Thandiwe McCarthy is a 7th-generation African Canadian spoken word poet and writer.  After a residency at Arteles in Finland he's now focusing on his writing. As culture correspondent for Maritime EDIT, he spotlights Black community leaders and artists. 

Honored in 2023 as a CBC Atlantic Canadian Black Changemaker, he has also helped establish Emancipation Day on August 1st in New Brunswick. Thandiwe has delivered keynotes for the Atlantic Public Libraries Association, the NB College of Craft and Design, and lectured on leadership at Saint Thomas University. 

His Canada Council-funded Still Here Initiative celebrates fifteen Black New Brunswick families and launches in July 2026 with a national exhibition at Beaverbrook Art Gallery and a book by Goose Lane Editions.