Black Settlement in Nova Scotia: From Louisbourg to Africville

People of African descent have been a significant part of Nova Scotia's history from the 18th century to the modern day. Black communities had existed in the province from the time of the French fortress at Louisbourg through a mix of enslaved labourors, free black residents, and the later arrival of the Jamaican Maroons, but all of these groups faced remarkable systemic hardship. in the late 1700s, thousands of black loyalists, promised freedom and land in exchange for support in the American Revolution, settled towns such as Birchtown and Shelburne, only to recieve poorer, smaller lands, and face violence as seen in the Shelburne riots of 1784. However, these communities ultimately peresevered, forming settlements that, in many cases, persisted to the modern day in spite of the hardships they faced. In the 20th century, the town of Africville in Halifax became the most famous example of the discrimination faced by black communities in Nova Scotia. This isolated yet vibrant community, established in 1848, was denied basic infrastructure, taxed unfairly, and eventually demolished by Halifax municipal authourities in the 1960s. This was a turning point as Nova Scotia's attitudes towards race began to improve, and advocacy by black leaders such as Eddie Carvery and W.P. Oliver made the isuues facing black communities difficult for Governments to ignore. Despite all of these barriers, black settlements in the province persisted. This exhibition seeks to examine these communities from the perspectives of those that formed and lived in them, highlighting settlers from the 18th to 20th centuries, utilizing archival records, photographs, and primary texts to illuminate the endurance and realities of Black Nova Scotians over three centuries.