Canadian government makes investment to document Black Canadian history
April 26, 2021
The Canadian government has made a significant investment in African Canadian History Education.
Just over $1 million, which is the largest financial contribution ever made by the Canadian History Fund, will support Dalhousie University’s three-year project, ‘A Black People’s History of Canada’.
Black history scholars and organizations will have an opportunity to create engaging learning materials and digital media about the history of Black Canadians.
The materials, in English and French, will target Canadian teachers and students in elementary and secondary schools and will be available through the project website and a network of professional, community, institutional and government partners.
Dalhousie University Professor Afua Cooper and Karolyn Smardz Frost, an Adjunct Professor of History & Classics at Acadia University, are the Principal Investigator and Project Manager respectively.
A Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology and the 2021 Dalhousie President Equity, Diversity & Inclusiveness (EDI) Award recipient, Cooper said the project is long overdue.
“For too long, Black people history in Canada has languished in the doldrums in spite of the 400-year presence of Blacks in this country,” the former Halifax Poet Laureate pointed out. “That is why I am truly excited to receive this wonderful support from Canadian Heritage. Our project, which is for three years at the moment, will fill a lamentable gap in African-Canadian History Education. Thus, researching, writing, conceptualizing and teaching Black history in a comprehensive manner will produce a seismic shift in African-Canadian knowledge mobilization.”
Smardz Frost, who in 1985 discovered the first Underground Railroad site in Canada, is the only archaeologist in Canada with a PhD. in African-Canadian History.
Karolyn Smardz Frost (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“The first priority is to carry out new research in collections held by African-Canadian heritage organizations, museums, archives, libraries and other collectors,” she said. “Our discoveries will be foundational to the development of engaging and accessible classroom-ready curricula. With the help of educators across the country, these instructional media will be matched to curriculum requirements and priorities in each province and territory. Then, the fresh new learning materials created for ‘A Black People’s History of Canada’ will be disseminated digitally for use in Canadian elementary and secondary schools from coast to coast. We can’t wait to get started.”
The project team also comprises Ontario Black History Society President Natasha Henry and historian/curator Adrienne Shadd who is the great great grandniece of Mary Ann Shadd Carey, North America’s first female publisher and the first Black woman to complete a law degree at Howard University.
Adrienne Shadd (second from left) with historian Sheldon Taylor, then Heritage Toronto’s plaque co-ordinator Gary Miedema (r) and Rosemary Sadlier (l) unveil the Mary Ann Shadd Carey plaque at the Ontario Black History Society Black History Month kick-off in January 2011 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“I am very pleased to be part of this undertaking which has been needed for so long,” said Shadd. “I expect I will be working on a little bit of everything, but specifically on connecting with our partners in the various regions on the research itself, with the writing of different sections of the manuscript for the book, on the digital learning materials and assisting with the lesson plans.”
Henry envisions that ‘A Black People’s History of Canada’ will be a compass that helps guide and orient curriculum changes.
Ontario Black History Society President Natasha Henry (r) with historian Jane Cooper-Wilson (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“It can play a tangible part of the actions that school boards take to demonstrate their declared commitment to addressing anti-Black racism that were expressed in statements in the past year,” the York University PhD. candidate pointed out. “I have spent two decades researching and writing about Black Canadian history and developing curriculum resources to support the integration of narratives on Black experiences in classrooms. For me, being a member of this phenomenal team and working with organizations and individuals across the country takes these efforts to a central and national scale that I have always wanted to happen.
“I have always advocated for mandated learning expectations on the 400-year Black presence in Canada in the Ontario curriculum and want to see the same in all provinces. This project will support that and reinforce the necessity of this kind of systemic change while providing high quality resources and supporting African-Canadian history education through a critical pedagogical approach.”
Frank Harvey, the Provost Vice-President, Academic (Acting) welcomed the financial support.
“It will be instrumental in filling a critical knowledge gap in schools across the country,” he said. “Dr. Cooper has already made immense contributions at Dalhousie and nationally and we look forward to seeing the continued impact of her important work that will be supported through this funding.”
Research will be conducted in the 10 provinces and three territories and shared through partner organizations across the country.
Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, said Black history must to be told and celebrated in books and museums, on screen and in academic institutions.
The federal government, he noted, is proud to support the development of learning materials, activities and networks that will give all Canadians the opportunity to enhance their understanding of Black Canadian history.
“The history of Black people in Canada is more than 400 years old, but remain mostly untold,” he said. “That is why it is essential for every Canadian to know about the remarkable achievements and struggles of Black people in Canada throughout history…You don’t have to look far to see the legacy of that history.
“As a society, we must look back at the wrongdoings of our past and acknowledge them in order to move forward. It is also about the people that have made their mark in this province and our country such as Viola Desmond who challenged racial segregation in her community. Today, Canadians can look down and see her face when they use a $10 banknote. What’s remarkable and troubling is that this isn’t the history that most Canadians are learning in school. Systematic racism and racial bias are still very present in our classrooms. As we look to the past for inspiration, lessons and insights, we need to acknowledge the Black stories that haven’t been told, Black talents that haven’t been recognized and Black futures that haven’t been seen yet. This must change.”
Andy Fillmore, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, said the funding will help ensure that the rich history of Black Canadians is taught and celebrated while at the same time informing the next generation of social justice leaders.
“Building a more inclusive and equitable Canada is a multi-generational task and it has got to include teaching our youth about the struggles and triumphs of groups whose stories and perspectives have historically being under-represented in their education system,” the Halifax Member of Parliament said. “A full, fair and honest telling of our past is absolutely essential to our understanding of the world we live in today and it reveals what must be learnt from our past mistakes as well as from our successes. For too long, the history of Black Canadians hasn’t received the attention or care it deserves in our education system and this is rooted in systemic racism that continues to hold back our communities of color.”
Nova Scotia’s Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs Tony Ince said it’s important that Canadians know the full story of people of African descent in this country.
“I believe we have to have an impact on all Canadians and, for generations, this will,” added Ince who is also the Minister responsible for the Office of Equity & Anti-Racism Initiatives.
Cooper said she would be applying for additional financial resources to support the groundbreaking project.
At Dalhousie since 2011 as the third James Johnston Endowed Chair in Black Canadian Studies, she developed a minor in Black and African Diaspora Studies that allows students to discover and analyze the history, culture and sociology of Black Canada and the wider African diaspora.
During her six years as Chair, she also founded the Black Faculty & Staff Caucus and was instrumental in the creation of the Black Canadian Studies Association summit that provides a platform for scholars and other delegates to reflect, discuss, dialogue and engage with issues that are critical to the praxis of community, empowerment and leadership in Black Canada.
The award-winning poet, author and historian chaired the ‘Scholarly Panel to Examine Lord Dalhousie’s History on Slavery and Race’ that resulted in Dalhousie University issuing an apology in 2019 to Black Nova Scotians for its founder’s racist actions and views.
Cooper was also a consultant to the Ontario committee set up to commemorate the bicentennial of the abolition of slavery in 2007 and her interest in slavery, abolition and Women Studies led to her doctoral dissertation on anti-slavery crusader Henry Bibb and the publishing of ‘The Hanging of Angelique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal’, a national bestseller that was nominated for the 2006 Governor General’s Award.
George Elliott Clarke attended the launch of Afua Cooper's book, 'The Hanging of Angelique', in February 2006 (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Her commitment to social justice education led to the curation of several exhibits on Black history, slavery and freedom, including ‘Black Halifax: Stories from Here’ which was an online exhibit created in 2015 and hosted by the Delmore ‘Buddy’ Daye Learning Institute.
