Black History in Canada

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Black History

Preserving the Legacy by Telling the Story

Throughout the year, members at Julian of Norwich Anglican celebrate and give thanks to God for the rich heritage of Blacks in Canada and for the many gifts they share.

We view this as an opportunity for reflection and uplifting conversation. Rethinking how we can be continually challenged to imagine a different world, a better world, for all of God’s people.

We are invited to uplift the contributions of Black-Canadians as a model for our children and future generations.

Black History invites us as human beings created in God’s image to ask: how does our church celebrate diversity, particularly as it is expressed racially and ethnically? How do we see ourselves; how do we see others and how do others see us?

Musical Artists

Image of Faith NolanFaith Nolan is a Canadian social activist, folk and blues singer-songwriter, who was born in Africville. She is of Mi’kmaq, Black and Irish Heritage. Nolan’s music is described as “her political work, a politics firmly rooted in her being working class, a woman, African Canadian and openly queer.” Nolan uses her music to link her sexuality with the musical history of black North America. Part of her activist work has been documenting the social, political and cultural history of Africville, a historic African Canadian settlement profiled in the “Did You Know?” section of this Black History page. She is known world-wide for her musical workshops with women in prison, in schools (with both teachers and students) and in indigenous communities. Faith continues to fight for a better understanding of how poverty has created a disproportionate representation of poor women, especially Black and First Nations, in Canadian prisons.

To learn much, much more about Faith, we suggest the article A Vision Outside the System by Nicole Birch-Bayley (Laurentian University).

Faith sings Africville

Image of The Bohee BrothersJames Bohee was born in Indiantown, New Brunswick, Canada on December 8th, 1844 and died in South Wales on December 8th, 1897. James was an Afro-Canadian song and dance artist, composer, instrumentalist and theatrical manager. Both James and his brother George went to school in Canada but later moved with their parents to America. He gained professional experience by playing his banjo in Boston beer halls in the late 1860’s.

Around 1876, along with his brother George, he organized his own Bohee Minstrels. They then joined the Callender’s Georgia Minstrels and Haverly’s Genuine Colored Minstrels in 1878, touring the United States of America. The company then sailed to England in 1881. When the company returned to America in the middle of 1892, the Bohee Brothers stayed behind in England. James organized another minstrel troupe and also set up a banjo instruction studio at No. 7A Coventry Street, London, where he gave lessons to the Prince of Wales. He was also involved in the manufacturing of banjos.

Some of their songs in their repertoire were: The Darkey’s Wedding, The Darkey’s Patrol, The Yellow Kid’s Patrol, Bohemian Gallop, The Darkey’s Dream, The Darkey’s Awakening, Medley of Airs, Restless March, March in C, Hunter’s March and Niagara March.

Page Source: New Brunswick Black History Society – Posted by Hal Allert


Food for thought: The listed musical repertoire leaves one to wonder, despite the recognition they received, if the brothers were not complicit in the social and cultural denigration of people of African descent.

Image of Michie MeeShe’s the first woman in Canada to become a star M.C. In the mid-’80s, the Jamaica-born, Toronto-raised M.C. teamed up with L.A. Luv. The duo’s first single, “Elements of Style,” was a hit in the U.S. and led to a contract with Atlantic Records in 1988. Michie Mee became the first Canadian M.C. to sign a record deal with a major American label. The hip-hop pioneer joined alt-rock band Raggadeath and created the 1995 hit, “One Life”. In 2004, she teamed up with fellow artists, including Maestro, Thrust, and Toya Alexis, to form the Peace Prophets, which produced the charity single “Drop the Chrome”. Her latest album, 2020’s ‘Bahdgyal’s Revenge’, features Chuck D, Jamaican reggae legend Lindo P, and more. She’s the recipient of the prestigious Roy Thomson Hall Award bestowed by the Toronto Arts Council. The award recognizes creative, performing, administrative, volunteer, or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life.

Image of DrakeWe are so excited to introduce you to this little-known, underground, hush-hush emerging star. We think he has a bright future! But for real, you already know that the ‘6 God’ is one of the biggest music stars in history.

Drake’s influence is enormous. How enormous? He’s the only person on this list who draws $440 million annually(!) into Toronto’s tourism economy. That equates to 5 per cent of the total tourism economy for the No. 1 destination in Canada. By comparison, the Beatles draw about $140 million into Liverpool’s tourism economy, translating into 2,335 local jobs. So you’re darn right that Mayor John Tory was eager to present Drizzy with the key to the city (pictured).

For those of you who do not know why Drake is referred to as the ‘6 God’, here is why:

He put “the 6” on the map, literally. Drake is the man we have to thank for Toronto’s sleek new nickname “The 6.” The name can be interpreted in two ways: The six regions that make up Toronto – Toronto, Scarborough, North York, York, East York and Etobicoke, or a combination of Toronto’s area codes 416 and 647. Freaking awesome!

Image of The WeekndThe Weeknd is the stage name of Three-time Grammy-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He got recognition after posting many of his songs on YouTube under the username ‘The Weeknd’.

Inspired by legendary Michael Jackson to become a singer, he was later influenced by R&B stars like Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Timbaland and The Neptunes. He started his career with mixtapes that he released from his own website for free. His three mixtapes, ‘House of Balloons’, ‘Thursday’, and ‘Echoes of Silence’, helped him create a loyal fan base. All of his studio albums were received with positive reviews.

Suffering from shyness and insecurity as a child, Tesfaye made conscious efforts to shun publicity during his early career. He avoided giving interviews and didn’t even use his own image in his mixtape covers. He interacted with his fans on Twitter. However, he gained confidence as his songs started to top charts worldwide. He has so far worked with stars like Kanye West, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake.

