Hundreds gathered in Toronto for the first annual Regis Korchinski-Paquet Memorial Walk for Justice, organized by Black Lives Matter on July 25, 2020, to honor the life of a young African-Canadian woman who fell 24 floors to her death during an encounter with police. Regis … Read MoreRegis Korchinski-Paquet (1990-2020)
Benjamin Harrison Hill was a legislator, teacher, and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) minister born in Sidney, Nova Scotia, Canada on November 1, 1903 to Joseph L. Hill, a laborer in the steel mill industry and Anna E. Hill, a servant for a private family. Hill … Read MoreBenjamin Harrison Hill (1903-1971)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, actor and former professional wrestler, was born on May 2, 1972 to Rocky Johnson, a Black Nova Scotian professional wrestler, and Ata Johnson, a Samoan, in Haywood, California. Growing up, while his father was on the road during his professional wrestling … Read MoreDwayne “The Rock” Johnson (1972- )
In the article below, culinary historian Diane M. Spivey describes the centuries-old diaspora of African foods and cooking traditions in North and South America. Africa has been a major contributor to the cuisine of North and South America although this contribution has long been overlooked, … Read MoreTransAtlantic Food Migration: The African Culinary Influence on the Cuisine of the Americas
When the First World War began in 1914, black Canadian men responded to the call to arms. Like other loyal citizens who flocked to recruiting centers, they wanted to do their part for king and country. Despite being ready and willing to serve overseas, and … Read MoreCanadian Expeditionary Force No. 2 Construction Battalion (1914-1918)
Russell S. Gideon was a Seattle, Washington businessman, pharmacist, and pioneer in the development of senior housing. From 1977 until his death in 1985, he was recognized yearly by Ebony magazine as one the nation’s 100 most influential black citizens. He was a respected community … Read MoreRussell S. Gideon (1904-1985)
“The Book of Negroes” is a series of documents listing persons of African ancestry who were evacuated from the United States at the end of the American Revolution. One copy is held with the Guy Carlton Papers in The National Archives of Great Britain in … Read More(1783) The Book of Negroes
Alan Gilbert, University of Denver political scientist and anti-racist activist, is the author of Black Patriots and Loyalists: Fighting for Emancipation in the War for Independence, one of the few works that examines the free and enslaved blacks who joined the American Patriots and the … Read MoreFighting for Freedom on Both Sides of the American Revolution
Canadian entrepreneur Viola Desmond was arrested in 1946 for refusing to leave a segregated section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre. She was physically injured by police in the incident but was convicted and fined by local courts. She was posthumously pardoned in 2010. Born … Read MoreViola Davis Desmond (1914-1965)
Mathieu Da Costa, a free black seaman, is believed to be the first person of African ancestry to reach Canada and he is the first recorded black man to visit the region of Port Royal in Nova Scotia. Although little is known of his background … Read MoreMathieu Da Costa (17th Century?)
