A Black Love Chronicle

In Canada, one of the Whitest places on the planet, I am experiencing the unimaginable. I am actually getting in touch with my roots. There are lots of Haitians here, and we're a tight-knit bunch. Other immigrants have made their way here too. There are so many Africans, Arabs and Asians in the Province of Ontario, it's not even funny. They're rapidly changing the demographics of the two main cities, Ottawa and Toronto. I don't feel as alone as I thought I would.

Folks, it finally happened. I met someone special. Her name is Wanda Abdul-Hadi. A six-foot-tall, exquisitely beautiful and curvy young Black woman from the Republic of Djibouti in the Continent of Africa. The gal has it all, folks. A face as beautiful as that of Alicia Keys. A body as shapely and perfectly curved as that of Ashanti. The infectious smile of Nicki Minaj. Oh, and the booty of Serena Williams. My favorite. Wanda is studying Criminology at the University of Ottawa. She's really ambitious and wants to work for international law enforcement someday. We met while she was visiting her younger brother Mohammed, who's in my Business Ethics class at Carleton University. Wanda and Mohammed are African immigrants who grew up in Ottawa but they've travelled extensively in Latin America, the United States of America and Europe.

I really, really like Wanda. And she likes me too. I find that the African ladies I meet in the City of Ottawa are much nicer and more laid-back than the Black women I'm used to in Urban America. Sadly, the Black men of Ottawa don't notice them because they are relentlessly chasing White chicks left and right. Well, I said it before and I'll say it again. No vanilla for me. I love my chocolate ladies. Unlike the sisters from the U.S. Wanda seems to appreciate a good brother. Black women in America reject College-educated and hard-working brothers because they prefer the thugs, the ballers, the rappers and the bad boys. Most Black women I meet in Ottawa seem allergic to these types of guys and seem to want a decent brother. Wow. This is like the Twilight Zone for me. Black women who like good brothers over the thugs? I thought I'd see flying pigs and the Second Coming before I saw that!

Wanda and I started dating and we're getting along wonderfully. Thanks to her, I'm learning a lot about Africa. It really surprised me, the amount of knowledge and respect Africans have about and for us Haitians and Haitian-Americans. They know our history, and praise our glorious past. And they want to stand with us as we go through the crucible after the Quake and its resulting socio-political mess. Wanda believes in Pan-Africanism. She sees all Black folks, whether we're living in Africa, the Caribbean, North America, Latin America or Europe, as one people. My new lady believes in Black Love and unity as much as I do. Did I luck out or what?

There are differences between us, of course. Wanda is a Muslim with Atheistic tendencies after a falling out with her community's religious leaders. I'm an Adventist. I now attend a Black Adventist church in eastern Ottawa. There are many things about Islam which I'm unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable with. For starters, I'm uncut. And I have no desire to ever change that. My parents didn't believe in bodily modifications and neither do I. Wanda is open-minded about that and accepts me the way I am. She doesn't blindly accept every tenet of her faith, thank God. Faith is important in both our lives. Like me, Wanda believes there is only one God whether He's called Allah, Ja, Buddha, God or Jehovah.

We're growing as a couple. I've met her family and they're okay people. Her grandfather Kadar Abdul-Hadi is the Imam of the local African Muslim community. Her mother Fatima Abdul-Hadi is the first Black female Muslim member of the Ottawa Police Service. How about that? They're a proud bunch. This summer, I'm returning to Boston for a little vacation and I'm bringing Wanda with me. I can't wait for her to meet my parents. I love my lady and she loves me. I'm a Haitian-American who found true love, Black Love, with a Djibouti woman in the last place where I expected it. The City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario. I know, it's weird, right? Life is one heck of a ride. You never know where it will take you. All you can do is brace yourself.