In 2021 the Weeknd made history, not only as the first Black Canadian to play the Super Bowl halftime show, but he was also the first Canadian to headline a SOLO Super Bowl halftime show.

Image of Portia White

This famed contralto was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, in 1911 to parents who had been slaves in Virginia. She started singing in the church choir and was so determined to be a singer that she walked 10 miles every week for music lessons. White won the Helen Kennedy Silver Cup at the Halifax Music Festival in 1935, 1937, and 1938, and then became the first Black Canadian concert singer to win international acclaim. She is considered one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. As a voice teacher, she counted among her pupils actress Dinah Christie, jazz singer Anne Marie Moss, Lorne Greene (one of only two Canadians to top the charts in the ’60s), and actor Don Francks. She also taught actor-singer Robert Goulet, who is a Grammy and Tony Award winner. In 1964, she performed for the Queen and Prince Philip at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts. And she got a stamp! Canada Post issued it in 1999.

Image of Eleanor CollinsBorn and raised in Edmonton, AB, in a community of Black Homesteaders from Oklahoma who settled in the prairies, Eleanor Collins grew up singing in a Baptist church before moving to Vancouver in the late 1930s, where she started singing with the gospel group Swing Low Quartet. By the 1950s, Collins cemented her place in Vancouver’s music scene which included a performance at Stanley Park, and became known as the ‘First Lady of Jazz’. In 1954, Collins made her television debut in the mixed-race casted CBC show, A Day in the West Indies. She made history once more by becoming the first Black woman in North America and the first Canadian singer to host a television variety show: CBC’s The Eleanor Show (later know as just Eleanor).

Image of Jully BlackCanada's Queen of R&B Soul is a platinum-selling, Juno-winning, Toronto-born powerhouse. The "Seven Day Fool" hitmaker is a versatile star who's starred on stage in "Da Kink In My Hair" and on T.V. as an entertainment correspondent. She has collabed with Sean Paul, Saukrates, Destiny's Child, and Kardinal Offishall. She's shared the stage with Kanye West, Celine Dion, Elton John, and Etta James. She was even invited to sing for Queen Elizabeth II. Black, who is the youngest of nine, counts herself as a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ communities.

Image of Robert Nathaniel DettBorn and raised in Niagara Falls until age of 11, Robert Nathaniel Dett studied piano from an early age. His family would move to America in 1893, and he would continue his studies to become the first black director of music at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Between 1924-1926, he would serve as the president of the National Association of Negro Musicians, and Dett became one of the first Black composers involved in ASCAP. AS a pianist-composer, Dett would become known for incorporating African American spirituals into his traditionally based classical ‘European Romantic’ pieces and would become well revered as a composer of African descent.

Image of  Maestro Fresh WesThe Junos didn’t have a Rap category. And then Maestro Fresh Wes dropped his debut album, ‘Symphony in Effect’. And then the Junos needed a Rap category. Driven by hits like “Let Your Backbone Slide”, Maestro’s 1989 album was the first certified platinum album by a Black Canadian artist. And he took home the first Juno Award for Rap Recording. The Toronto hip-hop duo Dream Warriors won the Juno the following year.

Image of Shad“We have our own experiences here, and our own culture, and our own way of expressing ourselves,” Shad told the Georgia Straight. “As much as we’re influenced [by the States], we have definitely stumbled onto our own voice, or voices.” Shad won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011, but he’s the Susan Lucci of the Polaris Music Prize. Of his six albums, four were shortlisted for the award that is presented annually to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. After hosting CBC Radio’s “q” in 2015 and 2016, he hosted “Hip-Hop Evolution”. The docuseries won a Peabody Award and an International Emmy Award.

Black History

Preserving the Legacy by Telling the Story

Throughout the year, members at Julian of Norwich Anglican celebrate and give thanks to God for the rich heritage of Blacks in Canada and for the many gifts they share.

We view this as an opportunity for reflection and uplifting conversation. Rethinking how we can be continually challenged to imagine a different world, a better world, for all of God’s people.

We are invited to uplift the contributions of Black-Canadians as a model for our children and future generations.

Black History invites us as human beings created in God’s image to ask: how does our church celebrate diversity, particularly as it is expressed racially and ethnically? How do we see ourselves; how do we see others and how do others see us?

Black Canadian Artists

There are many Black Canadian Artists who have contributed to shaping the Nation’s Sound.
On this page we recognize a mere handful of those.

Portia White

Maestro Fresh Wes

Michie Mee

Jully Black

Shad

The Bohee Brothers

Eleanor Collins

Drake

* NEW * Faith Nolan

Robert Nathaniel Dett

The Weeknd

Image of Faith NolanFaith Nolan is a Canadian social activist, folk and blues singer-songwriter, who was born in Africville. She is of Mi’kmaq, Black and Irish Heritage. Nolan’s music is described as “her political work, a politics firmly rooted in her being working class, a woman, African Canadian and openly queer.” Nolan uses her music to link her sexuality with the musical history of black North America. Part of her activist work has been documenting the social, political and cultural history of Africville, a historic African Canadian settlement profiled in the “Did You Know?” section of this Black History page. She is known world-wide for her musical workshops with women in prison, in schools (with both teachers and students) and in indigenous communities. Faith continues to fight for a better understanding of how poverty has created a disproportionate representation of poor women, especially Black and First Nations, in Canadian prisons.

