Our Shameful Legacy

Our shameful legacy http://www.montrealgazette.com/story_print.html?id=6213707&sponsor= Our shameful legacy BY DONALD H. OLIVER, THE GAZETTE FEBRUARY 27, 2012 Donald H. Oliver is a Canadian senator from Halifax If Canadians think about the history of slavery at all, we tend to regard it in terms our neighbours to the south with a slight smugness and a sense of moral superiority. But we shouldn't, because Canada has a long and painful history of slavery of our own, the legacy of which is still being felt today. As Black History Month draws to a close, let's look at our nefarious and painful past, but also celebrate the countless success stories of African-Canadians over the past four centuries. Our history of enslaving African Canadians dates back to 1628 when Olivier Le Jeune, a boy from Africa, became Canada's first recorded black slave. Over the next 200 years, thousands of Africans were enslaved by white men in Upper and Lower Canada, the precursors of Ontario and Quebec today. Between 1689 and 1834, more than 2,000 blacks lived as slaves in New France and, later, Lower Canada. In fact, in 1709, Louis XIV explicitly authorized slavery in New France, allowing les canadiens to own slaves. To the west, six of the 16 legislators in the first parliament of Upper Canada were slave owners. It was not until 1834 that slavery was abolished in the entire British Empire, including Canada, with the adoption of the Slavery Abolition Act. But nearly two centuries later, there are strong remnants of slavery in Canada. This is manifested daily through subtle acts of racism and discrimination in housing, employment and education. African-Canadians, numbering 800,000, are the fourth largest visible-minority group in Canada. Yet studies continue to show that black Canadians are more likely than any other group not to get a job, or more likely not to get promoted, because of their visible difference. I know. When I was growing up in Wolfville, N.S., in the 1940s and '50s, racial discrimination was an everyday, explicit reality. Segregation was accepted in many parts of Canada until well into the 1960s. I can remember when many restaurants in Nova Scotia would not serve blacks, and many white barbers would not cut our hair. Blacks attended segregated schools and worshipped in black churches. Until the late 1960s, African-Canadians were even denied the right of burial in some public cemeteries. 1 of 2 24/04/2012 2:31 PM Our shameful legacy http://www.montrealgazette.com/story_print.html?id=6213707&sponsor= African-Canadians could not sit on the main floor of movie theatres. Instead, they were relegated to the balcony, or "niggers' heaven," as it was commonly known back then. These relics of racism have had a lasting and negative impact on African-Canadians. For centuries, blacks have had to overcome adversity, stereotypes and misconceptions to forge their own place in Canadian society. In politics, the arts, the military and business, African-Canadians have made enduring contributions to Quebec and Canada - all during times characterized by pervasive racism. And these great Canadians not only endured, they succeeded. I think, for instance, of William Hall, who was the first Canadian, and the first person of African ancestry, to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration in the British Empire. Harry Jerome was one of Canada's most distinguished athletes of the 20th century. He won the bronze medal at the 1964 Olympic Games, and the gold medal at both the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and 1967 Pan American Games. In 1979, Lincoln Alexander became the first black federal cabinet minister in Canada and later was lieutenant governor of Ontario for six years - the first member of a visible-minority group in Canada to serve in this important capacity. In Quebec, Marlene Jennings became the first black woman elected to parliament in Ottawa and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré of Montreal became the first black judge. And as Prime Minster Stephen Harper has noted, many former slaves and black United Empire Loyalists fought for Canada during the War of 1812. Many settled in places such as - as the prime minister put it - "Nova Scotia and southwestern Ontario, where they and their descendants formed communities that continue to enrich Canada to this day." The accomplishments of these and countless other African-Canadians should serve as inspiration to blacks across Canada, particularly the youth, when it comes to their own potential to enrich Canadian life. The Historica-Dominion Institute believes Canadians don't know enough about black history. To promote knowledge and awareness, it operates a website (www. blackhistorycanada.ca) and puts out a bilingual publication, the Black History in Canada Education Guide. Donald H. Oliver is a senator from Nova Scotia. He was appointed by Brian Mulroney in September of 1990. © Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette 2 of 2 24/04/2012 2:31 PM.

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