A monument for the Maroons
Halifax lacks a proper memorial for the people of African descent who helped build it.
Category Archives: Black History
Re-launching Remember l Resist l Redraw: RRR# 13, Anti-Colonial Lawyer Charles Roach
In January 2017, the Graphic History Collective launched Remember / Resist / Redraw: A Radical History Poster Project as a year-long artistic intervention in the Canada 150 conversation. Our goal was to create a series of accessible radical history posters that can serve as a resource for activists to lean on and learn from as they struggle to bring about… Read more »
“Rooting for Everybody Black” and the Subversive Politics of Black History Month in Canada
Funke Aladejebi At the 69th Annual Emmy awards held on September 17, 2017, Issa Rae, creator and star of HBO’s widely popular television show “Insecure,” responded to a red-carpet question by proclaiming she was “rooting for everybody Black!” Rae’s comments, which went viral, articulated a sense of collective excitement about the growing recognition and achievements of African American Emmy nominees… Read more »
The Great White Hype: Conor McGregor and the History of Race in Boxing
By Angie Wong and Travis Hay On the 12th of July, 2017, downtown Toronto was over-run with a sea of Irish flags and rowdy young white men.[1] More than 16,000 fans had flocked to the scene to witness the Mayweather-McGregor World Tour Press Conference, which promoted the upcoming boxing match between the undefeated African American champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (widely… Read more »
Changing the Narrative
Jennifer Weymark Much like the saying “history is written by the victor” history also tends to be written by the privileged elite. Within the archival field in Canada, this privilege is directly connected to the colonial nature of archives. Across Canada, archival collections tend to be filled with documents related to, and from, the perspective of the upper echelon of… Read more »
Hip-Hop History: An Interview with Webster
This interview originally between Christine Chevalier-Caron and Webster appeared in French on Histoire Engagée. Translated by Thomas Peace. A few months ago, I had the chance to interview the inspirational Aly Ndiaye, better known as Webster. Growing up in the Quebec City neighbourhood of Limoilou, this Sénéquéb métis pure laine began to rap in 1995. Passionate about history, Webster’s work has… Read more »
Remember / Resist / Redraw #02: Chloe Cooley, Black History, and Slavery in Canada
Last month, the Graphic History Collective (GHC) launched Remember | Resist | Redraw: A Radical History Poster Project to intervene in the Canada 150 conversation. In January, we released two posters. Poster #00 by Kara Sievewright and the GHC introduced and explained the goals of the project. Poster #01 by Lianne Charlie, which was showcased on ActiveHistory.ca and CBC, kicked… Read more »
Black Settlers of Alberta and Saskatchewan Historical Society
Comments Off on Black Settlers of Alberta and Saskatchewan Historical Society
By Debbie Beaver As a women of color a question that I have been asked numerous times in my life is “Where are you from?” My response is I was born in Barrhead, Alberta and raised on a farm in Tiger Lily, Alberta. Next question is “Where is your family from; “your parents”? “My response is “my father was born… Read more »
Activehistory.ca repost – “When People Eat Chocolate, They Are Eating My Flesh”: Slavery and the Dark Side of Chocolate
As part of Black History Month every Friday in February we’re featuring some of our most popular posts and podcasts on Black History. The following post was originally featured on June 30, 2010 By Karlee Sapoznik Whether it’s a Mars, Cadbury, Hershey, Nestle or Snickers chocolate bar, most of us relish biting into one of life’s most tasty, cheap indulgences: chocolate…. Read more »
Black History Education through the Archives of Ontario
(ActiveHistory is pleased to partner with the Archives of Ontario to present resources for educators on Black history in Ontario) Alison Little As educators continue to build inclusive, diverse, and flexible learning environments for their students, there is an urgent need for resources to support critical engagement with the past. To assist classroom teachers, the Archives of Ontario has online… Read more »