To learn much, much more about Faith, we suggest the article A Vision Outside the System by Nicole Birch-Bayley (Laurentian University).

Faith sings Africville

Image of The Bohee BrothersJames Bohee was born in Indiantown, New Brunswick, Canada on December 8th, 1844 and died in South Wales on December 8th, 1897. James was an Afro-Canadian song and dance artist, composer, instrumentalist and theatrical manager. Both James and his brother George went to school in Canada but later moved with their parents to America. He gained professional experience by playing his banjo in Boston beer halls in the late 1860’s.

Around 1876, along with his brother George, he organized his own Bohee Minstrels. They then joined the Callender’s Georgia Minstrels and Haverly’s Genuine Colored Minstrels in 1878, touring the United States of America. The company then sailed to England in 1881. When the company returned to America in the middle of 1892, the Bohee Brothers stayed behind in England. James organized another minstrel troupe and also set up a banjo instruction studio at No. 7A Coventry Street, London, where he gave lessons to the Prince of Wales. He was also involved in the manufacturing of banjos.

Some of their songs in their repertoire were: The Darkey’s Wedding, The Darkey’s Patrol, The Yellow Kid’s Patrol, Bohemian Gallop, The Darkey’s Dream, The Darkey’s Awakening, Medley of Airs, Restless March, March in C, Hunter’s March and Niagara March.

Page Source: New Brunswick Black History Society – Posted by Hal Allert


Food for thought: The listed musical repertoire leaves one to wonder, despite the recognition they received, if the brothers were not complicit in the social and cultural denigration of people of African descent.

Image of Michie MeeShe’s the first woman in Canada to become a star M.C. In the mid-’80s, the Jamaica-born, Toronto-raised M.C. teamed up with L.A. Luv. The duo’s first single, “Elements of Style,” was a hit in the U.S. and led to a contract with Atlantic Records in 1988. Michie Mee became the first Canadian M.C. to sign a record deal with a major American label. The hip-hop pioneer joined alt-rock band Raggadeath and created the 1995 hit, “One Life”. In 2004, she teamed up with fellow artists, including Maestro, Thrust, and Toya Alexis, to form the Peace Prophets, which produced the charity single “Drop the Chrome”. Her latest album, 2020’s ‘Bahdgyal’s Revenge’, features Chuck D, Jamaican reggae legend Lindo P, and more. She’s the recipient of the prestigious Roy Thomson Hall Award bestowed by the Toronto Arts Council. The award recognizes creative, performing, administrative, volunteer, or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life.

Image of DrakeWe are so excited to introduce you to this little-known, underground, hush-hush emerging star. We think he has a bright future! But for real, you already know that the ‘6 God’ is one of the biggest music stars in history.

Drake’s influence is enormous. How enormous? He’s the only person on this list who draws $440 million annually(!) into Toronto’s tourism economy. That equates to 5 per cent of the total tourism economy for the No. 1 destination in Canada. By comparison, the Beatles draw about $140 million into Liverpool’s tourism economy, translating into 2,335 local jobs. So you’re darn right that Mayor John Tory was eager to present Drizzy with the key to the city (pictured).

For those of you who do not know why Drake is referred to as the ‘6 God’, here is why:

He put “the 6” on the map, literally. Drake is the man we have to thank for Toronto’s sleek new nickname “The 6.” The name can be interpreted in two ways: The six regions that make up Toronto – Toronto, Scarborough, North York, York, East York and Etobicoke, or a combination of Toronto’s area codes 416 and 647. Freaking awesome!

Image of The WeekndThe Weeknd is the stage name of Three-time Grammy-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He got recognition after posting many of his songs on YouTube under the username ‘The Weeknd’.

Inspired by legendary Michael Jackson to become a singer, he was later influenced by R&B stars like Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Timbaland and The Neptunes. He started his career with mixtapes that he released from his own website for free. His three mixtapes, ‘House of Balloons’, ‘Thursday’, and ‘Echoes of Silence’, helped him create a loyal fan base. All of his studio albums were received with positive reviews.

Suffering from shyness and insecurity as a child, Tesfaye made conscious efforts to shun publicity during his early career. He avoided giving interviews and didn’t even use his own image in his mixtape covers. He interacted with his fans on Twitter. However, he gained confidence as his songs started to top charts worldwide. He has so far worked with stars like Kanye West, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake.

In 2021 the Weeknd made history, not only as the first Black Canadian to play the Super Bowl halftime show, but he was also the first Canadian to headline a SOLO Super Bowl halftime show.

Image of Portia White

This famed contralto was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, in 1911 to parents who had been slaves in Virginia. She started singing in the church choir and was so determined to be a singer that she walked 10 miles every week for music lessons. White won the Helen Kennedy Silver Cup at the Halifax Music Festival in 1935, 1937, and 1938, and then became the first Black Canadian concert singer to win international acclaim. She is considered one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. As a voice teacher, she counted among her pupils actress Dinah Christie, jazz singer Anne Marie Moss, Lorne Greene (one of only two Canadians to top the charts in the ’60s), and actor Don Francks. She also taught actor-singer Robert Goulet, who is a Grammy and Tony Award winner. In 1964, she performed for the Queen and Prince Philip at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts. And she got a stamp! Canada Post issued it in 1999.

