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Black History Month: Celebrating Black Canadians

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Black History Month is a time to reflect on the history and teachings of Black Canadians and to focus on the progress, richness and diversity of Black Canadian achievements.

Celebrating Black Canadians

Eleanor Collins

Shero, trailblazer, living legend and Canada’s first lady of Jazz, 102-year-old Eleanor Collins, was honored with a commemorative Canada Post stamp, on January 21, 2022. A pioneer in both music and television, Ms Collins was born in 1919 and grew up in an era in which there were very few opportunities for people of African Descent. Yet she triumphed through adversity, racial injustice and discrimination, becoming not only a star in the world of jazz but also the first Black host of a national TV show in North America - The Eleanor Collins show, in the 1950s.

The stamp is just one of many honors for Collins who also received the Order of Canada in 2014. Her biography includes how she faced intolerant neighbors in Burnaby decades ago who wanted her family to move away. Collins and her family carried out a ‘simple’ act of defiance, volunteering at community events and her children’s school to show that her family was “ordinary people with the same values and concerns as they had.”

The Honourable Jean Augustine

Jean Augustine, the first African-Canadian woman to be elected into the House of Commons, was a trailblazing politician, social advocate and educator. Amongst her many achievements, she was the one who set in motion historic legislation to designate February as Black History Month in Canada.

The Honourable Lincoln Alexander

Lincon Alexander served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Second World War, and later received his degree in law in 1965. He was later appointed as Queens Counsel in 1965, went on to become the first Black Canadian Member of Parliament in 1968 and was appointed Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor in 1985. In his honour, January 21st has been celebrated as Lincoln Alexander Day across Canada since 2015.

Donovan Bailey

Donovan Bailey is a Jamaican-born, Canadian sprinter. He specialized in the 100 metre sprint and won gold in the 100 metre and the 4X 100 metre relay in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was aptly known as the “World’s Fastest Man”.

Carrie Best

Carrie Best was a civil rights activist, author, journalist, publisher and broadcaster. She founded The Clarion, one of Nova Scotia’s first Black-owned and published newspapers and used her platform to advocate for Black rights and speak out against racial discrimination. She also had her own radio show called “The Quiet Corner,” which aired for over 12 years. Carrie Best had many achievements some of which include being named a Member of the Order of Canada (1974), receiving the Queen Elizabeth Medal in 1977, the Black Professional Women’s Group Award Certificate (1989) and Award of Excellence in Race Relations from the Minister of State for Multiculturalism (1990).

Viola Desmond

Viola Desmond, born in Halifax in 1914, was an African-Canadian who ran her own beauty parlour and college in Halifax. She was a prominent civil rights activist who challenged racial discrimination when she refused to leave the segregated ‘Whites-only' section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow. Desmond was attested and jailed without legal representation under the obscure charges of a tax offence. Despite attempts to appeal these charges, Desmond’s conviction was upheld and she lived her whole life unpardoned. It was only in 2010 that the province of Nova Scotia granted Desmond an official apology and free pardon. In 2016 the Bank of Canada announced that Viola Desmond would be the first Canadian Woman to be featured on a Canadian banknote. The $10 note featuring Desmond was released in 2018.

Portia White

Portia White embarked on her stellar singing career at her father’s Baptist Church in Halifax. Before she began singing professionally, she supported her musical career by teaching in rural Back schools in Halifax County, and eventually made her professional debut in Toronto. Soon afterwards, she performed in New York City to rave reviews.

Portia White went on to international success, performing more than 100 concerts, including a command performance before Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Barbara Howard

A member of the Canadian Track Team, Barbara was the first Black woman athlete to represent Canada in an International Competition at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney Australia.

After retiring from competition, she returned to Vancouver and set another remarkable first: becoming the first person from a visible minority to be hired as a teacher by the Vancouver School Board. She is an inductee in both the BC Sports Hall of Fame and the Canada Sports Hall of Fame.

100 Accomplished Black Canadian (ABC) Women 2022 Honorees

The 100 ABC Women Publication was created to recognize and document the many achievements and accomplishments of African Canadian Women across different sectors.

The 2022 honorees include 3 BC women:

Monifa Ayinde, Director, BC Organization of Caribbean Cultural Associations; President, Grenadian Cultural Association of BC.
Dr Annette Henry, Professor, Faculty of Education and Social Justice Institute University of British Columbia
Dr Veda Roodal Persad, Professor, Mathematics Education

Previous honorees have also included BC women:

2020: Najiri Watkins
2020: Beth Applewhaite, YWCA Women of Distinction nominee
2016: Nalda Callendar, former YWCA Women of Distinction nominee

There are many more noteworthy Black Canadians to read about!

Notable Black BC Trailblazers

Dr June Francis

VanMag’s 2022 Power 50 List says: “The marketing professor (and chair of the Hogan’s Alley Society board of directors) has been a strong advocate at the forefront of local discussions on racism. In July, Francis became special advisor to the president on anti-racism at SFU. Following her appointment, the university committed to hiring 15 more Black faculty members and signed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion. While acknowledging small victories, Francis remains focused on the ongoing work of anti-racism (for example, after the United States’ Ahmaud Arbery verdict in November, Francis urged those of us north of the border to address the racial discrimination in Canada’s justice system).”

Rosemary Brown

Rosemary Brown was a politician, feminist, writer and educator. She has made many noteworthy contributions to B.C. and Canada including being the first Black woman elected to the BC Provincial Legislature in 1972 and running for leadership of the Federal NDP party in 1975. Brown dedicated her life to helping others and those from marginalized communities. She founded the BC Association for the Advancement of Coloured People to advocate for housing and employment for Black people in the province. Rosemary Brown was a recipient of a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in 1989 and the Order of BC and the Order of Canada in 1995 and 1996 respectively.

Leonard Lane

An early member of the British Columbia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, Leonard Lane would go on to found the BC Unity Credit Union and provide loans to Black families looking to buy their first home.

Opening its doors in 1954, the BC Unity Credit Union operated in the basement of Leonard Lane's Burnaby home, providing a safe place for Black people facing institutional discrimination in regards to banking.

Black History Month Reading List

Vancouver Public Library has curated a selected list of titles in celebration of Black History Month, where Canadians honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present.

Check out VPL’s books in celebration of Black History Month.