Black History in Canada teaching guide

7/29/2019 Black History in Canada teaching guide

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BLACK HISTORYinCANADAEDUCATION GUIDE

TheHISTORICA-DOMINION INSTITUTE in partnership withTD BANK GROUPpresents


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a MESSAGE to TEACHERS

T

he largest independent organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity

and citizenship, The Historica-Dominion Institute is committed to bringing the stories

and experiences o Canada into the classroom. This innovative Education Guide explores

seminal events and personalities in Black Canadian history through engaging discussion andinteractive activities. It was made possible with the generous support o TD Bank Group, whose

commitment to Black history and culture has been celebrated. The purpose o this Guide is to

enhance your students knowledge and appreciation o the Black Canadian experience, drawing

rom Lawrence Hills award-winning historical ction, The Book of Negroes, the remarkable journey

o Aminata Diallo and the historic British document known as the Book o Negroes. Structured

around themes o journey, slavery, human rights, passage to Canada and contemporary culture, thi

Guide asks students to examine issues o identity, equality, community, and nation-building in bot

a historical and contemporary context. The tools provided here are supplemented with additiona

activities and resources at the Black History Portal blackhistorycanada.ca. We hope this Guide will

assist you in teaching this important aspect o Canadian history in your English, Social Studies,

History or Law classroom.

A Message to Teachers 2

A Message from Lawrence Hill 3

Synopsis of The Book of Negroes 3

Black History in 4Canada Timeline

Journey: The Story of 6Aminata Diallo

Slavery and Human Rights 7

Passage to Canada: 8Evaluating Historic Sources& Modern Stories of Migration

Contemporary Culture 10

TABLE of CONTENTS

THE BLACKHISTORY PORTAL

a project of: Sponsored by: In partnership with:

Find additional activities andresources on the Black History Portalblackhistorycanada.ca


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Lawrence Hill

a MESSAGEfr omAward-Winning A uthor

LAWRENCE HILL

These lines come from a letter written in 1763 to John Watts in New York. Who do

you think wrote the letter? Perhaps a armer in Barbados, South Carolina, or Virginia?

Actually, this urgent request or slaves came rom James Murray, Governor o Quebec.

The average sixteen-year-old in Canada can tell you something about slavery and abolition in the

United States. Many o us have read American novels such as Uncle Toms Cabin, To Kill a Mockingbird,and Roots.

But have we read our own authors such as Dionne Brand, Aua Cooper and George Elliott Clarke? Do

we know that the story o Arican-Canadians spans our hundred years, and includes slavery, abolition,

pioneering, urban growth, segregation, the civil rights movement and a long engagement in civic lie?

I wrote the novel The Book of Negroesto remove the dehumanizing mask o slavery and to explore an

Arican womans intimate experiences and emotions as she travels the world in the 18th century. I like

to think that there is a novel or every one o the 3,000 Black Loyalists whose names were entered into

the British naval ledger known as the Book o Negroes and who then as a reward or service to the

British on the losing side o the American Revolutionary War were sent by ship rom Manhattan to

Nova Scotia in 1783. Imagining Aminata Diallos lie helped me appreciate the struggles o the 18th

century Black Loyalists as they travelled back and orth across the Atlantic Ocean, touching down in

colonial America, early Canada, West Arica and Europe in pursuit o reedom and home. Luckily orwriters and readers, ction helps us see where we have been and who we are now.

Imust earnestly entreat your assistance, without servantsnothing can be done Black Slaves are certainly the onlypeople to be depended upon pray therefore if possibleprocure for me two Stout Young fellows [and] buy foreach a clean young wife, who can wash and do the femaleofces about a farm, I shall begrudge no price

Synopsis: The Book of Negroes

Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africaand orced to

walk or months to the sea in a cofea string o slavesAminata Diallo is sent to live as a

slave in South Carolina. Years later, she orges her way to reedom, serving the British in the

Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic Book o Negroes. This book, an actual

document, provides a short but immensely revealing record o some 3,000 Black Loyalists who let

the United States or resettlement in Nova Scotia. A trained bookkeeper, Aminata is enlisted to record

the names o these Arican-Americans travelling to Nova Scotia in pursuit o land and a new way o

lie. But when the Loyalists arrive in Canada in 1783, they nd that the haven theyd been seeking is

steeped in an oppression all its own.

Aminata is among the pioneers o Nova Scotia to settle Shelburne and the neighbouring Black

community o Birchtown. Her journey rom slavery to liberation, and her struggle against a world hostile

to her colour and her sex, speaks to the experience o a ounding generation o Arican-Canadians.