Image of Eleanor CollinsBorn and raised in Edmonton, AB, in a community of Black Homesteaders from Oklahoma who settled in the prairies, Eleanor Collins grew up singing in a Baptist church before moving to Vancouver in the late 1930s, where she started singing with the gospel group Swing Low Quartet. By the 1950s, Collins cemented her place in Vancouver’s music scene which included a performance at Stanley Park, and became known as the ‘First Lady of Jazz’. In 1954, Collins made her television debut in the mixed-race casted CBC show, A Day in the West Indies. She made history once more by becoming the first Black woman in North America and the first Canadian singer to host a television variety show: CBC’s The Eleanor Show (later know as just Eleanor).

Image of Jully BlackCanada's Queen of R&B Soul is a platinum-selling, Juno-winning, Toronto-born powerhouse. The "Seven Day Fool" hitmaker is a versatile star who's starred on stage in "Da Kink In My Hair" and on T.V. as an entertainment correspondent. She has collabed with Sean Paul, Saukrates, Destiny's Child, and Kardinal Offishall. She's shared the stage with Kanye West, Celine Dion, Elton John, and Etta James. She was even invited to sing for Queen Elizabeth II. Black, who is the youngest of nine, counts herself as a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ communities.

Image of Robert Nathaniel DettBorn and raised in Niagara Falls until age of 11, Robert Nathaniel Dett studied piano from an early age. His family would move to America in 1893, and he would continue his studies to become the first black director of music at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Between 1924-1926, he would serve as the president of the National Association of Negro Musicians, and Dett became one of the first Black composers involved in ASCAP. AS a pianist-composer, Dett would become known for incorporating African American spirituals into his traditionally based classical ‘European Romantic’ pieces and would become well revered as a composer of African descent.

Image of  Maestro Fresh WesThe Junos didn’t have a Rap category. And then Maestro Fresh Wes dropped his debut album, ‘Symphony in Effect’. And then the Junos needed a Rap category. Driven by hits like “Let Your Backbone Slide”, Maestro’s 1989 album was the first certified platinum album by a Black Canadian artist. And he took home the first Juno Award for Rap Recording. The Toronto hip-hop duo Dream Warriors won the Juno the following year.

Image of Shad“We have our own experiences here, and our own culture, and our own way of expressing ourselves,” Shad told the Georgia Straight. “As much as we’re influenced [by the States], we have definitely stumbled onto our own voice, or voices.” Shad won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011, but he’s the Susan Lucci of the Polaris Music Prize. Of his six albums, four were shortlisted for the award that is presented annually to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. After hosting CBC Radio’s “q” in 2015 and 2016, he hosted “Hip-Hop Evolution”. The docuseries won a Peabody Award and an International Emmy Award.

Black Canadian Artists

There are many Black Canadian Artists who have contributed to shaping the Nation’s Sound.
This month we will recognize several of those.

Portia White

Image of Portia White

This famed contralto was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, in 1911 to parents who had been slaves in Virginia. She started singing in the church choir and was so determined to be a singer that she walked 10 miles every week for music lessons. White won the Helen Kennedy Silver Cup at the Halifax Music Festival in 1935, 1937, and 1938, and then became the first Black Canadian concert singer to win international acclaim. She is considered one of the best classical singers of the 20th century. As a voice teacher, she counted among her pupils actress Dinah Christie, jazz singer Anne Marie Moss, Lorne Greene (one of only two Canadians to top the charts in the ’60s), and actor Don Francks. She also taught actor-singer Robert Goulet, who is a Grammy and Tony Award winner. In 1964, she performed for the Queen and Prince Philip at Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre of the Arts. And she got a stamp! Canada Post issued it in 1999.

Eleanor Collins

Image of Eleanor Collins

Born and raised in Edmonton, AB, in a community of Black Homesteaders from Oklahoma who settled in the prairies, Eleanor Collins grew up singing in a Baptist church before moving to Vancouver in the late 1930s, where she started singing with the gospel group Swing Low Quartet. By the 1950s, Collins cemented her place in Vancouver’s music scene which included a performance at Stanley Park, and became known as the ‘First Lady of Jazz’. In 1954, Collins made her television debut in the mixed-race casted CBC show, A Day in the West Indies. She made history once more by becoming the first Black woman in North America and the first Canadian singer to host a television variety show: CBC’s The Eleanor Show (later know as just Eleanor).

Robert Nathaniel Dett

Image of Robert Nathaniel Dett

Born and raised in Niagara Falls until age of 11, Robert Nathaniel Dett studied piano from an early age. His family would move to America in 1893, and he would continue his studies to become the first black director of music at the Hampton Institute in Virginia. Between 1924-1926, he would serve as the president of the National Association of Negro Musicians, and Dett became one of the first Black composers involved in ASCAP. AS a pianist-composer, Dett would become known for incorporating African American spirituals into his traditionally based classical ‘European Romantic’ pieces and would become well revered as a composer of African descent.

Maestro Fresh Wes

image of Maestro Fresh WesThe Junos didn’t have a Rap category. And then Maestro Fresh Wes dropped his debut album, ‘Symphony in Effect’. And then the Junos needed a Rap category. Driven by hits like “Let Your Backbone Slide”, Maestro’s 1989 album was the first certified platinum album by a Black Canadian artist. And he took home the first Juno Award for Rap Recording. The Toronto hip-hop duo Dream Warriors won the Juno the following year.

