ABRAHAM BEVERLEY WALKER 1857-1909, Kars,

Canada’s first Afro-canadian lawyer

Abraham Beverley Walker was a lawyer and publisher, born and raised in Kars, New Brunswick. He was educated in a one-room schoolhouse in rural New Brunswick and went on to study at the National University School of Law, in Washington, DC, a prestigious program at the time. In 1881, Walker was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, making him the first Black Canadian-born lawyer in the country. He opened a law practice in Saint John and took courses at the Saint John Law School when it opened in 1892, making him among its first students to enroll, as well as its first student of colour. Despite his high education and tenacity, Walker’s legal career was deeply affected by New Brunswick’s colour-line, suffering ridicule by white lawyers in open court and unable to acquire white clients. He was promised consideration for Queen’s Counsel and King’s Counsel positions but later excluded on account of his race. Walker was also the first Black magazine publisher in Canada when, in 1905, he began pub- lishing “Neith,” a magazine aimed at not only improving civil rights but also discussing topics such as literature, politics, science, and economics. In 2019, Walker was honoured posthumously with the of New Brunswick.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Arthur Wallace ‘Duke’ Eatman 1920-1943, , New Brunswick

WWII Military Leader

Arthur Wallace ‘Duke’ Eatman was a non-commissioned officer in the Second World War and son of First World War veteran, James Eatman. Duke attended Charlotte Street School in Fredericton, New Brunswick and is believed to be amongst the school’s first Black students following its integration. In September of 1939, Duke, aged nineteen, enlisted in the Canadian Army almost immediately after the British declaration of war against . He joined the Carleton and York Regiment, a permanent unit formed in New Brunswick’s Saint John River Valley. The unit was then sent overseas to Europe with the 1st Canadian Division, in December of 1939. While serving in the , Duke was promoted to a non-commissioned officer, leading approximately 30 men, most of whom were white. Duke and the Carleton and York Regiment were then deployed during Operation Husky, a planned Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 with a combined force of 160,000 Commonwealth and American troops. Duke was killed in action while leading a patrol, at age 23; he was buried in the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Enna, Sicily. Despite the Canadian Army’s lack of any formalized policy restricting Black lead- ership, Duke remains amongst the only visible examples of a Black non-commissioned officer serving in a non-segregated unit.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Arthur St. George Richardson 1863-1955, St. George’s, Bermuda

First Black PERSON to attend UNB

Arthur St. George Richardson was born in St. George’s Bermuda, and immigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1878. He enrolled at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, in 1883. Richardson graduated in 1886 with Honours in Classics, winning several scholarships and leading his class in Greek. He was the first Black student at the University of New Brunswick, as well as the first Black person to graduate from a post-sec- ondary institution in the Maritimes. He went on to become an educator, first teaching at the Wilberforce Collegiate Institute in Chatham, Ontario, where he later served as principal. After immigrating to the United States, Richardson served as President of Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, for ten years (1888-1898). He was also Presi- dent of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, for five years (1898-1903). Both Morris Brown College and Edward Waters College are historically Black institutions and continue to operate today. Richardson was appointed to both positions by Bishop G.W. Gaines, an advocate for African-American education initiatives in the late nineteenth century. Richardson also authored several publications on race and racism, arguing that education is vital in battling inequality and discrimination.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Chris Skinner 1961, Saint John, New Brunswick

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE

Chris Skinner is a retired professional football player. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, he is the son of community activist and educator, Clifford ‘Nick’ Skinner. Chris Skinner was a star running back and receiver and played football for Simonds High School in Saint John. He had a standout varsity career at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Que- bec, winning All-Star and MVP honours. The Edmonton Eskimos selected Skinner during the first round of the 1984 League (CFL) . After an exceptional season in 1986, Skinner was nominated for the annual CFL Schenley , recognizing the most outstanding player in the league. He and the Eskimos went on to win the CFL Championship in 1987. He had a CFL career spanning eight seasons and three teams, also playing for the and British Columbia Lions. Skinner was inducted into the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Known for his tenacity and hard work, in the words of one reporter, Skinner is “the best football player ever developed in New Brunswick.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Dr. Constance Timberlake 1930-2019, Saint John, New Brunswick

