"Inspired by real events and set in the roar of the 1920s, the journey of an ensemble of characters who hustle, dream, cross borders, and pursue their ambitions in the fight for liberation on and off the railways that cross North America."
The Series, co-produced by BET Network and CBC, begins with conflict between the railroad owners and the Porters with differences in opinion on labor issues. This antagonism leads the Porters to form the first Black Union in North America-The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.
BET's key producers is Tyler Perry who, Forbes lists as the highest-paid male entertainer in 20010-2011 at $130,000,000.00. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Perry
Perry owns and operates, Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia on 330 acres previously owned by a slaver. Tyler considers the irony every day of his life, the life which began as a molested child, beaten by his father and who didn't graduate from high school.
Mr. Perry, you are indeed a role model for everybody!
The following is from Alexa Joy, a graduate student at The New school of Social Research.
The CBC co-production of The Porter, a new TV series inspired by true events, tells the story of the first Black union in North America.
The telling of this monumental chapter in Canadian history is accompanied by the uplifting and honest depiction of what porters and the Black community faced in Canada and the U.S. in the 1920s.
Some people might have questions about the series, like: who were the porters? What did porters do? Did this really happen in Canada?
And the common national rebuttal: Canada has a Black history?
The answer to the last question is, yes. We have just more than 400 years of Black history in Canada. And while this series will probably be an entry point for some viewers' understanding of what Black people endured throughout Canada's history, the leading cast and crew of The Porter have developed a bona fide series that hopes to educate and entertain.
The rarity of having one of, or arguably the first, predominantly Black television series being shot outside of Toronto is notable (honourable mention goes to Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes — a must-watch).
Naturally, Winnipeg came through in its efforts to show our talent and support for this project.
So last summer I went behind the scenes to capture the essence of this production.