Michie Mee

Image of Michie Mee

She’s the first woman in Canada to become a star M.C. In the mid-’80s, the Jamaica-born, Toronto-raised M.C. teamed up with L.A. Luv. The duo’s first single, “Elements of Style,” was a hit in the U.S. and led to a contract with Atlantic Records in 1988. Michie Mee became the first Canadian M.C. to sign a record deal with a major American label. The hip-hop pioneer joined alt-rock band Raggadeath and created the 1995 hit, “One Life”. In 2004, she teamed up with fellow artists, including Maestro, Thrust, and Toya Alexis, to form the Peace Prophets, which produced the charity single “Drop the Chrome”. Her latest album, 2020’s ‘Bahdgyal’s Revenge’, features Chuck D, Jamaican reggae legend Lindo P, and more. She’s the recipient of the prestigious Roy Thomson Hall Award bestowed by the Toronto Arts Council. The award recognizes creative, performing, administrative, volunteer, or philanthropic contributions to Toronto’s musical life.

Jully Black

Image of Jully Black

Canada's Queen of R&B Soul is a platinum-selling, Juno-winning, Toronto-born
powerhouse. The "Seven Day Fool" hitmaker is a versatile star who's starred on
stage in "Da Kink In My Hair" and on T.V. as an entertainment correspondent. She
has collabed with Sean Paul, Saukrates, Destiny's Child, and Kardinal Offishall.
She's shared the stage with Kanye West, Celine Dion, Elton John, and Etta James.
She was even invited to sing for Queen Elizabeth II. Black, who is the youngest of
nine, counts herself as a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ communities.

Shad

Image of Shad

“We have our own experiences here, and our own culture, and our own way of expressing ourselves,” Shad told the Georgia Straight. “As much as we’re influenced [by the States], we have definitely stumbled onto our own voice, or voices.” Shad won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011, but he’s the Susan Lucci of the Polaris Music Prize. Of his six albums, four were shortlisted for the award that is presented annually to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. After hosting CBC Radio’s “q” in 2015 and 2016, he hosted “Hip-Hop Evolution”. The docuseries won a Peabody Award and an International Emmy Award.

Drake

Image of Drake

We are so excited to introduce you to this little-known, underground, hush-hush emerging star. We think he has a bright future! But for real, you already know that the ‘6 God’ is one of the biggest music stars in history.

Drake’s influence is enormous. How enormous? He’s the only person on this list who draws $440 million annually(!) into Toronto’s tourism economy. That equates to 5 per cent of the total tourism economy for the No. 1 destination in Canada. By comparison, the Beatles draw about $140 million into Liverpool’s tourism economy, translating into 2,335 local jobs. So you’re darn right that Mayor John Tory was eager to present Drizzy with the key to the city (pictured).

For those of you who do not know why Drake is referred to as the ‘6 God’, here is why:

He put “the 6” on the map, literally. Drake is the man we have to thank for Toronto’s sleek new nickname “The 6.” The name can be interpreted in two ways: The six regions that make up Toronto – Toronto, Scarborough, North York, York, East York and Etobicoke, or a combination of Toronto’s area codes 416 and 647. Freaking awesome!

The Weeknd

Image of The weeknd

The Weeknd is the stage name of Three-time Grammy-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He got recognition after posting many of his songs on YouTube under the username ‘The Weeknd’.

Inspired by legendary Michael Jackson to become a singer, he was later influenced by R&B stars like Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Timbaland and The Neptunes. He started his career with mixtapes that he released from his own website for free. His three mixtapes, ‘House of Balloons’, ‘Thursday’, and ‘Echoes of Silence’, helped him create a loyal fan base. All of his studio albums were received with positive reviews.

Suffering from shyness and insecurity as a child, Tesfaye made conscious efforts to shun publicity during his early career. He avoided giving interviews and didn’t even use his own image in his mixtape covers. He interacted with his fans on Twitter. However, he gained confidence as his songs started to top charts worldwide. He has so far worked with stars like Kanye West, Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake.

In 2021 the Weeknd made history, not only as the first Black Canadian to play the Super Bowl halftime show, but he was also the first Canadian to headline a SOLO Super Bowl halftime show.

Books to Educate

Many books about Canadian Black History and by Canadian authors have helped celebrate history as well as victories in navigating a racial landscape that can at times be difficult.

1) Disorientation – Ian Williams
2) They Call Me George – Cecil Foster
3) Out of the Sun – Esi Edugyan
4) Shame On Me – Tessa McWatt
5) Black Writers Matter – Whitney French
6) I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You – David Chariandy
Image of the book: Disorientation

Disorientation

A FINALIST FOR THE 2021 HILARY WESTON WRITERS’ TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION

Bestselling, Scotiabank Giller Award-winning writer Ian Williams brings fresh eyes and new insights to today’s urgent conversation on race and racism in startling, illuminating essays that grow out of his own experience as a Black man moving through the world.

With that one eloquent word, disorientation, Ian Williams captures the impact of racial encounters on racialized people—the whiplash of race that occurs while minding one’s own business. Sometimes the consequences are only irritating, but sometimes they are deadly. Spurred by the police killings and street protests of 2020, Williams realized he could offer a perspective distinct from the almost exclusively America-centric books on race topping the bestseller lists, because of one salient fact: he has lived in Trinidad (where he was never the only Black person in the room), in Canada (where he often was), and in the United States (where as a Black man from the Caribbean, he was a different kind of “only”).

Inspired by the essays of James Baldwin, in which the personal becomes the gateway to larger ideas, Williams explores such things as the unmistakable moment when a child realizes they are Black; the ten characteristics of institutional whiteness; how friendship forms a bulwark against being a target of racism; the meaning and uses of a Black person’s smile; and blame culture—or how do we make meaningful change when no one feels responsible for the systemic structures of the past. With these essays, Williams wants to reach a multi-racial audience of people who believe that civil conversation on even the most charged subjects is possible. Examining the past and the present in order to speak to the future, he offers new thinking, honest feeling, and his astonishing, piercing gift of language.

