Thoughts & Things

Black Canadians Who Made A Difference

As February is Black History Month, I have been pondering the possibilities of what to write on the topic. BHM is in February for both the US and Canada, and I came to the conclusion that even in Canada, BHM takes on a very American-centric view point. I wanted to write about something that shares the excellence of many Black Canadians throughout our history. After all, BHM is about learning about the greatness of Black people who have spent far too long going unappreciated. Even my own readings this month for BHM have been American-centric, so I thought it was doubly important to take the time to share information about Black folks in Canada.

This is not any sort of rating system, it does not cover everyone of import, and is really only a starting place to learn about important Black Canadians. I will be sharing the excellence of six people here, and at the end of the post I will provide some links for anyone who wishes to learn more.

Mathieu da Costa
Mathieu da Costa is the first free Black person reported in Canada. In the early 1600s, he was part of the exploring party led by Samuel de Champlain, one of Canada's most important early explorers. He was originally from the pre-Colonial Benin Empire, which is now in southern Nigeria, but was invited on exploration missions due to his vast knowledge of languages. da Costa acted as an interpreter and translator for the explorers, as he spoke a number of languages, believed to include English, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and Basque pidgin, a language that the First Nations populations used for trading purposes. This year, at the beginning of Black History Month, a commemorative stamp featuring da Costa was released in Canada.

Josiah Henson
Josiah Henson was born into slavery in Maryland in the late 1700s. He spent years saving up to purchase his freedom in the early 1800s, but was instead cheated of his money and left to remain a slave. He escaped slavery with his wife and four children, and fled north to Canada. Once in Canada, he formed the Dawn settlement, a place where other escaped slaves were able to find refuge as farmers. Throughout his life he gave abolitionist speeches, worked as a minister, and fought with the Canadian militia. Harriet Beecher Stowe's iconic novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is based on Henson's life.

Mary Ann Shadd
Born in 1823, Mary Ann Shad spent her childhood in the northern parts of the US where she was able to get an education. In her early adulthood, she ran a school for black children there. She moved to Canada in the 1850s. While there she continued to teach black children. She also became Canada's first female publisher and North America's first black female publisher, when she ran the Provincial Freeman, an anti-slavery newspaper. During her lifetime, Mary Ann Shadd was heavily involved in anti-slavery and feminist activism. She has been recognised both in the US and Canada for her significant work during the 1800s.

William Hall
William Hall was born in 1827 in Nova Scotia, his parents having escaped there as slaves during the War of 1812 due to the Black Refugee movement. He served in the United States Navy, followed by the Royal Navy. As part of the Royal Navy, Hall fought in the Crimean War, and eventually became captain of the foretop on the HMS Shannon. He is best known for fighting at the Siege of Lucknow, during the Indian Rebellion. After most of the party had been injured or killed, Hall continued to load and fire a 24 pound gun until they were able to breach the walls. For this, Hall became the first Black person, the first Nova Scotian, and the third Canadian overall to receive the Victoria Cross. He spent the remainder of his navy career with the Royal Navy, and eventually reached the rank of Petty Officer. He worked as a farmer following his retirement. In 1901, he met with the future King George V. Hall has been featured on a stamp for Black History Month, and is due to have a ship in the Canadian Royal Navy named after him.

Viola Desmond
Viola Desmond was a black woman in the middle of 20th century Canada, at a time when Canada had similar segregation laws to the US. Desmond owned her own beauty parlour, and started a beauty school for black women who had been denied entry to local white beauty schools. On November 8, 1946, Desmond was arrested for sitting in the whites only section of her local movie theatre. They claimed at the time that this was not because she was black, but because of the one cent difference in the tax on the ticket, rather than because of her race. For this stand against segregation, Viola Desmond has since been known as the Rosa Parks of Canada. Desmond was not pardoned until the 2010s, decades after her death. For her work as an activist and a business woman, Viola Desmond is due to have her image placed on the Canadian ten dollar bill, and she will be the first woman and first Black person to be represented on a Canadian bank note.

Ferguson Arthur Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur Jenkins, also known as Fergie, was born in 1942 in Canada, and grew up to become one of the great baseball players of the century. Jenkins played for both the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox. Considered one of the best pitchers to play for Major League Baseball, he was the fourth pitcher to win over a hundred games, and he retired with the best ever finesse record in the history of organised baseball. After his retirement from professional baseball, he also played for the London Majors in the minor league in Ontario. He was the first Canadian to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Jenkins was made a member of the Order of Canada, and in 2011 he was featured on a commemorative stamp for Black History Month.

If you have any further interest in Canada's Black History Month, please check out:
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/black-history-month/black-c...
http://blackhistorycanada.ca/