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February is Black History Month – 2017

By domansky

 

Black History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians, past and present, bringing attention to the vital role they have played throughout Canada’s history.

Join the global conversation: #BlackHistoryMonth

Recognizing Black Canadians

Addie Aylestock (1909 – 1998)

Mabel Adeline (Addie) Aylestock was the first woman minister to be ordained in the British Methodist Episcopal Church (1951), and the first Black woman to be ordained in Canada.

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Photo: Courtesy Ontario Black History Society/BME Christ Church St. James

Viola Desmond (1914 – 1965)

Viola Irene Desmond challenged racial segregation in 1946 by sitting in a white-only area of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She refused to move to the African Canadian section in the balcony, and was arrested and fined. In 2010, Desmond was granted a free pardon posthumously, and the provincial government issued a formal apology.

In December 2016, it was announced that Desmond’s image will replace Sir John A. Macdonald on the Canadian $10 bill beginning in 2018. A commemorative stamp was also issued in Desmond’s honour in 2012.

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Photo: Winnipeg Free Press (public domain)

Lincoln Alexander, PC CC OOnt CD QC (1922 – 2012)

Among his many achievements, the Honourable Lincoln MacCauley Alexander was the first Black Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons (1968-1980), the first Black Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Board (1980-1985), and the 24th Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1985-1991), being the first Black Canadian to be appointed to a vice regal position in Canada.

In 2013, January 21st was declared “Lincoln Alexander Day” by the Ontario Legislative Assembly, citing Alexander’s life as “an example of service, determination and humility. Always fighting for equal rights for all races in our society, and doing so without malice, he changed attitudes and contributed greatly to the inclusiveness and tolerance of Canada today.”

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Photo: Ombudsman, 1984-1989 (detail); Daniel G. Hill photograph albums; Reference Code: F 2130-9-1; Archives of Ontario, I0027984


“As a people, with roots dating back to 1603, African-Canadians have defended, cleared, built and farmed this country; our presence is well established, but not well-known. The celebration of Black History Month is an attempt to have the achievements of Black people recognized and told.”
 
— Ontario Black History Society

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