbles of air. And so, in some cases water can remain in its liquid form at such low temperatures as …
Why Black People Don’t Go Camping
White child runs through scenic fields collecting wildflowers and stones. White child swims in the lake by her family’s cottage. She slathers sunscreen on her arms so that she doesn’t get burnt. Black child runs through concrete playgrounds and grips metal monkey bars. Black child spins under the water of her family’s water hose. Black child inhales exhaust from streetcars …
Amazi
Amazi is Kinyrwandan for Water. Amanzi is IsiXhosa and IsiZulu for Water. Ama is Cherokee for Water. Madzi is Chichewa for Water. Omi is Yoruba for Water. Dlo is Haitian Creole for Water As I write this, I remember a question my professor posed to the class, “What is your gift to the Earth?” This was after we discussed reciprocity …
“Where all the Black people live”
Suburbia is no home for Black children, and neither are our cities. In the suburbs, they had us isolated, ridiculed and harassed. In the cities, they grouped us together, stole our neighbourhoods, and killed our communities.
Turning Red
This is a review of Disney-Pixar’s new feature film. You’ve been forewarned so proceed with caution, a reflective approach and a critical eye.
DEAR GOD, THE WHITE MAN BROKE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
DEAR GOD, I wonder why we’re caught in this trap. The White man is not you, and you are not a White man. So why do we see White people as so high on a sociological scale even after being freed in body? I see why mental transformation in Romans 12:2 is so important. Not conforming to this world is …
Videos
More Than a Dish
Quickening Artist Talk
Egúngún Artist Talk
Homecoming
We Build
Learning to walk
A Year of Doubt
The other night, I dreamt that my family was in Pakistan.My grandmother, brought back to life, was urging me to pray.She handed me a tasbeeh and told me to show it to my grandfather,transforming my acceptance of the beaded string into a promised prayer.After some time, I settled down and tried to pray, butI couldn’t remember the words I was …
A CASE FOR HOPE
I was 12 years old when I got beaten for the first time for the sake of God. I remember standing on the prayer mat and refusing to pray. I was probably reading on my phone, waiting for the five minutes to pass so I can go back to doing the same thing but on my bed. My mother saw …
Finding Your Way
Some of us search for a deeper meaning in life while some simply abide by a religious path or a combination of both. We share a common trust that whether or not we meet God, even if we don’t believe in such an existence, that they will protect us and guide us through a righteous path. While some choose to …
Congolese Gospel, God, and Me
Before tarot, before astrology, before therapy, music was the only medium I found solace in. Growing up as the oldest in a family of six, it quickly became clear that I had little space truly reserved for myself. When I needed to pour everything I was holding onto, I’d rely on my diaries. But those weren’t a comfort as much …
Finding A Middle Ground 
What is common sense if not the middle ground between two different views? And what happens when that middle ground is built on the thin ice of fear? Flashback to September 11 2001, a day I wouldn’t remember but the world would never forget. The twin towers fell and so did the idea of a middle ground. Islamophobia is not …
“Please remove Christianity from your profile”
That was a message I got on a dating site. Someone, let’s call him Mr. Hinge, brought up the fact that I filled out the section for a cause that I care about with Race and LGBTQ2S+ rights . He then threw Bible verses at me about how homosexuality is unnatural and a sin, how LGBT+ people are going to …
Editors Pick
Turning Red
This is a review of Disney-Pixar’s new feature film. You’ve been forewarned so proceed with caution, a reflective approach and a critical eye.
The Gravedigger’s Wife: Hunting dead bodies for a living
Plot: ‘The Gravedigger’s wife’ is a film that revolves around Guled, a man who has been earning money as a gravedigger in order to provide for his son, Mahad, and sick wife, Nasra. As Nasra’s health declines, Guled is seen to go through many difficulties to earn money and ensure his wife’s Kidney surgery and treatment. Review: In his debut …
I am now looking to my queer ancestors.
Growing up, I often felt lost, endlessly searching for unfathomable answers and some kind of purpose. The question of “who am I?” would ring loudly in my head and sometimes, it still does. In my attempts to understand my own being, I would find myself stuck in cycles of denial and hesitancy, struggling to come to terms with my seemingly …
Soul Revisited
The pandemic exhausted me mentally, physically and emotionally. There were and, in many ways, continue to be no breaks from trauma on personal, societal and ecological levels. I’d never in my life looked for peace and comfort as much as I did and continue to. At a critical moment in life, when there was so much loss and unknown, all …
Tuesdays are for the Ocean.
Tuesdays are for the Ocean. Sundays are for the universe. Mondays are for peace. Wednesdays are for the spider. Thursdays are for the earth. Fridays are for fertility. Saturdays are for God. When we look to Ghanaian naming traditions, a name marks a person’s place and signifies belonging to a spirit, to a history, to a circumstance. You may find …
Tell Every Woman’s Story
Boycotts, protests, towns burned to the ground. Hundreds of deaths, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Separatists, militia, and journalists impinged by an authoritarian presidency. The struggle for power in Cameroon is one of majority and minority, French-speaking and English. President Biya’s 38th year in office is marked by another year of infighting prompted by the marginalization of the English-speaking population …
Videos
More Than a Dish