Ontario Student Leadership Conference

Featured Speakers & Presenters

Dwayne Morgan

Workshop Presenter

Dwayne Morgan began his career as a spoken word artist in 1993. He is the founder of Up From The Roots entertainment, which he established in 1994 to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists.

Over his career, Dwayne has received both the African Canadian Achievement Award, and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts, in 1998. He is also the winner of 3 Canadian Urban Music Awards (2001, 2003, 2005). In 2005 he was recognized as Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Vancouver, and in 2008 Morgan’s contribution to the Arts and Canadian society were recognized on the Official Black History Month poster, and the Toronto Committee on Race and Ethnic Relations’ Black History Month poster.

Dwayne has shared the stage with many of Canada’s top artists including Glenn Lewis, Maestro, Kardinal Offishal, Choclair, Jully Black, K-OS, Nelly Furtado, Saukrates, and Raine Maida, while also opening for international artist Alicia Keys, Mutabaruka, Ursula Rucker, Saul Williams, Les Nubians, Christian McBride, and author Colin Channer.

Dwayne has published 3 books, most recently, The Making of A Man, which followed The Man Behind The Mic, Long Overdue, and chapbooks, The Revolution Starts Within, and Straight From The Roots. His albums include, Another Level, The Evolution, Soul Searching, A Decade in the Making, and Mellow Mood: The End of the Beginning.

Dwayne’s work has been used by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation’s ‘See People For Who They Really Are’ print and television ad campaign, as well as educational projects for the 411 Initiative for Change.

Dwayne is a motivational speaker, who currently hosts Diasporic Music, a monthly spoken word show on CKLN 88.1 FM, while also serving as an advice columnist in the daily paper, 24 Hours (Sun Media).

To further explore his creativity, Dwayne collaborated with Driftwood Studios to film, Three Knocks, a ten minute film based on his domestic violence poem of the same name, which was premiered in Toronto’s Reel World Film Festival. In March 2008, Dwayne hosted his first photography exhibit, The Sum of Her Parts, which explored female body image. Dwayne has since filmed a video for his poem, E-Males, while also premiering his one man show, Grade 8, at the 2008 Hamilton Fringe Festival.

Dwayne’s work ethic has taken him across Canada, the United States, Jamaica, Barbados, England, Scotland, Belgium, Budapest, Germany, France, and Holland. His emphasis on quality has driven his success, and has made him a well respected component of Toronto’s urban music community, as well as the North American, and Global, spoken word scenes.