Black History in Canada
"Have we read our own authors such as Dionne Brand, Afua Cooper and George Elliott Clarke? Do we know that the story of African-Canadians spans four hundred years, and includes slavery, abolition, pioneering, urban growth, segregation, the civil rights movement and a long engagement in civic life?"
![Learning Centre topics - Black History]({"id":"9249","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"a7755b40-bb18-444f-92ba-f85d7ff7fb17","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2014-01-21T03:10:27.000000Z","updated_at":"2014-01-21T03:10:27.000000Z","alt":"Learning Centre topics - Black History","title":"Learning Centre topics - Black History","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/a7755b40-bb18-444f-92ba-f85d7ff7fb17.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/a7755b40-bb18-444f-92ba-f85d7ff7fb17.jpg","credit":null,"pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"9249","tag":"feature","order":1},"translations":[{"id":"65f3416b-3445-475a-aa45-f074d92f87ce","media_id":"9249","title":"Learning Centre topics - Black History","alt":"Learning Centre topics - Black History","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"locale":"en","credit":null},{"id":"cc400a1d-dc28-4d3a-99e8-6f14d41dbc1e","media_id":"9249","title":"","alt":"","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"locale":"fr","credit":null}]})
Featured Articles
Timelines
Black History
Black history refers to the stories, experiences, and accomplishments of people of African origin. Black history did not begin in recent times in Canada, but in ancient times in Africa. People connected by their common African history and ancestry have created Black history here. The African-Canadian population is made up of individuals from a range of places across the globe including the United States, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Canada.
Education Guides
"The Book of Negroes" and Black History Education Guide
Education Guide
Canada History Week 2023: History of Black Achievement in Canada
Education Guide
Black History in Canada Education Guide
Education Guide
Quizzes
Gallery
![25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League]({"id":"10075","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"d83b7fa6-5b40-448b-8e3a-fe7f1fdacc59","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2015-01-20T21:19:35.000000Z","updated_at":"2016-12-20T21:35:57.000000Z","alt":"25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League","title":"25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League","caption":"Willie O'Ree warms up in his Boston Bruins uniform, prior to a game with the New York Rangers, at New York's Madison Square Garden, on 23 November 1960.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Associated Press \/ 601123034)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/d83b7fa6-5b40-448b-8e3a-fe7f1fdacc59.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/d83b7fa6-5b40-448b-8e3a-fe7f1fdacc59.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Associated Press \/ 601123034)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"10075","tag":"gallery","order":1},"translations":[{"id":"c8a03baa-c515-41f7-b7fb-8fee489df2a5","media_id":"10075","title":"25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League","alt":"25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League","caption":"Willie O'Ree warms up in his Boston Bruins uniform, prior to a game with the New York Rangers, at New York's Madison Square Garden, on 23 November 1960.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Associated Press \/ 601123034)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Associated Press \/ 601123034)"},{"id":"ed1b6caa-cb43-4495-92b4-ef6b1ecc395a","media_id":"10075","title":"L'ailier gauche Willie O'Ree \u00e0 25 ans, premier joueur noir de la Ligue nationale de hockey","alt":"L'ailier gauche Willie O'Ree \u00e0 25 ans, premier joueur noir de la Ligue nationale de hockey","caption":"Willie O'Ree s'\u00e9chauffe dans son uniforme des Bruins de Boston avant un match contre les Rangers de New York au Madison Square Garden \u00e0 New York, le 23 novembre 1960.","creator":"","source":"(avec la permission de l'Associated Press \/ 601123034)","locale":"fr","credit":"(avec la permission de l'Associated Press \/ 601123034)"}]} "25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League")
25-year-old left wing Willie O'Ree, the first Black player of the National Hockey League
