'Tales from the 2.9' introduces you to a black Canadian every day of Black History Month

Casey Palmer has a unique way of celebrating Black History Month: for every day in February, he'll post an interview with a black Canadian on his blog.

He calls the project, now in its second year, "Tales from the 2.9" 2.9 being the percentage of Canadians who are black.

His goal? To shine a light on "stories that get lost," he toldCBC Radio's Metro Morning.

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"Through a lot of popular culture, we're fit into certain boxes. The athlete, the celebrity, the musician, or, unfortunately, the criminal," he said Wednesday.

"There's a huge segment of black Canadians in the middle who are just hardworking people."

Thesepeople entrepreneurs, poets, teachers, students are the ones he will featureall month on his blog.

"I wanted to reach out to other black Canadians, to make sure we're all saying something to add to the narrative," he said.

Palmer's own sense of himself as a black man in Canada has grown and changed over the years.

"As a black Canadian, I've had to have tough conversations and go through tough situations," he said.

'We are a resilient people'

He described a recent incident in Collingwood, Ont. in which he was unloading bags from the back of his car after arriving at a hotel with his wife.

"Someone else brought me their bags, thinking I was a bellhop there that was 2017," he said.

It's the kind of incident he's learned to brush off, because "it's happened so many times."

On his blogstarting on Wednesday, he hopes to celebrate the diversity and strength of the black Canadian community.

"Everyone comes from different religions, countries and languages. We are a resilient people who have come together," he said.