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>> Marlyne Afflack gets philosophical about racism, media tokenism and high school by PHILIP PREVILLE When VJ Marlyne Afflack discovered that MusiquePlus, the music video channel where she plies her trade, had no plans to do a show for Black History Month, she took matters into her own hands and decided to produce one herself. "I'm a doer," says Afflack. "You have to seize opportunities whenever you can, and make a positive contribution." Perhaps. But even her Black History Month show could be open to criticism: Montreal media don't do as much as they could to reflect the city's diversity throughout most of the year, but when Black History Month comes along everyone pulls out the stops for an affirmative-media-action ritual, only to remain silent until next year. "To be honest, yes, that makes me a bit angry," she says of media coverage. "But all the media do it, so I'm not in a position to change that. For now, I'm doing what I can to change things where I am." In the space of a year and a half, Afflack has gone from retirement-home nurse to nurse to Quebec celebrity--and has become one of Quebec's very few black media personalities in the process. While Afflack refuses to reveal her age ("between 20 and 40" is as specific as she'll get), she says that, regardless of how old she is, she's lived through more than her years would suggest. Her parents are from Haiti, but she was born and raised in Brooklyn until the age of 13, when her family moved to Montreal. "I went from Brooklyn, where every day is Black History Month, to île Bizard. We were the only black family there, and I was the only black kid at St-Thomas High School. That was pressure. We didn't exactly fit in." It's difficult enough being part of a minority; try being a minority of one. Afflack switched schools, and for two years commuted from île Bizard to Polyvalente Anjou in the East End to go to school with her cousins, an environment her parents thought would be more comfortable for her. While the decision to switch schools (and to spend almost three hours a day commuting) may seem like a desperate measure, Afflack says that's not the case--and that she's taken a lot of positive lessons from her West Island experience. "Knowing what I know now, I can see that it had a big impact on me, because I always found myself standing out without wanting to. Some people choose to be on the front line. I didn't choose it. "I could have had a lot of anger in me and I did for a time. But there were a lot of open people too, so I don't want to qualify the West Island as racist. It was just so new--and it was new for everybody, not just me. So how do you react to a new environment? We were all learning." Afflack also says she's glad they didn't leave île Bizard immediately: they stuck it out instead of running away.
Afflack rejects any suggestion that she's the station's token black, hired to take over that role from Juliette Powell. "I never thought about the fact that I replaced Juliette Powell, because she left in June and I arrived in September. If they wanted to replace her, they would have done it right away and they could have picked anybody. The way I see it is that I'm good at what I do; it just so happens I'm black." Since arriving at MusiquePlus a year and a half ago, Afflack says she has been successful in putting more black music on the airwaves--and takes pride in one particular instance of subversion with the show Groove. "They said they wanted Groove to be lounge music, but they wanted music like Toni Braxton's 'You're Making Me High.' To me, that's not lounge; that's R&B." Afflack and Shaheed (Versatile) Samuels, Groove's coordinator, agreed on a strategy. "On the very first show, I went on the air and announced that Groove was Quebec's No. 1 R&B show. That was it." Now, Afflack is using her celebrity status to help promote Black History Month. It's interesting then that she prefers to look toward the future rather than dwell on the past. "We're past the fighting, we're past the name-calling. We are at the level of the minds now. Racism is still an issue, because there are still a lot of closed-minded people out there. But the new generation is coming up, and they're not afraid to mix." Due to the vagaries of human gene combinations, Afflack reckons the day will come when the lack of racism will inadvertently breed blue eyes right off the face of the earth. "Think about it: in the year 3000, if everyone keeps on mixing and mixing, there will come a time when there won't be that little blond girl anymore." Marlyne Afflack hosts Ebony Rhythms, the Opening Gala for Montreal's Black History Month celebrations this Sunday, Feb. 1 at Place des Arts' Cinquième Salle. The show will feature Charles Biddle and the All-Star Band, Ranee Lee, Mathématik & OSIRIS. Tickets: $12$20 plus tax, available at all Admission outlets (790-1245) and at the door
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The lessons in perseverance have paid off in other ways. Afflack worked in nursing for years, all the while trying to stake out a career in arts and entertainment. A friend submitted her pictures to MusiquePlus without her knowledge, and the call came at the worst possible time--while she was bedridden with a foot injury. "They called me at the hospital--I had all my calls forwarded there--and asked me to come in for an audition. So I went in there in a wheelchair and did the audition with both legs in a cast. Three days later, they called and told me I had the job."