Discussion Questions

1 How would you eel to be taken rom your homeland, never to return?

2 How is the concept o dislocation central to servitude in the experience o enslaved Aricans

like Aminata?

3 Consider the meaning o reedom. Is it signied by the absence o physical captivity, or are

there other requirements to true reedom?


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1605First Black in CanadaThe rst Black person thought to have set oot

on Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a ree

man who was hired as a translator or Samuel de

Champlain's 1605 excursion.

1709Louis XIV Authorizes Slaveryin New FranceKing Louis XIV ormally authorized slavery, when

he permitted his Canadian subjects to own slaves,

"in ull proprietorship."

1776"Free Negroes" ReachNova ScotiaThe British promised land, reedom and rights

to slaves and ree Blacks in exchange or service

during the American Revolution, 1775-1783.

26-27July 1784Canada's First Race-RiotRocks Nova ScotiaThe Black Loyalists were among the rst

settlers in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. On its

ringes they established their own com-

munity, Birchtown. When hundreds o

White, disbanded soldiers ound themselves

competing or jobs with Black neighbours

who were paid less or the same work,

hostilities caused a riot.

1790Imperial StatuteThe Imperial Statute o 1790 eectively

allowed settlers to bring enslaved persons

to Upper Canada. Under the statute, the

enslaved had only to be ed and clothed.

15January 1792The Black Loyalist ExodusThe diculty o supporting themselves in the ace

o widespread discrimination convinced almost

1,200 Black Loyalists to leave Haliax and relocate

to Arica (Sierra Leone).

19 June 1793Lieutenant-Governor John GravesSimcoe's Anti-Slave Trade BillAttorney General White introduced Lieutenant-

Governor John Graves Simcoes anti-slavery

measure and it passed, although it was not a total

ban on slavery but a gradual prohibition.

22 July 1796The Maroons Land at HalifaxA group o 600 reedom-ghters called Maroons

landed at Haliax. These immigrants came rom t

Jamaican community o escaped slaves, who had

guarded their reedom or more than a century anought o countless attempts to re-enslave them

1812-1815The "Coloured Troops"& the War of 1812Thousands o Black volunteers ought or the

British during the War o 1812.

1815 - 1860The Underground RailroadCanada's reputation as a sae haven or Blacks

grew during and ater the War o 1812. Betwee

1815 and 1860, tens o thousands o Arican-

Americans sought reuge in Canada via the

legendary Underground Railroad.

28August 1833British Parliament

Abolishes SlaverySlavery was abolished throughout the British

colonies by an Imperial Act which became eec

tive 1 August 1834. Many Canadians continue

celebrate August 1 as Emancipation Day.

26February 1851Formation of CanadianAnti-Slavery SocietyThe number o abolitionist

sympathizers grew in Canada

in the 1850s-1860s. The Anti-

Slavery Society o Canada was

ormed, "to aid in the extinction

o Slavery all over the world."

BLACK HISTOR

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16November 1857William Neilson HallWins Victoria CrossWilliam Hall served aboard the rigate Shannon

in Calcutta during the 1857 Indian Mutiny. He

was awarded the Victoria Cross, the rst Canadiannaval recipient, the rst Black and the rst Nova

Scotian to win the prestigious medal.

1866First Black Politician in CanadaMifin Gibbs was elected to the Victoria Town

Council in 1866, the rst Black politician in Canada.

February 1911Anti-Black CampaignBy 1909, hundreds o Oklahoma Blacks had

moved to the Canadian Prairies, where they metsevere discrimination. In 1911, a ew newspapers

in Winnipeg even predicted that the Dominion

government would move to exclude "Negro

immigrants."

1914-1918Black Canadian Involvement inthe First World WarIn 1916, military ocials authorized the creation

o the No. 2 Construction Battalion. This all-Black

battalion served in France with the Canadian For-

estry Corps. Black Canadians at home also becameactively involved in the war eort.

1939-1945Black Canadian Involvementin the Second World WarThe Canadian military initially rejected Black

volunteers, but many Blacks were later accepted

into the Regular Army and ocer corps. On the

home ront, the all-Black Brotherhood o Sleeping

Car Porters was one o the greatest success stories

o the war years.

14 March 1944Ontario Passes RacialDiscrimination ActOntario was the rst province to respond to social

change when it passed the Racial Discrimination Act

o 1944, landmark legislation prohibiting the publi-cation and display o any symbol, sign, or notice that

expressed ethnic, racial, or religious discrimination.

18April 1946Jackie Robinson Plays His FirstGame for the Montreal RoyalsWhen he joined the Montreal Royals, Jackie

Robinson became the rst Black player in modern

"organized" baseball. To view a Heritage Minuteon Jackie Robinson, visit blackhistorycanada.ca.

