“To be loving we willingly hear the other’s truth, and most important, we affirm the value of truth telling. Lies may make people feel better, but they do not help them to know love.” ~bell hooks Vancouver Opera honours Black History Month and shares a conversation that took place during Indie Fest 2022, co-hosted by Debi Wong of re:Naissance Opera and Ashley Daniel Foot the Senior Manager of Partnerships, Engagement, and EDI.  Featuring:  -Rocky Jones, Minnesota Opera’s Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. -Dawn Pemberton, Vancouver’s own Queen of Soul. -Morgan-Paige Melbourne, Toronto-based queer interdisciplinary artist. This profoundly powerful conversation, a truth-telling reflects on the state of Black Opera and performance in North America, and the way forward to end cultural and urban erasures in communities of colour.