![Charles Lightfoot Roman]({"id":"12396","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"c22f2dde-a1f0-4d37-a764-ff8dac64c843","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2015-10-09T21:14:23.000000Z","updated_at":"2016-02-08T20:46:41.000000Z","alt":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","title":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","caption":"Charles Lightfoot Roman. Date unknown.","creator":"","source":"Courtesy Roman family.","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/c22f2dde-a1f0-4d37-a764-ff8dac64c843.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/c22f2dde-a1f0-4d37-a764-ff8dac64c843.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Roman family.","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"12396","tag":"gallery","order":2},"translations":[{"id":"640802fc-ed32-4d02-80c7-9dba7d01e985","media_id":"12396","title":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","alt":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","caption":"Charles Lightfoot Roman. Date unknown.","creator":"","source":"Courtesy Roman family.","locale":"en","credit":"Courtesy Roman family."},{"id":"03f9c8d7-1de6-48ab-af70-3e9e87493b56","media_id":"12396","title":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","alt":"Charles Lightfoot Roman","caption":"Charles Lightfoot Roman. Date inconnue.","creator":"","source":"Courtoisie de la famille Roman.","locale":"fr","credit":"Courtoisie de la famille Roman."}]} "Charles Lightfoot Roman")
Charles Lightfoot Roman
![Lillian Allen]({"id":"12621","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"177d5dbd-beb9-4e22-bf5f-50c63dc3007a","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2016-01-24T12:30:44.000000Z","updated_at":"2016-01-28T16:41:10.000000Z","alt":"Lillian Allen","title":"Lillian Allen","caption":"Lillian Allen, poet, vocalist, lyricist, community activist, teacher.","creator":"","source":"Photo by BlackCoffeePoet, courtesy of Lillian Allen","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/177d5dbd-beb9-4e22-bf5f-50c63dc3007a.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/177d5dbd-beb9-4e22-bf5f-50c63dc3007a.jpg","credit":"Photo by BlackCoffeePoet, courtesy of Lillian Allen","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"12621","tag":"gallery","order":3},"translations":[{"id":"a2e56d4f-1268-49cb-b776-9501ee41e950","media_id":"12621","title":"Lillian Allen","alt":"Lillian Allen","caption":"Lillian Allen, poet, vocalist, lyricist, community activist, teacher.","creator":"","source":"Photo by BlackCoffeePoet, courtesy of Lillian Allen","locale":"en","credit":"Photo by BlackCoffeePoet, courtesy of Lillian Allen"},{"id":"09961e84-e6cd-4e63-9e33-db7764d1cefd","media_id":"12621","title":"Lillian Allen","alt":"Lillian Allen","caption":"Lillian Allen, po\u00e8te, vocaliste, paroli\u00e8re, militante communautaire, enseignante.","creator":"","source":"Photo par BlackCoffeePoet, avec la permission de Lillian Allen","locale":"fr","credit":"Photo par BlackCoffeePoet, avec la permission de Lillian Allen"}]} "Lillian Allen")
Lillian Allen
![No. 2 Construction Battalion]({"id":"13788","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"d2114b98-ef0d-4e98-aa49-892b095d77cc","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2016-07-05T01:28:48.000000Z","updated_at":"2016-07-05T12:22:51.000000Z","alt":"No. 2 Construction Battalion","title":"No. 2 Construction Battalion","caption":"","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Museum Windsor\/P6110)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/d2114b98-ef0d-4e98-aa49-892b095d77cc.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/d2114b98-ef0d-4e98-aa49-892b095d77cc.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Museum Windsor\/P6110)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"13788","tag":"gallery","order":4},"translations":[{"id":"55273a2f-bf8e-4241-a382-76817e81eb28","media_id":"13788","title":"No. 2 Construction Battalion","alt":"No. 2 Construction Battalion","caption":"","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Museum Windsor\/P6110)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Museum Windsor\/P6110)"},{"id":"5d8d5021-25fb-4d77-afaf-e543c4e91ec1","media_id":"13788","title":"2e Bataillon de construction","alt":"2e Bataillon de construction","caption":"","creator":"","source":"(avec la permission du Mus\u00e9e de Windsor\/P6110)","locale":"fr","credit":"(avec la permission du Mus\u00e9e de Windsor\/P6110)"}]} "No. 2 Construction Battalion")
No. 2 Construction Battalion
![Violet King]({"id":"15724","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"78730ed6-4352-47c6-8df5-de6a40364e1d","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2017-11-03T19:29:57.000000Z","updated_at":"2018-01-17T14:24:52.000000Z","alt":"Violet King","title":"Violet King","caption":"Violet King, the first Black woman admitted to the Alberta Bar, and to practise law in Canada. E.J. McCormick, with whom she articled, shakes her hand, 2 June 1954.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/78730ed6-4352-47c6-8df5-de6a40364e1d.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/78730ed6-4352-47c6-8df5-de6a40364e1d.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"15724","tag":"gallery","order":5},"translations":[{"id":"80b1e0f2-1426-4f84-8bcd-1f8f75d4aadb","media_id":"15724","title":"Violet King","alt":"Violet King","caption":"Violet King, the first Black woman admitted to the Alberta Bar, and to practise law in Canada. E.J. McCormick, with whom she articled, shakes her hand, 2 June 1954.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)"},{"id":"0794a74c-171a-49a2-b07c-67303f5b9b68","media_id":"15724","title":"Violet King","alt":"Violet King","caption":"Violet King est la premi\u00e8re femme Noire admise au barreau de l\u2019Alberta et autoris\u00e9e \u00e0 pratiquer le droit au Canada. E. J. McCormick, aupr\u00e8s de qui elle a fait son stage, lui sert la main, le 2 juin 1954.","creator":"","source":"(avec la permission de Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)","locale":"fr","credit":"(avec la permission de Glenbow Archives\/NA-5600-7760a)"}]} "Violet King")
