Black History — Black Ottawa Connect

Black History is Canadian History

Our people have been here, but it’s largely left out of the history books and curricula in our schools. This means interested people have to take it upon themselves to learn about the Black Canadians who helped build this country. This means that Black children don’t get to see themselves represented in history books.

Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore, author of Trailblazers (a children’s book focusing on Black Pioneers) so aptly writes in the introduction to her young readers:

“Canada didn’t just let you in - -

You actually helped build it,

Indigenous peoples cared for this land,

and many others filled it”

We should celebrate Black History all year.

Advocate for Black History to be included in school curricula across Canada

#BlackedOutHistory is a campaign started by Ontario Black History Society. In Canada, history is only ever taught one way. To prove this, they created a short video where they blacked out all of the non-Black history from a 255-page history textbook. How many pages do you think remained? Spoiler alert: not very many.

The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness around how little Black history is taught in Canadian schools. Watch the video here. View the letter that was sent to Ontario Premier, Doug Ford here.

Here is an independent petition demanding the Ministry of Education of Ontario takes action to improve and update the current curriculum to include Black history courses that educate students on racial issues, here is one for Saskatchewan, here is one for Alberta, and one in BC.

Emancipation Day in Canada

August 1, 1838 marked the abolition of slavery in Canada. Ontario passed legislation proclaiming August 1 as Emancipation Day. Bill 111 on December 10, 2008.

A big part of recognizing Emancipation Day is talking about the many segments of Canada’s past that often do not make it into mainstream history-class curricula. Recognizing emancipation is a step forward in recognizing African Canadian history as part of Canada’s story and teaches the next generation about the shameful and forgotten parts of the past that must not be repeated.

Emancipation Day is also about reflecting on our present, taking the time to examine the current circumstances and remembering why Black lives matter. Tying our present to our past is a way of recognizing how slavery and segregation are actually the roots of anti-Black racism.

Adapted from BC Black History Awareness Society. Visit their website to learn more!

Canadian Figures you should know

When you think of Black History, where does your mind go? Do you think about Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and MLK Jr? Although African American history is very important to know, the fact that it is the only thing we get to hear about highlights the great erasure of Black Canadians in our history lessons.

Anderson Abbott

Lincoln Alexander

Marie Joseph Angelique

Abraham Beverly Walker

John Ware

28 Moments of Black Canadian History

UNILEARNAL, a youth-led non profit has done a stellar job - they released 28 short videos, each featuring different Black Youth speaking about their experiences in Canada, their goals, aspirations, and interests. They then give a small history lesson on an important moment or figure in Black Canadian history.

Through this project, UNILEARNAL hopes to establish a link between our present and our past, allowing us to have a greater understanding of our collective challenges and successes. You can watch the videos on UNILEARNAL’s YouTube channel.

Books and Resources on Canadian Black History

Read Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada by Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore. A beautifully illustrated children’s book that introduces readers to Canada’s Black history through the brave, shocking and real-life stories of our country’s Black pioneers.

Read Nova Scotia's Lost Communities. In this fascinating book, author Joan Dawson (A History of Halifax in 50 Objects) looks at 37 of Nova Scotia's lost communities.

Read Displacing Blackness by Ted Rutland. While focused on twentieth-century Halifax, Displacing Blackness develops broad insights about the possibilities and limitations of modern planning.

Read There’s Something In The Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities. Ingrid R. G. Waldron examines the legacy of environmental racism and its health impacts in Indigenous and Black communities in Canada, using Nova Scotia as a case study, and the grassroots resistance activities by Indigenous and Black communities against the pollution and poisoning of their communities.

Read Halifax Confronts Race by Robert Ashe. Amid simmering social unrest in the late 1960s, Halifax invited twelve outside urban planning experts and community activists to take part in a remarkable social experiment: a week of events examining and critiquing the city's management, decisions, policies, and personnel.

Read The Great Black North : contemporary African Canadian poetry edited by by Valerie Mason-John and Kevan Anthony Cameron. At the heart of this book is a poetic blend of literary and oral traditions that recognizes the past and present as they form a tangible foundation for future generations of poets.

Read Dear Canada: A desperate road to freedom: the underground railroad diary of Julia May Jackson by Karleen Bradford. A riveting tale of a brave family's last bid for freedom, and the price they pay to find it.

Read The Story of Africville, a historical Black community located on the south shore of the Bedford Basin, on the outskirts of Halifax which was destroyed by the city of Halifax in 1970.

Read about the Hogan’s Alley Society and their current projects, and watch this film exploring how this British Columbia neighborhood was destroyed by the city of Vancouver in 1970.

Take a virtual tour: An exhibit hosted by the Ontario Black History Society and the Museum of Toronto titled Brought in Bondage: Black Enslavement in Upper Canada

View this digital exhibit hosted by the BC Black History Awareness Society and the Canadian Museum of History titled British Columbia’s Black Pioneers: Their Industry and Character Influenced the Vision of Canada