Educator and Civil Rights Activist

Descended from Black Loyalists, Dr. Constance Timberlake grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick. After working in a factory in Saint John, she left her job and moved to the United States to become a teacher. On August 21st, 1963, as head of the Kansas City Chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Dr. Timberlake led a protest in which sixteen protestors demonstrated against an amusement park’s ban on Black patrons. While white patrons yelled obscenities and threw stones, it was the demonstrators who were arrested for disturbing the peace by simply laying on the ground. Dr. Timberlake remained devoted to civil rights and education and played an active part in the Asso- ciation for the Study of African American Life and History (ASLAH) and served on local school boards. Dr. Timberlake earned her Ph.D. at Syracuse University, where she was also a faculty member and the University’s Commissioner of Education. Dr. Timberlake later served on the National Advisory Council for Continuing Education in the United States, first appointed by President Jimmy Carter, and reappointed by President Ronald Reagan. She received many distinguished , including the international Who’s Who World Women recognition, and Post-Standard Award for Women of Achieve- ment in Education.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Richard Corankapoon Wheeler ~1753-1801, Location Unknown

Black Loyalist Leader

Richard Corankapoon Wheeler was a leader of the late eighteenth century. Before the , Corankapoon was enslaved to Caleb Wheeler of New Jersey. In 1776, one year into the war, Corankapoon purchased his own free- dom, going on to serve the British Loyalist side. Corankapoon registered in The Book of Negroes in 1783 along with approximately 3,000 other Black Loyalists, and was entitled to freedom and land grants upon immigrating to New Brunswick (then ) in 1783. Corankapoon was allocated a plot of land in the Westfield-Grand Bay Area along Richards Lake (then Negro Lake), with 35 other Black Loyalist settlers. Able to read and write, he authored petitions on behalf of his community in protest of the dispropor- tionate acreage and land quality granted to white loyalists. Corankapoon continued to petition for greater rights and assistance for his community throughout the 1780s. He then left for Halifax in 1791 and departed for Sierra Leone, amongst 1,190 other Black Loyalists of the Maritimes, led by Thomas Peters. He helped build the community of Freetown, Sierra Leone, serving as the town’s Marshal and inspector of farms. He also funded and oversaw the building of Freetown’s largest cargo-ship at the time.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights EDWARD MITCHELL BANNISTER 1828-1901, Saint Andrews, New Brunswick

ARTIST

Edward Mitchell Bannister was a celebrated artist of the 19th century. Though born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, he spent most of his adult life in . Bannister was a Tonalist painter, known for his detailed landscape scenes featuring dark hues and quiet nature. He became an art sensation when his painting, “Under the Oaks,” won a medal at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial. During his lifetime, Bannister was an outspo- ken advocate for the abolition of in the United States and greater racial inclusion in American fine arts. Despite prejudice and bigotry during his career, he was and continues to be celebrated as a talented painter. His work, “The Farm Landing,” is part of a 450-piece permanent art collection at the White House in Washington, DC, listed as one of only five paintings by Black artists. The Bannister Gallery, College’s central fine arts exhibition hall, is named in his honour. Several of Bannister’s paintings are also on display in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, with other individual works in galleries and personal collections around the world including the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Eldridge ‘Gus’ Eatman 1880-1960, Saint John, New Brunswick

World Champion Sprinter

Eldridge ‘Gus’ Eatman is considered to be one of the greatest sprinters of the early twentieth century, hailing from Saint John, New Brunswick. His first well-known victory came when he defeated world champion and later US Olympic coach, Tom Keen of the United States in 1903 at Moosepath, Saint John, NB. In 1905, Eatman was listed as the fastest Canadian over 120-yards, and in 1906, won the Powderhall Trophy, a contem- porary equivalent to the world championship, in Edinburgh Scotland. He won various events across North America and Europe, defeating other athletes from around the world. Following his career in athletics, Eatman served in the First World War as an infantryman. He is also known for working to recruit volunteers and raise funds in the Saint John area to combat Fascist Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Eatman was inducted into the Saint John Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, and the Maritime Sports Hall of Fame in 2019, all posthumously. Maurice Eatman, Eldridge’s cousin who is working hard to revive his legacy, remembers Eatman as “the greatest [athlete] ever produced out of New Brunswick for his era.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Errol Williams 1951-2007, Born Guyana, Lived in Fredericton