Image of the Book: They Call Me George

They Call Me George

A CBC BOOKS MUST-READ NONFICTION BOOK FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Nominated for the Toronto Book Award

Smartly dressed and smiling, Canada’s black train porters were a familiar sight to the average passenger—yet their minority status rendered them politically invisible, second-class in the social imagination that determined who was and who was not considered Canadian. Subjected to grueling shifts and unreasonable standards—a passenger missing his stop was a dismissible offense—the so-called Pullmen of the country’s rail lines were denied secure positions and prohibited from bringing their families to Canada, and it was their struggle against the racist Dominion that laid the groundwork for the multicultural nation we know today. Drawing on the experiences of these influential black Canadians, Cecil Foster’s They Call Me George demonstrates the power of individuals and minority groups in the fight for social justice and shows how a country can change for the better.

Image of the book: Out of the Sun

Out of the Sun

An insightful exploration and moving meditation on identity, art, and belonging from one of the most celebrated writers of the last decade.

What happens when we begin to consider stories at the margins, when we grant them centrality? How does that complicate our certainties about who we are, as individuals, as nations, as human beings? Through the lens of visual art, literature, film, and the author’s lived experience, Out of the Sun examines Black histories in art, offering new perspectives to challenge us.

In this groundbreaking, reflective, and erudite book, two-time Scotiabank Giller Prize winner and internationally bestselling author Esi Edugyan illuminates myriad varieties of Black experience in global culture and history. Edugyan combines storytelling with analyses of contemporary events and her own personal story in this dazzling first major work of non-fiction.

Image of the Book: Shame on Me

Shame On Me

FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNOR GENERAL’S AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

Interrogating our ideas of race through the lens of her own multi-racial identity, critically acclaimed novelist Tessa McWatt turns her eye on herself, her body and this world in a powerful new work of non-fiction.

Tessa McWatt has been called Susie Wong, Pocahontas and “black bitch,” and has been judged not black enough by people who assume she straightens her hair. Now, through a close examination of her own body–nose, lips, hair, skin, eyes, ass, bones and blood–which holds up a mirror to the way culture reads all bodies, she asks why we persist in thinking in terms of race today when racism is killing us.

Her grandmother’s family fled southern China for British Guiana after her great uncle was shot in his own dentist’s chair during the First Sino-Japanese War. McWatt is made of this woman and more: those who arrived in British Guiana from India as indentured labour and those who were brought from Africa as cargo to work on the sugar plantations; colonists and those whom colonialism displaced. How do you tick a box on a census form or job application when your ancestry is Scottish, English, French, Portuguese, Indian, Amerindian, African and Chinese? How do you finally answer a question first posed to you in grade school: “What are you?” And where do you find a sense of belonging in a supposedly “post-racial” world where shadism, fear of blackness, identity politics and call-out culture vie with each other noisily, relentlessly and still lethally?

Shame on Me is a personal and powerful exploration of history and identity, colour and desire from a writer who, having been plagued with confusion about her race all her life, has at last found kinship and solidarity in story.

Image of the Book: Black Writers Matter

Black Writers Matter

“Black Writers? African, Bluesy, Classical, Disrespectful, Erudite, Fiery, Groovy, Haunting, Inspiring, Jazzy, Knowing, Liberating, Militant, Nervy, Optimistic, Pugnacious, Quixotic, Rambunctious, Seductive, Truculent, Urgent, Vivacious, Wicked, X-ray sharp, Yearning, Zesty. And so, they matter!” -George Elliott Clarke

An anthology of African-Canadian writing, Black Writers Matter offers a cross-section of established writers and newcomers to the literary world who tackle contemporary and pressing issues with beautiful, sometimes raw, prose. As editor Whitney French says in her introduction, Black Writers Matter “injects new meaning into the word diversity [and] harbours a sacredness and an everydayness that offers Black people dignity. ” An “invitation to read, share, and tell stories of Black narratives that are close to the bone,” this collection feels particular to the Black Canadian experience.

Image of the Book: I've Been Meaning to Tell You

I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You

In the tradition of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, acclaimed novelist David Chariandy’s latest is an intimate and profoundly beautiful meditation on the politics of race today.

When a moment of quietly ignored bigotry prompted his three-year-old daughter to ask “what happened?” David Chariandy began wondering how to discuss with his children the politics of race. A decade later, in a newly heated era of both struggle and divisions, he writes a letter to his now thirteen-year-old daughter. David is the son of Black and South Asian migrants from Trinidad, and he draws upon his personal and ancestral past, including the legacies of slavery, indenture, and immigration, as well as the experiences of growing up a visible minority within the land of one’s birth. In sharing with his daughter his own story, he hopes to help cultivate within her a sense of identity and responsibility that balances the painful truths of the past and present with hopeful possibilities for the future.

Representation in Journalism

Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Image of Mary Ann Shadd

Canada’s first black woman newspaper publisher

Mary Ann Shadd Cary, born in Wilmington, Delaware, the eldest of 13 children of formerly enslaved African American parents, became a role model for women in education and law. She was the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America, and the first woman to publish a newspaper in Canada. In March 1853 she published the first edition of the Provincial Freeman.

