Black History Month is upon us once more. I thought it would be fitting to explore the origins of the annual celebration of Black achievement, as well as the original reason for its creation. It started as Negro History Week in 1926 with Carter G. Woodson — an American historian and creator of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History — at the helm. Woodson saw how important it was to promote all the amazing things Black folks have accomplished throughout history, becoming an early leader for the celebratory cause. What started as a week grew into a month, but of course a month isn’t really enough time to devote to the topic. Woodson’s decision to choose February for the original week-long affair is an interesting one. There are two monumental birthdays he wanted to encompass with the choice — Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. While the latter is a name most people recognize instantly, the former’s contribution to the abolishment of slavery was significant. These birthdays (although Douglass was born into slavery so the day of his birth isn’t certain) were already occasions for many communities of Black people in the US, which increased the odds that his idea would catch on. Once it did, he imagined that the festivities devoted to these two men could be extended to the race as a whole, and thus, the concept of Black History Month (BHM) was born. Of course, the fight for equality and equity was the context for Woodson’s endeavour. Myself, I certainly appreciate the opportunity to create reader’s advisory content for BHM. Discovering figures and historical snippets from Canada’s past is incredibly valuable. I think it’s important to spread awareness of Canada’s dark past, including slavery and other civil rights violations that have been obscured by its associations with ‘The Promised Land’ and freedom. However, it’s also important to celebrate the contributions and successes Black people have had throughout our history. What follows is a hodgepodge of writings on various figures who have had a real impact on our world, from the days of the Underground Railroad up to contemporary times.

Jean Augustine

By all accounts, a formidable woman in Canadian politics who paved the way for others to follow. The list of ‘firsts’ and other accomplishments associated with Jean Augustine is astounding. Here are just a few:

• First Black woman to be a Member of Parliament or MP
• First Black woman to be a Cabinet Minister
• On the committee to coordinate the first ever Caribana Festival in Toronto
• Founder, Toronto chapter for the Congress of Black Women of Canada

We owe our national recognition of BHM to her. Augustine introduced the bill in parliament to declare it federally because she saw the literal marginalization of Black folks in the textbooks she used as an educator. An elementary school and then principal, she saw firsthand how children were not learning the true history of Canada. The Amazing Women in Canada series has dedicated a book to her legacy. Click on the image above to see it in our catalogue.

Lucie and Thornton Blackburn

One of the most talked about slave narratives in relation to Canada is the story of Lucie and Thornton Blackburn. The couple’s long journey to freedom in Canada made papers when they escaped from Kentucky in 1831, only to be captured in Detroit. The story didn’t end there, however. With the help of friends and proponents of abolition, they were able to use a race riot as cover to escape again. Once they reached Toronto, the resulting court case set a monumental precedent: officials in Canada refused to hand over the Blackburns to Michigan’s authorities. Of course, the resulting notion of Canada as a haven for refugee slaves belied the more complex reality. Racism and discrimination did not, and still do not, follow national boundaries. Historian Karolyn Smardz Frost studied the couple for years, compiling her efforts into I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land, a non-fiction account of their lives. Fascinatingly, the pair’s home in downtown Toronto became an archeological site when it was found in 1985, the first Underground Railroad spot to be excavated in Canada. I found the Ontario Historical Society bulletin where the dig near the Distillery District was originally discussed in 1985. Another first associated with them is the first cab company, a one man enterprise, in Upper Canada. There’s a great, animated video from Historica Canada about them here. I would encourage you all to check it out.

Afua Cooper

I remember studying The Hanging of Angélique by Afua Cooper during my grad studies in English. I’m not sure how many of us are familiar with the account of the slave Marie-Joseph Angélique who was sentenced to execution for allegedly setting fire to her mistress’s house and many other buildings in Old Montreal. In her book, Cooper claims that Angélique’s trial is the ‘first slave narrative in the New World.’ The 1734 legal proceedings are part of the fabric of Canada, its early colonial period and fur trade inextricably linked with slavery. A play about Marie-Joseph was staged here in Toronto in 2019 at The Factory Theatre. Although she confessed after being tortured, the truth of what happened that night will likely never be known. Originally from Madeira in Portugal, the theory goes that she was originally called Marie-Joseph, but her new owner — the widow of François Poulin de Francheville — rechristened her Angélique after her daughter who had passed away. There are so many holes or blank spots in the story that I’m intrigued by. Was it that common for slave owners to draw such intimate connections between a slave and their own child? Angélique was believed to be in love with an indentured, white worker called Claude Thibault who she attempted to escape enslavement with before being returned to her mistress. What’s the story there? Did she really love him? What was his involvement with the fire? In any case, the square near City Hall in Montreal was dubbed Place Marie-Josèphe Angélique after her. Afua Cooper, Cheryl Thompson, and Rochelle Bush were on a segment of TVO Today about the elements of Black history in Canada that need to be spoken about to increase awareness in society. That’s another resource for those looking to fill in the gaps often left by our educations.

Oscar Peterson

I have definitely heard of Oscar Peterson, ignorant though I am of jazz music greats. I did not, however, know that he was Canadian. A pianist known as ‘The Man with Four hands’ by other jazz legends in the biz, he was born in Montreal in the twenties. Growing up in the working-class neighbourhood of St. Henri or Little Burgundy, his father was a porter for Canadian Pacific Railway. He made his living in the tradition of the Sleeping Car Porters (written extensively about by our very own Alyssia here). A fascinating musician with a storied history, Oscar Peterson struggled with arthritis from an early age. Receiving requests from Count Basie (even I’ve heard of him) and Jimmie Lunceford to join their bands in the US when he was a teenager, his parents wouldn’t let him. We have several of his albums in our collection here, and we also have a children’s book about his upbringing in Quebec called Oscar Lives Next Door. Tuberculosis influenced his decision to focus on piano as a kid, the story of which is recounted in the picture book.

I hope, by the end of this post, you’ve learned something new about the history of Black people in Canada. I certainly did in researching this post. I have included the Black History Month list I made of books for adults below. I hope there’s something that intrigues you there. Until next time, take care everyone!