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FORGOTTEN BRANCH OF BLACK COMMUNITY PERSEVERES
Special points of interest:
FORGOTTEN BRANCH OF BLACK COMMUNITY PERSEVERES
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RELIGION: AN AID OR HINDRANCE TO SPIRITUAL FULFILMENT?
Marcus Garvey
WINTER 2019
FORGOTTEN BRANCH OF BLACK COMMUNITY PERSEVERES
In the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia, an unsung branch of the black diaspora persists. The history of the black Nova Scotian community is a singular story of survival that is all-too-often overlooked. It shouldn’t be; it involves not only one small province, but also two continents.
People of African descent have been part of Nova Scotia’s history since the beginning of European exploration and colonization –and, perhaps, before that. A black man named Mathieu Da Costa was part of a 1608 French expedition. Da Costa served as an interpreter between the French and local Mi’kmaq people. His knowledge of the Mi’kmaqs’ language suggests
that he had prior experience among them.
The first major presence of blacks in the region came in the wake of the American Revolution. Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, offered freedom to African slaves who joined the British in their battle to suppress the rebellious American colonists. Blacks were faced with a choice between rebels who desired freedom for themselves but not their slaves; and a colonial power that promised freedom for the slaves. Caption describing picture or graphic.
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Tr ivia
1. The original inhabitants of Jamaica cultivated corn and yams. Today, Jamaica is famous for cultivating sugar cane, bananas, and mangoes, none of which are indigenous.
In the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia, an unsung branch of the black diaspora persists. The history of the black Nova Scotian community is a singular story of survival that is all-too-often overlooked. It shouldn’t be; it involves not only one small province, but also two continents.