After receiving an education from Pennsylvania Quakers, Cary devoted the first part of her life to abolition. Working with freedom seekers, while becoming the first Black woman in North America to edit a weekly newspaper, the Provincial Freeman, she was devoted to displaced Americans living in Canada. She then became a teacher, establishing and teaching in schools for Black students in Wilmington; West Chester, Pennsylvania; New York; Morristown, New Jersey; and Canada. She was also the first woman to speak at a national African American convention. During the Civil War, Cary helped recruit Black soldiers for the Union Army. She then taught in Washington, D.C. public schools until, in 1869, she embarked on her second career by becoming the first woman to enter Howard University’s law school. She was the second Black woman to obtain a law degree and among the first women in the United States to do so. As an educator, an abolitionist, an editor, an attorney, and a feminist, she dedicated her life to improving the quality of life for everyone.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was not afraid to openly criticize the racism and paternalism of many white abolitionists and reformers, an example ever relevant today. “Many of the questions about rights and freedom that she raised more than a century ago are still contested issues,” wrote Jane Rhodes in her 1998 book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: The Black Press and Protest in the Nineteenth Century.

“She devoted her life to using public discourse to advance a range of political and social reforms. Her determination and willingness to challenge power and the status quo continue to inspire many. One hundred and sixty-nine years after Shadd Cary made history publishing her first newspaper, the need for independent Black, Indigenous and racialized-led media is as strong as ever.

A truly amazing woman. Mary Ann Shadd didn’t just make history by being first. With her newspaper “The Provincial Freeman,” she captured history.

The Provincial Freeman newspaper, dated June 24th, 1854

The newspaper was most explicit in its reasons for existence, claiming that it wanted to: represent the 40,000 Blacks, freedmen, fugitives, wealthy and poor, recently arrived in Canada; encourage “the right class” to enter Canada by publishing an account of the country and its advantages; and develop in Canada a society to deny all assertions regarding the Black’s inability to live with others in civilized society. Blacks were among the first enrolled in the University of Toronto, and others were known to have attended the local Normal School. In 1855, Mary’s younger sister, Emaline Shadd, “a colored lady,” received top honours and the first prize of five pounds, ten shillings, along with her first class certificate at Toronto’s Normal School.

To learn more about Mary, treat yourself to:
Strong and Free

Representation in Education

Millicent Burgess

Image of Millicent Burgess

Ontario’s First Black School Teacher

Millicent (Millie) Burgess is fast approaching her 100th birthday,

Mrs. Burgess first arrived in Canada after winning a scholarship in Bermuda to study teaching. She attended the Hamilton Teachers’ College and the Toronto Teachers’ College. She returned to Bermuda to teach for six years. During that period she married Leroy Burgess of St George’s. Mr. Burgess had attended the University of Toronto and wanted to return to Canada to live and work.

She reluctantly agreed to move to Canada, with Leroy, in 1957. Millie recalled “I wasn’t too keen. I said, ‘I’ll try it, but if I don’t like it, I’ll be going back to Bermuda’.”

As it turned out, she did like living in Canada, and taught young children here for 34 years. During those years she also acted as a consultant with the Toronto Board of Education.
Mrs. Burgess overcame doubts stemming from racism by continuously proving she was an excellent teacher. She would invite parents doubtful of her skills as a Black educator to watch her teach the class. Many of her classrooms had no Black students, but her holding the position taught everyone “that if you just see us and learn from us, be with us, you’ll see that we’re all really just the same“.

She made regular trips back to the Island, and was also involved with the Canadian Negro Women’s Association (CANEWA), where she helped to organize the annual calypso carnival night. That event served as the precursor to Caribana, a popular annual festival in Toronto that celebrates Caribbean culture.

She was awarded the Reverend Addie Aylestock Award in 2012 because of her support of the Ontario Black History Society (OBHS) over the years, particularly her support of its scholarship fund.

Credits for this page include CBC Canada and The Royal Gazette.

Did You Know?

Some Very Meaningful Stories

Did You Know?

Dr. Martin Luther King once said that when a child is exposed to racism hatred, he is wounded in mind and soul for the rest of his life?

This is the story of how love and compassion changed all of that for one Black American sailor.

Lanier Phillips, a man with hate in his heart, began to believe there were people who would look past the color of a man’s skin and said to himself “Why can’t everybody be like the people of St. Lawrence? Why is it there is so much hatred for Black people?”.

Lanier decided that he too could learn to look past skin color and focus instead on his own true colors. “I was wounded in mind and soul, but the people of St. Lawrence healed that wound and now I have hatred for no one.”

A great story you do not want to miss. Watch the video on YouTube.


Did You Know?

Canada’s first Black disc jockey (1948 – CMHL Hamilton) was Jackie Washington.

He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, the grandson of an African American fleeing slavery, and one of fifteen children born to his parents, Rose and John Washington.

He had also been a regular performer at many Canadian folk and blues festivals, several of which have named awards in his honor. Washington was well known for having a repertoire of some 1300 blues, folk and jazz songs. He was presented with the Helen Verger Award (for his valuable contributions to Canadian folk music) at the Ottawa Folk Festival in 2004.

A diabetic, he lost a leg to amputation and suffered other health issues, yet continued to perform. His fellow musicians ultimately arranged a living trust starting with a tribute concert at the Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton. Featured artists were Jeff Healey, Garnet Rogers and Tom Wilson among others.

Jackie then lived in a retirement home until his death. In accordance with his will, his vast music sheets, photographs and videos were donated to the music department at McMaster University. In 2003, a park in Hamilton was named in his honor. It was located near the neighborhood where he grew up.

He was nominated for a Juno Award in 1993 for Best Roots & Traditional Album, along with Ken Whiteley and Mose Scarlett, for their album “Where Old Friends Meet”.

Image of the record album: Where Old friends Meet

In 1995 Washington was inducted into Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction. In 2002, he was inducted into the Canadian Jazz & Blues Hall of Fame.

