sign in sign up
<<
Home , Black Canadians, Black Nova Scotians, Mayann Francis, Viola Desmond

Spotlight biographies on Black

Viola Davis Desmond

Viola Davis Desmond (1914–1965) was born in Halifax, . She was an African-Canadian who ran her own beauty parlor and beauty college in Halifax. On November 8, 1946, while waiting for her car to be repaired, she decided to go see a movie in the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow. She refused to sit in the balcony, which was designated exclusively for Blacks. Instead, she sat on the ground floor, which was for Whites only. She was forcibly removed and arrested.

Viola was found guilty of not paying the one-cent difference in tax on the balcony ticket. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail and paid a $26 fine. The trial mainly focused on the issue of tax evasion and not on the discriminatory practices of the theatre. Dissatisfied with the verdict, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, with Viola’s help, took the case to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. The conviction was upheld.

Eventually, settled in where she died. More recently, on April 15, 2010, the province of Nova Scotia granted an official apology and a free pardon to Viola. Lieutenant-Governor , the first black person to serve as the Queen’s representative in the province of Nova Scotia, presided over a ceremony in Halifax and exercised the Royal Prerogative of Mercy to grant a free pardon to her. Viola’s 83-year-old sister, Wanda Robson, was there to accept the apology. Premier also apologized to Viola’s family and all for the racism she was subjected to in an incident he called unjust

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

John Ware

John Ware was born into on a South Carolina cotton plantation in 1845. After gaining his freedom in the emancipation, he moved to and learned the tough life of a cowboy. In 1882, he settled in where he was immediately hired by Fred Stimpson of the Bar U and Quorn ranches.

Mr. Ware started his own ranch in 1891 in the Millarville area and became a successful rancher and farmer. By the end of the 19th century, he was one of the most well-known and respected ranchers in Western . It is said that his skills at bronco and busting were legendary. He created “steer wrestling” 20 years before the Stampede— an event that has now become an integral part of the western festival. Mr. Ware met the former Torontonian Mildred Lewis and they married, settling on a ranch just north of the village of Duchess along the Red Deer River. They had five children. In 1902, his home was washed away in a flood. He rebuilt the cabin on higher ground overlooking a stream, referred to today as the Ware Creek.

John Ware continued to operate a ranch in southern Alberta until his death in 1905 from a horse-riding accident.

Interestingly, Mr. Ware’s two sons joined the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the only segregated Battalion in Canada’s history. The Battalion celebrates its 95th anniversary in 2011.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

No. 2 Construction Battalion members in 1917

On July 5, 1916, the No. 2 Construction Battalion was formed in , Nova Scotia— the first large Black military unit in Canadian history. Recruitment took place across the country and more than 600 men were eventually accepted, most from Nova Scotia, with others coming from , , the West and even some from the .

The Black Battalion’s chaplain was Reverend William White, who had also played a leading role getting the unit formed. He was given the rank of Honourary Captain—one of the few Black commissioned officers to serve in the Canadian Army during the war. The segregated battalion was tasked with non-combat support roles. After initial service in Canada, the battalion boarded the SS Southland bound for Liverpool, England in March 1917. Its members were sent to eastern France later in 1917 where they served honourably with the Canadian Forestry Corps. There they helped provide the lumber required to maintain trenches on the front lines, as well as helped construct roads and railways. After the end of the First World War in November 1918, the men sailed to Halifax in early 1919 to return to civilian life and the unit was officially disbanded in 1920.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

Senator Anne Clare Cools

Senator Anne Clare Cools was born in 1943 in Barbados, West Indies. She was educated at Queen’s College Girls School, Barbados, ’s Thomas D’Arcy McGee High School, and McGill University, from which she holds a Bachelor of Arts. Senator Cools is a Senator from Ontario. Recommended by Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, she was summoned to the Senate in January 1984, becoming the first black person in the Senate of Canada. She is the first black female senator in North America. In June 2004, after 20 years as a Liberal Senator, she briefly joined the Conservatives. She now has no party affiliation.

Senator Cools was a social worker in innovative social services in . A pioneer in addressing domestic and family violence, in 1974 she founded one of Canada’s first women’s shelters, Women in Transition Inc., and was its Executive Director. Senator Cools currently serves on the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the Senate Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. Her many recognitions include:

 Women of Distinction in the African-Canadian Community, 2009, Black Business & Professional Association, Toronto, ON;  10 Top Women, Toronto Sun newspaper October 25, 2004. This poll overwhelmingly chose Senator Cools as Canada’s top woman;  , CBC TV, 2004: Chosen as one of the 100 greatest Canadians of all time, Senator Cools was the only serving so chosen;  Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, 2004, Canada Christian College, Toronto, Ontario;  Certificate of Recognition as Canada’s first black senator, 2001, Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center, Howard University, Washington, D.C.; and  Spiritual Mother of the Year, 1997, NA’AMAT Canada, the International Jewish Women’s Organization that supports battered women’s shelters in Israel

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

Lincoln M. Alexander

The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander was born in 1922 in Toronto. He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, between 1942 and 1945. He was educated at Hamilton’s McMaster University where he graduated in Arts, and Toronto’s Osgoode Hall School of Law where he passed the bar examination in 1965.

