A project commemorating the 1,196 Black Loyalists who left Nova Scotia’s shores in 1792 is still collecting letters, according to one of the organizers. #1792Project is an advocacy and letter-writing campaign aimed at educating people about the history of the 1,196 Black Loyalists who, in January of 1792, left Nova Scotia aboard 15 ships on […]
Richard Preston: “The founder of the Black Nova Scotian community”
Preston, who started the African Chapel, the African United Baptist Association of Nova Scotia, and the African Abolition Society, is one of the public's suggestions for names to replace Cornwallis Street.
One name the public suggested for the renaming of Cornwallis Street in Halifax is Richard Preston, who was the founder and first reverend of the newly named New Horizons Baptist Church, located on Cornwallis Street. Originally called the African Chapel — and later the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church — the church was founded on April […]
“Do right by me”: by not addressing the systematic racism of street checks, the white power structure is doubling down on Nova Scotia’s well-earned reputation for ignorance, stigma, and stench
“Until you do right by me, everything you think about is gonna crumble.” Voiced by Whoopi Goldberg in her role as Celie in the film adaptation of The Color Purple, the line has recently wafted, repeatedly, through my mind. To be sure, the thought has been prompted by the magnificent production of The Color Purple […]
Lincolnville and the case for reparations: Morning File, Tuesday, February 13, 2018
News 1. Susie Butlin Jennifer Henderson reports: Judge Al Bégin signed a no-contact order to keep Junior Duggan away from Susie Butlin. Duggan is now charged with murdering Butlin. Should Judge Bégin recuse himself from hearing the murder case? Click here to read “Judge may be asked to step away from Butlin murder case.” This article […]
“Hell to the no. We’re outta here.”
Fleeing Nova Scotia for Africa, Black Loyalists, in their “reverse migration,” had rendered themselves vulnerable to a still robust slave trade that was not abolished, within the British Empire, until 1834. Think about it.
There was no love lost between me and a bland fruit that routinely found its way into my childhood home in northwest Indiana. That sentiment changed when, at age 21, I nibbled the same fruit (between sips of palm wine) at a gathering in Ghana. “Who knew it tasted so good?” I marvelled while savouring […]