documentary filmmaker

Errol Williams was a Black pioneer filmmaker, writer, director and producer who was born in Guyana, and later immigrated to Fredericton. Williams was introduced to film- making in the late 1980s, where he became involved in the New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-operative. Williams’ body of work included eight films, focused primarily on race, civil rights and Black history. Williams is best known for his work, Echoes in the Rink: The Willie O’Ree Story (1997), which was included at the International Film Festival in 1998, making it the only New Brunswick Film to be accepted that year. When Voices Rise: Dismantling Segregation in a Polite Society (2001) premiered at the 5th Annual Bermuda International Film Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award. His film, Walking on a Sea of Glass (2006), a documentary following activist Kingsley Tweed and desegregation in Bermuda, won the Best Black Filmmaker Award and Best Film/Video on Matters Relating to the Black Experience/Marginalized People at the 2006 Black International Cinema Awards. Williams was also asked to document the history of the Bermuda Industrial Union in 2007; the film was completed posthumously. The New Brunswick Filmmakers Co-operative now awards a documentary film prize in his honour.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Fred Hodges 1918-1999, Saint John, New Brunswick

Labour Leader and Politician

Fred Hodges grew up in Saint John, New Brunswick, a descendant of Black Loyalists. After military service in the Second World War, Fred Hodges was active in labour move- ments, being the first Black member of the freight handlers union in Saint John. In 1962, Hodges became the first Black person to serve as an officer of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour; he was later elected vice-president of the Federation in 1969. Hodges was also active on initiatives for human rights and civil liberties and was an im- portant member of the New Brunswick Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NBAACP). He was appointed to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission and became Director of the John Howard Society, a community organization focused on assisting those in conflict with the law. He became the first Black New Brunswicker to serve as a city councillor when he was elected in 1974 in Saint John. Hodges was also awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 1978, the , Canada’s highest dis- tinction, in 1982, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of New Brunswick in 1984. When asked about his philosophy, Hodges stated, “accomplish what you can accomplish, then get a good night’s sleep.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights George Hector 1911-2004, Gagetown, New Brunswick

THE WHISTLING BANJOMAN

George Hector was one of New Brunswick’s most well-known and respected musicians. Organizations such as Music NB have credited Hector with developing the country music scene of the Canadian East Coast. Boasting a long career beginning in the 1930s, he was self-taught and began playing at small local shows. He was eventually featured on popular radio stations such as the CBC. Hector made his first professional appear- ance in 1935, alongside iconic folk artist and radio host, Don Messer. In 1946, Hector joined the Maritime Farmers; the band was regularly featured on local radio stations and appeared live across the region. Later in his career, Hector toured as a solo artist, performing original songs with jokes, singing, and whistling, becoming known as The Whistling Banjoman. Hector was one of the first artists inducted into the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame in 1983. In addition to his contributions to New Brunswick’s country music scene, “Hector House”, the Hector family home is preserved as a Local Historic Place under the Heritage Conservation Act. The home was built by George’s grandfather, Andrew Hector, in 1880, and is protected for “expressing cultural and intel- lectual life,” and “peopling the land.” A close friend and bandmate stated that Hector was “someone you felt would live forever.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Georgina Whetsel Dates Unknown, Pictou, Nova Scotia

Entrepreneur

Georgina Whetsel was a businesswoman who owned and operated an ice business located on Lily Lake, New Brunswick. She took over the company from her husband, Robert, following his death in 1884. Whetsel’s business supplied ice to households across Saint John. In 1894, her company moved and stored approximately 8,000 tons of ice, employing more than 60 men, both Black and white, as part of the extraction and delivery crews. In addition to winter operations, Whetsel owned three ice storage houses, enabling her company to continue to sell ice throughout the warmer months of the year. During the 1880s-1890s, Whetsel frequently wrote to the Saint John Daily Telegraph in protest of racial discrimination and sexism in Saint John and was outspoken against local displays of blackface. In 1895, Whetsel was featured in Woman’s Era, a monthly newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts, which was the first national news- paper published by and for African-American women. When she sold her company in the early 1900s, Georgina Whetsel was believed to have been the wealthiest Black woman in North America.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights James Arthur ‘Skip’ Talbot 1932, Truro, Nova Scotia

