Creating a space for Black comedy in Quebec

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 Black audiences leave Renzel Dashington's comedy shows, he said it's like watching someone see snow for the first time.

"You knew of it, but you had no idea how it felt," he said.

The Bad Boys du Rire was founded by Dashington in 2017 for the express purpose of creating a space for Black comics and other comedians of colour to offer comedy that reflects modern Montreal.

"This space that we've created [was] first for myself, because I'm the person that needed the space first," he said. "I just wanted to share it with people that needed it, too."

Dashington said people in the audience aren't the only ones who are awed by the experience.

For Black comedians and other comedians of colour, Dashington said, performing in front of an audience that looks like them is like "a fantasy: something that's possible, but you figure it might never happen."

For many, it may be their first experience on stage. Dashington said all comics learn the most by performing, but outside of Bad Boys, most comedy clubs in Quebec are still overwhelmingly white.

"It's been to no one's advantage to redefine what [the comedy] community is and — by accident or by design — it's left people that look like me out of the equation."

Dashington said when he does perform in mainstream clubs, before a mostly white audience, he feels the difference.

"Although we are in a space that's there for laughter, I still have to disengage people. I still got to make them feel it's OK to be in my presence," Dashington said. "That's something that's real."

On the flip side, he said he's seen people open their minds at Bad Boys. He said a white man in his 70s once came to the club, and at the end of the show, he said the comedians had shown him a perspective he'd never heard before — and that he'd laughed the entire night.

Dashington said the man told him that with each comedian's act, "I learned about a person I didn't think existed."

Taking a stand against racism

Outside of comedy, Dashington has found himself in a different kind of spotlight — fighting against racism in Quebec through conversations about the N-word, or offering a platform to victims of racial profiling.

He said he felt compelled to speak up once he became an uncle, when his brother started having children.

"To be super honest, as a sensitive person, I've been feeling for the last 10, 12 years that things are not getting better," he said. "They got worse."

"I need to make it better for the next generation," he said. "I need to be able to tell them I did something to help change things."

His outspokenness has not been without consequences. Dashington said other Black entertainers have asked him why he was sabotaging his career.

"Every time you take a public stance for the dignity of Black people, numbers erase themselves off your phone," he joked.

But Dashington said that the success he's found, he created for himself.

"I've had zero opportunities" from others in the industry, he said, which leaves him free to use his own comedy club in a way that Black entertainers who do not have their own platform are not.

"I make people laugh and make people think."

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.