February is an opportunity to learn and celebrate the ongoing story of Black Canadians’ achievements and legacy throughout the four-hundred-year history of colonial Canada. Condensing this legacy into two pages measuring 5.25 by 8.25 inches is impossible. Black history in Canada is complex, as the lands of the First Nations, a British colony, and an independent country.
Black Canadians contributions and stories have shaped Canada and the world. From the first recorded landing of an African in Canada – Mathieu de Coste, a freeman known for his multilingualism accomplishments, who arrived in 1608 as the Mi’kmaq language interpreter to the governor of Acadia – to the over 1 million Black Canadians living in Canada today.
Black Canadians have overcome systemic and societal barriers, unlike any others, from the 1910 Immigration Act that barred Black people from coming to Canada to the 2010 police carding controversy precisely 100 years later. Through this, Black Canadians have created culture, communities, and written their own legacies. It is no wonder that this year the theme for Black History Month in Canada is “Canadians of African Descent: Going forward, guided by the past.” This month, we celebrate them.
The long history of establishing the month of February began its journey to being officially recognized across Canada in December 1995. After Black History Month had grown in popularity in the United States, it was brought to Canada by Black sleeping car porters, who travelled continuously between the two countries for work. First, it was adopted by municipalities and provinces, thanks to the actions of Black Canadians such as Dr. Daniel G. Hill and Wilson O. Brooks.
The push continued forward for Black History Month to become federally recognized. After a successful push by the Ontario Black History Society for its recognition in Ontario in 1993, then president Rosemary Sadlie introduced the idea to the Honourable Jean Augustine, the first Black Canadian woman ever elected into the House of Parliament. Her enthusiastic support for the proposition led to her bringing the motion forward in the House of Commons to recognize February as Black History Month in Canada officially. The motion succeeded unanimously but was never put into law.
When asked about her motivation to bring this motion forward, Augustine explained, “I was an educator.… I recognized that the classroom curriculum was saying very little about African Canadians. The same thing was done to Indigenous peoples —if there was any reference, it was either in the footnote or as a sideline. Black Canadians were not part of the script and were not shown contributing to Canadian society.”
Black Canadians were not part of the script and were not shown contributing to Canadian society.
ADAMO NEST
Over a decade later, in February 2008, Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Senate, made the push to enact the motion that Honourable Jean Augustine introduced. During the debate, Senator Oliver stated, “Many Canadians were under the impression that Parliament had formally recognized February as Black History Month, but this assumption was false… The Senate is a component of Parliament but has not yet passed such a resolution. My motion today, therefore, is designed to formalize the position of the Parliament of Canada by recognizing February as Black History Month in the Senate.” The Senate passed this motion unanimously, and on March 4, 2008, the Canadian parliamentary position on Black History Month was put into law.
During February, students across Canada focus on the fantastic accomplishments Black Canadians have made individually and collectively. One such figure is Harry Jerome, a track and field legend from Saskatchewan who moved to British Columbia as a child, who inspired a generation of athletes. After accepting an athletic scholarship to the University of Oregon at eighteen, a year later, he set the world record for the fastest 100-meter dash, coming in at 10 seconds. An Olympic, British Empire and Commonwealth Games, and Pan American Games medalist, he continued his career as an educator, setting up the Federal Fitness and Amateur Sports Directorate where he hosted demonstrations and coaching clinics to encourage young athletes. After being awarded the Order of Canada in 1971, he set up the Premier’s Sports Awards Program and sat on the BC Human Rights Commission to advocate for better representation for visible minorities. Tragically, and after accomplishing so much in so little time, he passed away at the age of 42 of a brain aneurysm in 1982.
Another figure is Justice Corrine Sparks. Justice Sparks, a descendant of Black Loyalists and refugees, is the first Black woman judge in Canada and was the first Black judge in Nova Scotia. She graduated from law school in 1979 and was appointed to the family court of Halifax in 1987. In 1995, Justice Sparks heard the case of a black 15-year-old boy who was accused of hitting a police officer with his bike while the officer attempted to arrest another individual. Setting new president, Justice Sparks acquitted the defendant creating the judicial notice that police overreaction against non-white people was the “prevalent attitude of the day.” Her ruling was overturned at the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal but was later reinstated by the Supreme Court of Canada. Justice Corrine Sparks’ decision has had far-reaching effects and has been cited worldwide in other common law jurisdictions. Every month offers the opportunity to learn about Black Canadians’ history, but February, particularly, is a time to celebrate their achievements and their ongoing legacy.
