Wikipedia
Basodee: An Anthology Dedicated to Black Youth (2012), edited by Fiona Raye Clarke, is a youth-created and youth-centred anthology created by a Black writing collective in honour of Black History Month, and authentic diversity in Canada. It highlights the Black Canadian experience and to promote awareness about the complexities of contemporary Black youth experience in Ontario.
The book consists of a foreword by the President of the Ontario Black History Society, Rosemary Sadlier, OOnt and work by various youth on issues of identity, belonging, and Canadian Black History.
The anthology was created in partnership with the Office of the Provincial Advocate of Children and Youth in Ontario a commission of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario which puts youth at its centre and uses rights to improve the lives and conditions of youth in systems of care in Ontario. The anthology was started in January 2012 and was published by General Store Publishing House in July 2012.
The title "Basodee" comes from the Trinidadian creole word of the same name meaning "half-conscious" and "disoriented." The term was chosen as the title of the book to express the confusion and identity crisis of Black Canadian youth.
The book consists of photography, essays, short stories and poetry by 13 youth expressing what it is to be young, Black and Canadian. Many are immigrants to the country or first-generation Canadians. Some have had experience with the mental health or criminal justice system and some are in care. Each shares their personal stories and views on what it means to be Black and Canadian today.