18 January 1958Willie ORee Breaks the RaceBarrier on the IceScouted rom the Quebec Aces, Willie ORee was

the rst Black player in the NHL. He played or

the Boston Bruins, and his rst game was against

the Montreal Canadiens.

25September 1963First Black Elected to aCanadian ParliamentLeonard Braithwaite became the rst Arican-Cana-

dian in a provincial legislature when he was elected as

the Liberal member or Etobicoke, Ontario in 1963.

October 1971Prime Minister Trudeau IntroducesCanada's Multicultural PolicyCanada's multiculturalism policy grew partly in

reaction to the Royal Commission on Bilingualism

and Biculturalism.

1974Oscar Peterson Wins GrammyJazz pianist Oscar Peterson won his rst

Grammy in 1974. He went on to win seven

others, including the coveted Lietime

Achievement Grammy in 1997.

6August 1995Canadian Sprinter Becomes"World's Fastest Human"

Oakville's Donovan Bailey assumed the titleo "World's Fastest Human" by winning the

100-metre sprint at the World Track Cham-

pionships at Gteborg, Sweden. Bailey went

on to win gold at the 1996 Olympic Games

in Atlanta, setting a new world and Olympic

record (9.84 seconds).

27September2005The Right HonourableMichalle Jean Sworn inas Governor GeneralThe Rt. Hon. Michalle Jean became Canada's

rst Black governor general in 2005.


1 In your opinion, what were the most important developments in the movement towardequal rights?

2 What does it mean or Canada to be a multicultural country?

3Many important events and persons are not shown here. Choose one and provide anargument or its inclusion.

n CANADA TIMELINE

THESECON

DWORLDWAR


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JOUR NEY:The STORY of AMINATA DIALLO

Africa is my homelandBut I have weatheredenough migrations forve lifetimes.

- Aminata Dial

Aminatas experience, like tha

o many Arican-Canadians, is

dened by her migrationto

America, Canada, Arica, and nally

England. Uprooted by the triangular sla

tradewhich brought captives rom Aric

to Europe, the Caribbean and NorthAmerica, Aminata became part o the

Arican Diaspora.

This passage describes the beginning

Aminatas rst ocean-crossing as a captiv

bound or slavery in America.

I dreaded the big boat up ahead, growinlarger with each oar stroke. In size, it

dwared a twelve-man canoe, and it stanworse than the pen they had put us in onthe island. The boat terrifed me, but I

was even more araid o sinking deep intthe salty water, with no possibility or my

spirit to return to my ancestors...I clenched my teeth and looked out over

the water at all my people tied in canoesand being pushed, prodded and pulled upa long plank rising along the great wall o

the ship. I turned back to see my homelanThere were mountains in the distance. O

o them rose like an enormous lion. But aits power was trapped on the land. It cou

do nothing or any o us out on the water

THEGRANGERCOLLECTION,

NEWY

ORK TRIANGULAR SLAVE TRADE

or the transatlantic slave trade brought

more than 12 million slaves, crops and

goods between Arica, the Caribbean,

North America and Europe rom the late

16th to early 19th centuries. For more

inormation on the slave trade, including

maps, visit the enslavement page at

blackhistorycanada.ca

DIASPORA

A community o people living outside o

their ancestral homeland.


1 In what ways is the lion mentioned by Aminata a metaphor or the experience o Aricans like her?

2 What dierent orms o human servitude were Arican captives subjected to?

3 Examine the above engraving o the interior o a slave ship rom 1788. Conduct some research abo

these conditions. What were the conditions like aboard slave-trading ships?

4 How important do you think the experience o slavery is to the Black community in Canada today

5 Visit the Statistics Canada website (statcan.gc.ca) about the contemporary Arican immigrant pop

lation in Canada. What conclusions can you draw rom the data? Does anything surprise you abou

this data?


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SLAVERY and HUMAN R IGHTS

Enslaved Africans existed in Canada since at least 1628 . By 1759, when New France

ell to the British, there were more than 3,000 slaves in Canada. In 1807, the slave trade was

banned by the British. By 1834, slavery itsel was abolished in Canada and the rest o the

British Empire. On the amous Underground Railroad, Canada accepted escaped American slaves

between 1815-1860, bringing some 30,000 reugees into this country. Yet even ater abolition,

Blacks in Canada aced considerable challenges because o racism and prejudice.

That, I decided, was what it meant to be a slave: your

past didnt matter; in the present you were invisibleand you had no claim on the future.

- Aminata Diallo

Discussion & Research Questions

1 Why do you think the existence o slavery in Canada is overshadowed by the existence o

slavery in the United States?