Violet King
![Hugh Burnett]({"id":"16256","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"4a02acdf-65b6-4777-a5ce-b9b1f1a93c8c","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2018-04-18T15:58:13.000000Z","updated_at":"2018-04-18T15:58:13.000000Z","alt":"Hugh Burnett","title":"Hugh Burnett","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/4a02acdf-65b6-4777-a5ce-b9b1f1a93c8c.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/4a02acdf-65b6-4777-a5ce-b9b1f1a93c8c.jpg","credit":null,"pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"16256","tag":"gallery","order":6},"translations":[{"id":"08294bf8-2178-43f8-8e19-e4745b3a5b8d","media_id":"16256","title":"Hugh Burnett","alt":"Hugh Burnett","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"locale":"en","credit":null},{"id":"f11dc888-74f6-4ffd-89ad-0dc7d7c9952b","media_id":"16256","title":"Hugh Burnett","alt":"Hugh Burnett","caption":"","creator":"","source":null,"locale":"fr","credit":null}]} "Hugh Burnett")
Hugh Burnett
![Viola Desmond]({"id":"16543","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"c844682d-f9ce-4992-a28e-d729b51e6762","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2018-07-12T13:37:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2018-07-19T14:53:30.000000Z","alt":"Viola Desmond","title":"Viola Desmond","caption":"Viola Desmond with Halifax pennant in background.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Wanda and Joe Robson Collection, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University\/16-84-30224)","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/c844682d-f9ce-4992-a28e-d729b51e6762.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/c844682d-f9ce-4992-a28e-d729b51e6762.jpg","credit":"(courtesy Wanda and Joe Robson Collection, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University\/16-84-30224)","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"16543","tag":"gallery","order":7},"translations":[{"id":"46ef7de8-2975-472f-921a-4305e01fbd13","media_id":"16543","title":"Viola Desmond","alt":"Viola Desmond","caption":"Viola Desmond with Halifax pennant in background.","creator":"","source":"(courtesy Wanda and Joe Robson Collection, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University\/16-84-30224)","locale":"en","credit":"(courtesy Wanda and Joe Robson Collection, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University\/16-84-30224)"},{"id":"7d26b867-7e14-4b9e-9346-02a04bae1c77","media_id":"16543","title":"Viola Desmond","alt":"Viola Desmond","caption":"Viola Desmond avec un fanion d\u2019Halifax en arri\u00e8re-plan.","creator":"","source":"(image tir\u00e9e de la collection de Wanda et Joe Robson, avec la permission des archives du Beaton Institute\/16-84-30224)","locale":"fr","credit":"(image tir\u00e9e de la collection de Wanda et Joe Robson, avec la permission des archives du Beaton Institute\/16-84-30224)"}]} "Viola Desmond")
Viola Desmond
![Rosemary Brown]({"id":"9447","disk":"s3","directory":"media\/media","filename":"7548f8ed-a538-4dad-b041-ec1d9d8352aa","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":100000,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2014-02-27T16:05:17.000000Z","updated_at":"2015-10-16T16:14:23.000000Z","alt":"Rosemary Brown","title":"Rosemary Brown","caption":"Keynote speaker, at the opening of the first national conference of Women of Political Action, 16 June 1973. ","creator":"John Goddard","source":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/7548f8ed-a538-4dad-b041-ec1d9d8352aa.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/media\/media\/7548f8ed-a538-4dad-b041-ec1d9d8352aa.jpg","credit":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard","pivot":{"mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Collection","mediable_id":"8","media_id":"9447","tag":"gallery","order":8},"translations":[{"id":"20cafd9f-1a6b-42f5-8532-48fa69461c4c","media_id":"9447","title":"Rosemary Brown","alt":"Rosemary Brown","caption":"Keynote speaker, at the opening of the first national conference of Women of Political Action, 16 June 1973. ","creator":"John Goddard","source":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard","locale":"en","credit":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard"},{"id":"2a9b8bb5-8b82-400e-825b-c75e8b8af4cb","media_id":"9447","title":"Rosemary Brown","alt":"Rosemary Brown","caption":"","creator":"","source":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard","locale":"fr","credit":"The Canadian Press\/John Goddard"}]} "Rosemary Brown")
Rosemary Brown
Videos
Africville
video