Away from the camera, this longtime journalist still shines

CBC Quebec is highlighting people from the province's Black communities who are giving back, inspiring others and helping to shape our future. These are the Black Changemakers.

When Elysia Bryan-Baynes retired from her job as a Global News anchor two years ago, she expected to spend her time travelling and catching up with loved ones.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the police murder of George Floyd. She had left journalism, but Bryan-Baynes decided she couldn't sit on the sidelines.

"I would have liked to have been travelling, but I really do think that [when everything was] happening, that I wouldn't want to really be anywhere else," she said.

Instead, Bryan-Baynes went back to the newsroom that she had just left — not as a journalist, but to help her former colleagues rethink their reporting around race. It wasn't something she had imagined doing after her retirement, Bryan-Baynes said, but she felt it was important.

"You can't really retire — journalists and spies," Bryan-Baynes said. "You just sort of do it in different ways."

Part of her task, she said, was hearing from other journalists of colour who were still in the industry.

Bryan-Baynes, who started her career as one of the few Black reporters seen on TV news in Quebec, said a lot has changed, but a lot has also stayed the same — especially for young Black journalists.

"I remember being there ... and I still am there in so many ways," she said. "You never lose the need to have somebody in the room, to know that you have somebody in your corner."

She signed up to start mentoring Black journalists shortly in the summer of 2020. Bryan-Baynes said it's been rewarding to meet with her mentees, to listen to them talk about their future and their work.

"I think my role is to maintain ... this fundamental idea of hope, and responsibility," she said.

Outside of journalism, Bryan-Baynes has turned to sharing one of her other great joys — reading.

She joined the board of the Fraser-Hickson Institute, a non-profit private library in Côte-des-Neiges that aims to promote literacy.

"An early love of books is that key to getting things going, triggering that creative energy that then leads you into different paths, whatever that may be," she said.

All those roles have given Bryan-Baynes hope for the future. She said she's grateful to still be considered a Changemaker and a leader in the community, even after she's stepped away from the camera.

"There are so many people in the community that are driven and focused and loving and willing to give their time and their energy that we should all feel hopeful and proud and pleased that this is what we have," she said.

"This is the beginning of a future that we can be proud of."

The Black Changemakers is a special series recognizing individuals who, regardless of background or industry, are driven to create a positive impact in their community. From tackling problems to showing small gestures of kindness on a daily basis, these changemakers are making a difference and inspiring others. Meet all the changemakers here.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.