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This is an article by Sylvia Hamilton who collaborated with Claire Prieto on the documentary Black Mother Black daughter. This source mostly goes into her experience of the creation of the film and how it relates to her life. This shows the impact of…

In 1905, Black women in Montreal founded the Coloured Women’s Club in response to widespread racial discrimination, including the denial of adequate health care during the smallpox epidemic. As Canada’s oldest Black womens institution, their work…

This handwritten account retells the tragic story of Lydia Jackson, a Black Loyalist woman who, like her compatriots, was promised freedom upon her resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to be deceived by her employer, sold back into slavery to another…

This petition, written by the Black Loyalists of Manchester, Nova Scotia, exposes the massive gap between the lifestyles of different settlers in the colonies. Although the British crown promised equal treatment for all its subjects living in Canada,…

Cy McLean was an incredible Black Canadian musician who led Toronto's very first Black jazz band and then first full Black orchestra in the 1940s, breaking barriers for future musicians with his talent and skill on the piano. He constantly challenged…

The Book of Negroes is one of the most important records of Black migration to British North America. Created at the end of the American Revolution, it documents the names, ages, and physical descriptions of around 3000 Black Loyalists. Much like the…

The St. Antoine District emerged in the late 19th century as one of Montreal’s most important centres of Black life, shaped by both geography and opportunity. Its location near the rail yards and Canadian Pacific Railway depot drew many Black men…

Railway porters, such as F.R Blackburn, were known as conduits of culture, often coming into porting already educated and well-travelled. Their work took them through some of the busiest cultural corridors in North America. As they moved between…

This sketch is the earliest known image of a Black Loyalist, depicting a man cutting wood in the few years following the foundation of Birchtown. Many Black Loyalists had arrived in Nova Scotia expecting fruitful harvests and economic stability as a…

Reverend Richard Amos Ball died in 1925 but his legacy lived on far longer. Barber, minister and musician, he started his family band “Ball Family Jubilee Singers” and taught them how to play instruments as well as many others in his church…