Renee Hess is an avowed Pittsburgh Penguins fan, but the California resident didn’t always gravitate towards hockey.
Hess founded Black Girl Hockey Club in 2018, a not-for profit that relentlessly advocates for Black women and girls in hockey across North America, while breaking down systemic and structural barriers for Black communities within the sport. Black Girl Hockey Club (BGHC) expanded to Canada, with former Toronto Six defender Saroya Tinker operating as the co-founder and executive director of Black Girl Hockey Club Canada, which provides financial aid and scholarships, along with on-ice mentorship and programming.
And while Hess didn’t always resonate with hockey, she’s become integral in shaping the culture of hockey, both for Black women and the sport writ large. Hess was at the Toronto Metropolitan University’s DMZ space on Monday, an incubator for young creative talent within the city, for a celebration of her new book titled Blackness Is a Gift I Can Give Her — which is a collection of essays, a format that Hess always wanted to deliver and was encouraged by her publisher, McClelland & Stewart.
Hess had to catch a flight back to the United States, on the eve of the U.S. presidential election — she said it was a coincidence, but there’s a natural inclination to examine the linkage between inclusion in sports and federal policymaking.
During the event, Hess spoke with CBC Sports senior contributor Shireen Ahmed — who has been Canada’s most impactful sports journalist by some distance in 2024 — on Monday evening, with approximately 50 media members, academics, hockey luminaries, former players and fans in attendance, after Marco Di Buono, president of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities provided a brief welcome and introduction.
“It’s OK for folks to have their own things,” Hess said, when asked about the importance of creating spaces for Black women in hockey. “It’s OK to build up spaces for Black women when there are none. I talk about it in the book: when we have a big to-do at BGHC, there’s always someone who hops on social media: why isn’t there a White Boy Hockey Club? Have you seen the NHL? That’s what it is, and it’s okay. I remind myself of those words, over and over again, even if folks don’t understand it. It’s all-inclusive, right? Support our mission, support us, the work that we do, the values we hold, you’re welcome here. But if you don’t, it’s not for you, it’s as simple as that.”
My first time seeing my book, “Blackness is a Gift I Can Give Her” in hard cover and all cleaned up! Pre order US:https://t.co/oHodEUymiq
Pre order Canada: https://t.co/iteZ7KSrzK pic.twitter.com/vaZC5v6MBn
— R. Renee (@reneehess) September 20, 2024
Hess detailed her writing process, which started with a search for Black literature in hockey, where she came across Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League by Darril and George Fosty, and Angela James: The First Superstar of Women’s Hockey, a biography written by Tom Bartsiokas and Corey Long. But her foray into writing her book was accelerated when coming across A Fly in a Pail of Milk: The Herb Carnegie Story, written by Herb and Bernice Carnegie.
Hess respectfully refers to Bernice Carnegie as “Miss Bernice” and was invigorated by her account of her father’s life in hockey throughout the biography.
Carnegie was in attendance for the event and has continued to operate as a speaker and advocate, while working as the co-founder of The Carnegie Initiative, which works to make hockey more inclusive for all folks.
“Community is great but it’s even better when we can circle our arms around one another and keep each other safe from the realities of the world we live in and the spaces we occupy,” Hess said, while sharing her gratitude for Carnegie, and Toronto Sceptres star Sarah Nurse, both of whom wrote blurbs for the book.
“It’s not always easy being Black in hockey, it’s not always easy being a hijabi in journalism, it’s not always easy being in spaces where there’s no one who looks like us, or there’s actively people working against our success, which is a fact of the matter for so many people.”
Hess — and Ahmed — have routinely spoken about the importance of finding joy in life, while trying to combat systemically racist structures on a daily basis, and this book provides a natural pedagogy for the next generation of Black girls and women in hockey spaces. The titular ‘Her’ is a reference to Hess’ daughter, Lola, who was in attendance Monday.
“The her is Lola. That’s her. She’s my her! If I can gift her the amazing gift of being Black, Black community, the Black experience, Black culture in any form, then I think what a blessing for her to be able to experience that, to have that. I know it’s been a blessing for me, and it isn’t something I always necessarily had or grew up with. I really believe our intersections are a gift, whether it’s our Blackness, or our queerness, or our abilities. It’s a gift we should embrace, particularly when the world tells us not to. We do it our own, it’s doable. And it’s something we strive every day to accomplish, but if we can do it with our friends, our colleagues and co-conspirators, it’s even more fun! It’s more fun right, saving the world is always more fun with friends,” Hess said.
“Blackness has been gifted to me. I wasn’t raised in a Black household — my mom’s white, her parents are white, they raised me. But she made it a point to show me that Blackness is a gift and how to embrace it, even though she didn’t always have those tools,” Hess continued.
It’s a tremendous read, with a particularly funny – Hess’ emphasized the importance of her humour showing through — chapter on white people sure to galvanize the reader’s attention. Hess has been one of hockey’s most important advocates since the establishment of the Black Girl Hockey Club and Blackness is a Gift I Can Give Her is a timely, urgent exploration of Black women in hockey, storytelling and a celebration of Black women overall.