2 Investigate conditions in Nova Scotia as well as the exodus o Black Loyalists who returned to

Arica (Sierra Leone) in 1792. What was the experience o Black Canadians ater slavery was

abolished?

3 The story o the Underground Railroad is one o the best known in Canadian history. Why do

you think it is so well known? To view a Heritage Minute on the Underground Railroad, visit

blackhistorycanada.ca

4 Conduct some research about Hollywood lms based on slavery. How accurate are they?

Should they be part o a history curriculum? Films you might research are Gone With the

Wind(1939), Roots(1977), Glory(1989),Amistad(1997) and Beloved(1998). Begin your

research here: digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/slaverylm.cm

5 Choose rom one o the ollowing people and organizations instrumental in the abolitionist

cause in Canada. What was their contribution to the movement? Why was it signicant?

Harriet Tubman George Brown

William King Anti-Slavery Society o Canada

Mary Ann Shadd Underground Railroad

A good website to begin is ound at: collectionscanada.gc.ca/anti-slavery

6 In 1948, the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration o Human Rights.

The document includes the ollowing rights:

Article 1

All human beings are born ree and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed withreason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit o brotherhood.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited

in all their orms.

How close is the world to upholding these articles? In what ways is the spirit o these articles

both maintained and ignored in our world today? Provide examples.

7 Does modern-day slavery exist? Explain.

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

A secret network o routes, sae houses

and persons that aided in the escape o

Arican-American slaves into Canada

during the 19th century.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION

OF HUMAN RIGHTS

A declaration adopted by the United

Nations on December 10, 1948, express-

ing an unprecedented global standard or

basic human rights. The Declaration was

infuenced by the events o the Second

World War.


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PASSAGE to CANADA

No place in the world was entirely safe for an Africanandfor many of us, survival depended on perpetualmigration.

- Aminata Dial

Discussion & Research Questions

1 Do you think the promise o reedom made to enslaved Aricans in the American colonies was a

genuine one?

2 In what ways was the decision to send Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia a signicant one or Canad

3 Many Black Loyalists aced prejudicial treatment and hardship in Nova Scotia and other

settlements in Canada. Research one o the ollowing topics or persons and present your

ndings to the class:The burning o Guysborough The Shelburne and Birchtown riots

Sir Guy Carleton Thomas Peters

For inormation on other historic Black settlements in Canada, visit the early settlement pag

at blackhistorycanada.ca.

Evaluating Sources

The experience o slavery has been documented in a number o primary resources, includingthe Book o Negroes, which are available online. Former slaves like Olaudah Equianowrote memoirs while others like British slave ship surgeon Alexander Falconbridge also wro

accounts. Visit the passage to Canada page at blackhistorycanada.ca or a list o primary resourcesand related activities.

The voyage of Aminata from New York to Nova Scotia is based on the actual passa

o about 3,000 Black Loyalists rom the newly ormed United States into Canada

in 1783. Ater the signing othe Treaty o Paris in 1783, an exodus o Black Loyalists to

Nova Scotia (as well as to Quebec, West Indies, England and Belgium) began.

The names o the passengers sailing to Nova Scotia in 1783 were recorded in the Book o

Negroes. The list included physical descriptions along with each persons status as slave or ree.O the 3,000 Black Loyalists who arrived in Nova Scotia, about 1,200 let ater 10 years because o

the dicult conditions and discrimination they aced. They sailed in 1792 rom Haliax to ound

the new colony o Freetown in Sierra Leone, orming the rst major back-to-Arica exodus in the

history o the Americas.

BLACK LOYALISTS

were Arican-American slaves who were

oered reedom in return or joining theBritish orces against the Continental

army during the American Revolution.

THE TREATY OF PARIS (1783)

concluded the American Revolution.

Britain acknowledged American inde-

pendence, and the Americans promised

restitution or British Loyalists, though

these promises werent always ullled.

Many Loyalists, including Black Loyalists,

took the opportunity to leave America or

Canada and elsewhere.

Portrait o Sir Guy Carleton, Britishcommander-in-chie who allowed the3,000 Black Loyalists to re-settle in theBritish Colonies ollowing the AmericanRevolutionary War.M

ABELB.

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ABELMESSERCOLLECTION/C-002833,

LIBRARYANDARCHIVESCANADA


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PASSAGES TO CANADA

is a national speakers bureau created by

The Historica-Dominion Institute to

bring the experience o immigration into

classrooms across Canada. The Passages to

Canada Digital Archive refects the stories

and arteacts o some o its speakers. For

inormation on how to invite a Passages to

Canada speaker into your classroom, visit

passagestocanada.com.

