By Chidimma Aliozor.
Since December 1995, February has been recognized as Black History Month in Canada. Oftentimes, the contributions of Black individuals and communities to Canada are not acknowledged as integral parts of Canadian history; Black History Month reconciles this by highlighting and celebrating the achievements of Black civil activists, authors, artists and any other Black individual who’s made some sort of impact on Canada.
In general, the focus of Canadian history tends to skew away from Black individuals and their communities, except, of course, when the topic of slavery and the Underground Railroad comes up. Whenever slavery is mentioned, Canada is made to be this magical paradise that enslaved people could escape to and pursue a life just like any other white person. However, in reality, this was not the case. As quoted from the novel Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury, “It was better, but it was not good.” Though slavery was illegal, life in Canada was not smooth sailing for Black people; they still experienced an abundance of prejudice, discrimination and segregation. This is evidenced by the case of Viola Desmond and the community of Africville, Nova Scotia.
Viola Desmond was a businesswoman in Nova Scotia, who owned and operated her own hair salon as well as a beauty school. Both of her businesses were catered especially towards Black women, and the beauty school, in particular, gave Black women more opportunities for employment. For these reasons, Desmond was relatively well-known among the Black community of Halifax.
On November 8, 1946, Desmond was on her way to a business meeting in Sydney, Nova Scotia when her car broke down near the town of New Glasgow. After being told that the repairs would take several hours, Desmond decided to go see a movie at the Roseland Theatre. At the theatre, Desmond requested to buy a ticket for the main level, but the cashier handed her a ticket for the balcony instead.
When she tried to sit in the main level of the theatre, the ticket taker challenged her ticket, telling her that the ticket she had was for the balcony seating. Desmond went back to the cashier, asking for the ticket to be exchanged for the main floor level seating, but was told by the cashier that she was not permitted to sell main floor tickets to “you people.” Desmond made it clear that she was willing to pay the difference in ticket price, but was still refused. So, she decided to sit in the main level anyway. Desmond was once again challenged, but she refused to leave her seat, stating again that she could pay the price difference. However, a police officer was called, leading to her arrest and subsequent charge of “refusal to pay a one-cent amusement tax.” The issue was never with the ticket price, despite what official records might suggest; the issue was always that Desmond, a Black woman, had dared to sit in the part of the theatre designated for white people.
Africville was a small community on the outskirts of Halifax. It was developed by Black settlers who immigrated to Nova Scotia in hopes of freedom and land but were met with the hostile prejudices of the white settlers already living there. Pushed out of the city, these Black settlers were forced to live on inhospitable land and fend for themselves. In time, Africville was formed from this community. Africville existed for nearly 150 years and was considerably well-established, consisting of stores, a school, a post office and a church. Despite the fact that the people of Africville paid taxes, the city of Halifax did not provide them with sewage, access to clean water and garbage disposal. Instead of providing the Africville people with these basic amenities, the City of Halifax decided to “relocate” the people of Africville to “superior housing” in Halifax. Despite resistance from the residents of Africville, between the years of 1964 and 1970, Africville and its various buildings were demolished. Life in Halifax was not easy for the Africville natives. Though they had been promised money for relocation, it often wasn’t enough to support long-term residence in the city. Moreover, it was hard for them to find work, as many companies would not hire Black people. Quickly, the formerly tight-knit community drifted apart.
To suggest that Canada is not rife with instances of racism and discrimination in its history would be a disservice to the Black individuals and communities who experienced it firsthand. The stories of Viola Desmond and Africville are only a couple of examples of those that have historically been excluded from Canadian history. For the month of February, let’s especially highlight those stories and others like them.
Black History is Canadian history.
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