I Can’t Be The Only One takes to screen
Determined to expose rampant racism against women of colour in the workplace, Jamaican film-maker and activist Sandy Daley-Legister began research last year for what became her first documentary,
I Can’t Be The Only One.
Scheduled for release this month, it highlights stories of women from Canada, her adopted home, the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean.
Through interviews with Daley-Legister, they speak about challenges they face as dark-skinned women getting promotions.
“As an actor, creator, and social work advocate, racism/discrimination is something that I face on a daily basis. I, of course, am not the only one. I have been passed up for promotions or even been labelled as combative. I’ve constantly had to fight for my rightful entitlement in work environments. The sad thing is that this happens, too often, to too many of us. It’s time for us to speak out loudly,” Daley-Legister told the Jamaica Observer.
She said the documentary was actually inspired by personal experience while working at a government agency in Canada. Daley-Legister recalls being targeted when she called on management to address disparities when it came to respect shown to white females compared to their black counterparts.
One of her biggest takeaways from the project was the grit of the six women interviewed.
“The strength and dignity that they all displayed, even in turmoil, was remarkable to witness and film. I was blown away by how each woman did not sit back with a hand on their head, begging for pity. Nor did they point fingers. They all found something that they were passionate about and focused on that. They did not focus on the racism/discrimination that they had each faced. It was beautiful to film and it brought tears to my eyes,” Daley-Legister stated.
A graduate of Wolmer’s Girls’ School, Daley-Legister has established herself as a talk show host, newspaper columnist, actress, and film-maker in Toronto where she has lived since her teens.
Her work includes Whose Vagina is It, Really? (a book and play), and the short film DNA: Daddy’s Not Around, which looks at delinquent black fathers.