Jackie tells his story in this clip from the documentary:


Did You Know?

That if you have never heard of Africville, then you are not alone.

The tragic story of this small Black community in Nova Scotia is not as well known as it should be. It is part of a much larger story of Black settlers in Nova Scotia, which goes back hundreds of years.

The residents of Africville were a proud people. “We didn’t need anybody else.”

Learn the Full Story from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

We also suggest Bob Brooks’ Photographic Portrait of Africville in the 1960s –
Gone but Never Forgotten

“When I first arrived in Halifax in 1957, I walked along Barrington Street and I saw no colored people. In those days, we were colored. We were not yet Black. Some of us were Negroes. So I said to my friends: ‘Where are the colored people of Halifax?’ and they said to me: ‘They live in a place called Africville‘. Where the pavement ended, Africville began. I did not see the flowers. And where Africville ended, the city dump began. I did not see the flowers.”

“It was sometime around Christmas when we picked up a newspaper and in it was the story of a family in Africville that had been burning old car batteries, which had been scavenged on the dump, to keep them warm. And as a result of burning those batteries, the family was lead-poisoned and had to be taken to the hospital. And I asked myself, ‘God, what is this?‘”. (Gus Wedderburn)


Did You Know?

Sylvia and Gus Wedderburn

Sylvia Wedderburn devoted her life to serving Black Nova Scotians through her work as a head nurse and the only Black female manager in the hospitals in Halifax and Dartmouth.

Gus, now deceased, was a founder of the Black Educator’s Association, the Black United Front, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission and the Black Cultural Centre.

Gus was described as “a lawyer with the soul of a social worker” and Sylvia became a cast member of CBC’s renowned Singalong Jubilee.

While living in New York city, Sylvia met a dynamic young Jamaican man named Gus Wedderburn. They soon married and moved to Halifax.

They encountered distressing symptoms of prejudice when they tried to buy a home in a “white neighborhood” in Dartmouth, where many residents were displeased with the idea of “colored people” moving in.

However, with warmth and charm, they gradually gained acceptance.

Today, Sylvia remains active in her community and is a real hero for many who will never forget her.

Source material was from an article by Dorothy Grant, published in Halifax Magazine.

Image of  a well in Africville
Did You Know?

Africville residents paid property taxes to the City of Halifax, but they did not receive any of the services afforded the residents of Halifax.

Did You Know?

Africville residents paid property taxes to the City of Halifax, but they did not receive any of the services afforded the residents of Halifax.

Emancipation Day

Tuesday, August 1st, 2023

Emancipation Day is a time to remember our past, but it is not just about honoring the past. It continues to have an effect on the lives of African Canadians today. 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.

Image of hands reaching upward.

Canadian history is taught in schools from a Eurocentric perspective that omits or minimizes the human rights violation against African Canadians. 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. We are not talking about rewriting history, but telling a more complete history.

Segregation, and prior to that, slavery, created circumstances of marginalization, a cycle of unequal access, lost opportunities and systemic poverty. Even though segregation is no longer legal, African Canadians continue to experience systemic anti-Black racism through social exile, through significant economic disparities and through active discrimination. Witness the feedback to Jully Black’s recent rendition of our national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game. Did Jully have the ‘right’ to alter the lyrics? Arguably she did not. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but coupling those opinions with vicious racial attacks is crossing the line of acceptability.

It is vitally important to take the time to learn about our robust history which reveals stories of resilience, victories and communities coming together. Recognition leads to understanding and education, which can then lead to action. Julian of Norwich Anglican Church is an inclusive community. We strive to continue to educate all who are willing to openly listen.

It is time to teach all our children this part of Canada’s history so that we can begin the reparations necessary to address modern-day anti-Black racism and the impact of that racism.

Image of hand reaching upward and the maple leaf

It is important to realize that Emancipation Day is also about reflecting on our present, taking the time to actively examine the current circumstances and remembering why Black lives matter.

Emancipation Day is also about preparing for our future. It is in this preparation and fight for equality that we will prepare the younger generation for success. The United Nations Decade for People of African Descent encourages us to “promote greater knowledge and recognition of and respect for the culture, history and heritage of people of African descent”.

We invite you to mark your calendars and join us on August 1st

Emancipation Day - A Call to Action! Requests people to join the Julian of Norwich community in commemorating the day on August 1st

The content of this page was compiled from multiple sources.

An Investment in Black Canadian Youth

The Black Canadian Scholarship Fund (BCSF)

The Black Canadian Scholarship Fund (BCSF) is dedicated to enhancing the educational future of our young people, supporting the future leaders of tomorrow and ensuring community development. The BCSF was established to provide opportunities and encourage academic excellence for qualified black students in the chosen fields of study. These opportunities are made available through the support and generous donations of many, through scholarships or bursaries.

The BCSF was established in 1996 by Dr. Horace Alexis and members of the Ottawa community and funds are held with the Ottawa Community Foundation.

Their Mission

To ensure community development by supporting future leaders
To provide opportunities for qualified black students to achieve their highest academic potential
To encourage academic excellence among black students in their chosen fields of study

Consider Making a Contribution

Julian of Norwich Anglican Church supports the BCSF.

We invite you to contribute as well.

Donations of $20 or more to the Black Canadian Scholarship Fund are tax deductible.

Contact Info

Mailing Address: 8 Withrow Avenue, Ottawa, ON K2G-2H6
Main Entrance: 7 Rossland Avenue (at Merivale Road)
Phone: 613-224-7178
Email: julianofnorwichottawa@gmail.com

 

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