Government House [Haliax] rom theS.W., 1819, by John Elliott Woolord.

Evaluating Sources: Discussion Questions

1 What is the importance o primary sources to the study o history? What

makes them particularly valuable in the study o the experiences o slaves?2 What may be missing rom the primary accounts?

3 Conduct research based on one or two primary sources available at

blackhistorycanada.caand present what you have learned to the class.

4 In the above excerpt rom the Book o Negroes, several names including that o

abolitionist Thomas Peters are recorded. Choose one o the names listed. Based on the

inormation provided, write the rst page o this individuals memoir.

5 Does an author have an obligation to be truthul to the acts when he or she writes a historical

novel?

6 Does it matter that there are imagined scenes in this or other books o historical ction?

When does accuracy matter?

7 Is a historical novel o value to history students? Explain.

Passages to Canada: Modern Stories of Migration

1 Choose two or three testimonials rom the Passages to Canada Digital Archive

(passagestocanada.com) and compare the experiences o immigration. How were they similar

and how were they dierent?

2 For any immigrant to Canada there are push and pull actors. Push actors drive the migrant

away rom his or her home country. Pull actors attract the person to Canada. Search through

the Passages to Canada Digital Archive and nd two examples o both push and pull actors.

3 In what ways have immigrants added to Canadas diversity? How does this benet Canada?

4 Imagine you are to welcome a new Canadian to your community. Write a 250-word letter in

which you give the prospective Canadian some advice about adapting to Canada. Also, ask

the new arrival two questions you would like to learn about his or her homeland.

5 Conduct some research to discover what countries most o Canadas immigrants come rom

today. Examine how this has changed as compared to 30 years ago (or across a period o time).

Suggest reasons or the change.

6 Many who live in Canada come rom other countries. Do some research to determine what

the push and pull actors were or your amily. For a geneological activity on ancestry.caincluding

ree access or your school, visit blackhistorycanada.ca.


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Aua Cooperauthor

CONTEMPOR ARY CULTUR E

In remembering and reafrming the historic contributionof the Black Canadian community in the building ofCanada and Canadian identity, we afrm and celebratethe building of apluralCanadian community and cultureone in which, in the words of Martin Luther King, peoplwill not be judged by the colour of their skin but by thecontent of their character.

- The Honourable Irwin Cotler, Member of Parliamen

House of Commons, February 6, 20

Cultural Touchstones

Todays Black population is made up of individuals from a range of places across

the globe including the United States, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Arica, and

Canada. Black Canadians have played an essential role in nation-building and many have

become indelible parts o Canadas modern culture. Celebrated jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, writers

Lawrence Hill, Dionne Brand and Austin Clarke, and new Canadians such as Michael Pinball

Clemons are well known. Others, such as pop musician KNaan are just starting to make their mar

Mr. Peterson was celebrated by having a postage stamp issued in his honour in 2005. Which

other Black Canadians should be honoured on a postage stamp? Conduct some research on a mo

ern day Black Canadian personality and make a case or him or her gracing a postage stamp.

Optional: Design the stamp.For a collection o contributions and proles o Black Canadians throughout history, visit the

contributions and arts & culture pages at blackhistorycanada.ca.

Creating a Canadian History Card

Choose one Canadian personality rom the Black community and create a history card o that

person. Each card should contain the ollowing:

a photograph of the personality (browse pictures at blackhistorycanada.ca)

a brief description of that persons background and achievements

a quotation either by the person or about the person

an interesting piece of information about the person that goes beyond basic information

Your research can be presented on a 3 by 5 index card. Cards can be traded among classmates and

mounted in the classroom.

PLURALISM

A pluralistic and diverse society is one

which osters the co-existence o a variety

o cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

DA

NYLAFERRIRE/LANORLEGRESLEY,MEASHABRUEGGERGOSMAN/CYLLAVONTIEDMANN,KOS/JAMALSKI,AFUACOPER/IANGIBBONS,CHAR

LESOFFICER/JOHNPRICE,CLEMENTVIRGO/CONQUERINGLIONPICTURES(STILLFROM

TH

EFILMPOORBOYSGAME,2007)

Oscar Peterson commemorative stamp

Michael Pinball ClemonsVice-Chair and retired player,Toronto Argonauts


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Clement Virgoflmmaker

KNaanmusician

Georges Laraqueretired NHL player

Dany Laerrireauthor

Charles Ofceractor / flmmaker

k-oship-hop artist

Measha Brueggergosman

soprano

Rt. Hon.Michalle Jeanormer Governor General o Canada

Austin Clarkeauthor


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Black History in Canada teaching guide