Mr. Alexander was appointed a Queen’s Counsel and became a partner in a Hamilton law firm from 1963 to 1979. He was the first Black person to become a Member of Parliament in 1968 and served in the House of Commons until 1980. He was also federal Minister of Labour in 1979–1980.

In 1985, was appointed Ontario’s 24th Lieutenant Governor, the first member of a to serve as the Queen’s representative in Canada. During his term in office, which ended in 1991, youth and education were hallmarks of his mandate. He then accepted a position as Chancellor of the University of Guelph. In 1996, he was chair of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and was also made Honorary Commissioner for the International Year of Older Persons Ontario celebrations.

The Honourable Lincoln Alexander was appointed a Companion of the and to the Order of Ontario in 1992, and in June 2006, he was named the “Greatest Hamiltonian of All Time.”

Mr. Alexander died on October 19, 2012 at age 90.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

Africville Africville was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. During the 20th century, the City of Halifax began to encroach on the southern shores of Bedford Basin, and gradually took over this community through municipal amalgamation. Africville was populated almost entirely by Black Nova Scotians from a wide variety of origins.

Many of the first settlers were former slaves from the United States, Black Loyalists who were freed by during the American Revolutionary War and .

The city neglected the community through the first half of the 20th century, and it struggled with poverty and poor health conditions. Its buildings became badly deteriorated. During the late 1960s, Halifax condemned the area, relocating its residents to newer housing in order to develop the nearby A. Murray MacKay Bridge, related highway construction, and the Port of Halifax facilities at Fairview Cove to the west.

The defunct community has become an important symbol of Black and the struggle against racism. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996 as being representative of Black Canadian settlements in the province and as an enduring symbol of the need for vigilance in defence of their communities and institutions. After years of protest and investigations, in 2010 the Halifax Council ratified a proposed "Africville Apology", under an arrangement with the federal government, to compensate descendants and their families who had been evicted. In addition, an Africville Heritage Trust was established to design a museum and build a replica of the community church. A commemorative waterfront park has been renamed as Africville.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

Jean Augustine is a trailblazing politician, social activist, and educator. She was the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons, the first African-Canadian woman to be appointed to the federal Cabinet, and the first Fairness Commissioner of the Government of Ontario.

Born in 1937 in Happy Hill, Grenada, Augustine overcame personal and economic adversity from an early age to excel academically, and began her career as a teacher.

After arriving in Canada in 1960, she advanced her education and career prospects, participated in grassroots organizations to strengthen minority and women’s rights, and served her community and the City of Toronto with great passion and charisma. Augustine carried her roots and convictions in community service, education, and advocacy as she entered politics in 1993 as a Member of Parliament. In 1995, her proposed motion before Parliament to recognize February as passed unanimously, thereby establishing a lasting tradition of celebrating the important contributions of to Canada’s history, culture, development, and heritage. Augustine continued on to serve in such key positions as Minister of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women, member of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada, and member of the Citizenship and Immigration Committee.

Augustine has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work, including being inducted as Member of the Order of Canada in 2007, appointed a Commander of the Order of the , as well as receiving honorary degrees from the University of Toronto, University of Guelph, McGill University, and York University.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville

William Edward Hall

Victoria Cross recipient William Hall was born in 1827 in Horton, Nova Scotia, the youngest of seven children. His parents, Jacob and Lucy Hall, were former enslaved who had come to Nova Scotia as a result of the War of 1812. Hall grew up on the family farm beside the Avon River, and it is believed that he received some training in navigation, a subject that was being taught to young black males in Halifax at the time.

William Hall launched his seafaring career at the age of seventeen, first joining the crew of an American trading vessel in 1844 as a merchant seaman. In 1852, he enlisted in the in Liverpool as an Able Seaman. Before long, Hall was decorated with British and Turkish medals for his service in the Crimean War.

In 1857, while serving on the HMS Shannon, Hall volunteered with a relief force sent to Lucknow, , where a British garrison was besieged. Two survived the attack, Seaman Hall and Lieutenant Thomas Young, but only Hall was left standing, and he continued to fight until the relief of the garrison was assured. For this outstanding display of bravery, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

William Hall was presented with his Victoria Cross on October 28, 1859, on board the HMS Donegal while the ship sat in Queenstown Harbour, Ireland. With this award, he became the first black person, the first Nova Scotian and the first Canadian sailor to receive this outstanding honour.

Hall died on his farm in Avonport on August 27, 1904, and is buried in Hantsport, Nova Scotia, where his grave is marked by a monument at the Baptist church. His Victoria Cross is preserved at the Nova Scotia Museum.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/black/people.asp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africville