During six years as a student at Queen's University (1993-99), Greg was a vocal anti-racism activist and student leader before becoming the first Black person to serve a term as President of the Alma Mater Society, Canada's oldest university student government, in 1996-97. He also chaired a student task force that successfully lobbied for a room to be named on campus after Robert Sutherland, the first known African-descended university graduate in Canada and the first Black person called to the bar of Upper Canada.
Greg instructed a Canadian Black History course at St. Lawrence College in Brockville in the fall of 1997 and has participated in numerous anti-racism, diversity, multiculturalism and youth events over the years.
Greg gives back to the communities that supported him in many ways. He is a former member of the
Queen’s University Alumni Association, a past board member for
the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services
Organization (OCISO), and was recently elected to serve on the
Queen’s University Council (until 2016).
He has also provided diversity training services to the Ottawa Police Service and for four years (2006-09)
was the Spoken Word Curator for WESTFEST, the annual arts festival held in the Ottawa community of Westboro.
top
Ritallin (the Cerebral Stimulant)
Greg debuted his Ritallin persona at an Ottawa spoken word event in summer 2003. Since he began performing regularly in winter 2004, Ritallin has developed a reputation for delivering powerful poetry in a way that is lyrically appealing, widely accessible and unapologetically provocative in its socially conscious message. Greg has always written about issues that matter, including social justice, racism, the plight of Afrikans across the Diaspora, and empowerment of the disenfranchised.
In October 2004, Ritallin represented Ottawa at the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics (now the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, or CFSW) and was a member of the festival's organizing committee. In the same month he co-founded Capital Slam, now Canada’s second longest running monthly poetry slam series and the two-time defending Canadian national slam champions (2009-10). He went on to represent the city once again at CFSW 2006 in Toronto, and then served as National Director of Spoken Word Canada (SpoCan) from 2006-08. In 2010, Greg was the Media & Communications Director for CFSW 2010 Ottawa, becoming the first spoken word artist in Canada to be on two CFSW festival organizing committees. At SpoCan’s annual meeting in 2010, Greg was elected to serve a two-year term as the Vice-Chair (Communications) on the Board of Directors’ Executive Committee.
Ritallin released Volume I (a cappella) of his three-CD recording project Poet Psychology in October 2010, with Volume II (live recordings) slated for release in January 2011 and a tentative release date for Volume III (poetry and music) in late 2011. He is also working on a few collaborative projects with other poets and musicians, including guest appearances on a couple of upcoming CDs from other talented artists. He plans to visit more venues, schools, businesses, organizations and communities across North America and around the world to spread his message to as many people as possible.
Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a central nervous system stimulant. The purpose is to help the brain be more selective in the way it filters and responds to various stimuli. It has effects similar to, but more potent than, caffeine and less potent than amphetamines. It has a notably calming effect on hyperactive children and a "focusing" effect on those with ADHD. Ritalin is used to treat narcolepsy, Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
