Black History Month

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Africville : an African Nova Scotian community is demolished - and fights back

Africville : an African Nova Scotian community is demolished - and fights back

Wesley, Gloria, author
2019

The community of Africville began in the early 1800s with the settlement of former American slaves and other black people on the Beford Basin, just north of Halifax. Over time the community grew to include a church, a school, and small businesses. At its peak, about 400 people lived in the tight-knit community of Africville. But the neighbourhood was not without its problems. Racist attitudes prevented people from getting well-paying jobs outside the community and the City of Halifax denied the residents of Africville basic services such as running water, sewage disposal, and garbage collection. Despite being labeled a "slum," the community was lively and vibrant, with a strong sense of culture and tradition. In the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, the City of Halifax decided to demolish the community, relocate its residents and use the land for industrial development. Residents of Africville strongly opposed this move, but their homes were bulldozed and they were forced into public housing projects in other parts of the city, and promised, but did not receive social assistance to help them resettle. After years of pressure from former members of the community and their descendants, the City of Halifax finally apologized for the destruction of Africville and offered to pay compensation. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives from former Africville residents, this book offers an account of the racism behind the injustices suffered by the community. It documents how the City destroyed Africville and finally apologized for it.

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The book of negroes

The book of negroes

Hill, Lawrence, 1957-, author
2007

A sweeping story that transports the reader from a tribal African village to a plantation in the southern United States, from the teeming Halifax docks to the manor houses of London.

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From #BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black liberation

Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta, author
2016

"Activist and scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor surveys the historical and contemporary ravages of racism and persistence of structural inequality such as mass incarceration and Black unemployment. In this context, she argues that this new struggle against police violence holds the potential to reignite a broader push for Black liberation."--Front flap.

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They call me George : the untold story of black train porters and the birth of modern Canada

They call me George : the untold story of black train porters and the birth of modern Canada

Foster, Cecil, 1954- author
2019

"A historical work that chronicles the little-known stories of black railway porters-the so-called "Pullmen" of the Canadian rail lines. The actions and spirit of these men helped define Canada as a nation in surprising ways, effecting race relations, human rights, North American multiculturalism, community building, the shape and structure of unions, and the nature of travel and business across the US and Canada. Drawing on the stories and legends of several of these influential early black Canadians, this book narrates the history of a very visible, but rarely considered, aspect of black life in railway-age Canada. These porters, who fought against the idea of Canada as White Man's Country, open only to immigrants from Europe, fought for and won a Canada that would provide opportunities for all its citizens."-- Provided by publisher.

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Viola Desmond won't be budged

Viola Desmond won't be budged

Warner, Jody Nyasha, 1969-, author
2010