Trailblazer in Telecommunications and Electronics

Though born in Nova Scotia, Skip Talbot was raised in New Brunswick. He attended Saint John Vocational School, where he earned a certified proficiency in radio in 1953. Skip went on to begin a nearly 30-year career in telecommunications and electronics, working for Transport Canada in Quebec, Labrador and New Brunswick. His employ- ment made him the first Black person in Canada to hold the position of Radio Operator / Flight Service Specialist for Transport Canada. Skip was also the first Black Canadian to hold a bilingual position as a Maintenance Supervisor in Communications. Com- mitted to anti-racism, equality and cross-cultural understanding, Skip has served in an executive role for the Multicultural Association of Greater Moncton and the New Brunswick Multicultural Council. Skip has also been a part of Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education (PRUDE), and has spearheaded several initiatives briefing governments and the Canadian Bar Association on anti-racism and social justice causes.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights JOSEPH DRUMMOND 1926-1975, Saint John, New Brunswick

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Joseph Drummond was a civil rights activist in the 1960s and 1970s, known locally and nationally for his advocacy. In 1964, while spearheading the New Brunswick Associ- ation for the Advancement of Coloured People (NBAACP), Drummond and other activ- ists staged a ‘sit-in’ at a barbershop in Haymarket Square in Saint John, NB. The white shop-owner proudly proclaimed that he had “never cut a coloured person’s hair in 55 years,” and refused to serve Drummond and other Black men. The protest made national headlines, leading the owner to revise his position. Throughout the 1960s, Drummond worked closely with other Black leaders in the Maritimes to address civil rights violations. He was an outspoken advocate for Saint John’s Black community and devoted to equal rights and fair treatment of Black people incarcerated at Dorchester Penitentiary in New Brunswick. In 1970, representing the NBAACP, Drummond appeared before the Special Senate Committee on Poverty to speak out against racist hiring practices. At the time of his death, Drummond was Vice-Chairman of the National Black Coalition of Canada. Buddy Daye, Board Member of the Black United Front of Nova Scotia, recalled that “Joe Drummond was a drum major of justice, equality and the affairs of Black people.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Lalia Halfkenny 1870-1897, Dorchester, New Brunswick

First Black Maritime-Born Person to Graduate from a Maritime Post-Secondary Institution

Raised in Dorchester, New Brunswick, Lalia Halfkenny was the first Black person born in the Maritimes to graduate from a post-secondary institution in the region. She attended Acadia Ladies’ College (Wolfville, Nova Scotia), an affiliate of Acadia University, gradu- ating in 1889. Halfkenny predates other Black Maritimers who attended universities in the region, including Acadia University’s Edwin Howard Borden (1892) and Dalhousie’s James Robinson Johnston (1896). Only Arthur St. George Richardson, who graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1886, attended a Maritime institution before her, though he was born in Bermuda. When leaving Acadia Ladies’ College, Halfkenny was one of the top students in her year, noted as a gifted orator and elocutionist. She then moved to Richmond, Virginia, where she taught English and elocution at Hartshorn Memorial College, a historically Black college focused on women’s education. Hartshorn was amongst the most prestigious institutions in its day, producing some of the high- est-ranked students in the country, Black or white. When she was hired, Halfkenny was one of only two Black teaching faculty at Hartshorn. She later fell ill and passed away at the age of 27; her students in Virginia held a large service in her memory, though her formal funeral took place in Wolfville, NS.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Lena O’ree 1915-2003, Saint John, New Brunswick

civil rights ACTIVIST

Lena O’Ree was a lifetime civil rights activist in New Brunswick, from Saint John. As a teen, O’Ree had tried to join her local Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), but the organization told her they would not make concessions for one Black woman. She then organized her friends to join and returned; O’Ree and her fellow Black women became the first Black members of the YWCA in Canada. In the early 1950s, O’Ree worked as an elevator attendant at the Admiral Beatty Hotel in Saint John. Following conventions of racial segregation at the time, policy stated that Black staff and guests were required to use the hotel’s back doors. O’Ree refused, forcing the hotel to change its rule. O’Ree was later a member of Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education (PRUDE), and relentlessly continued her work on racial equality in New Brunswick. She was honoured in 1998 by the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission for a lifetime of contribu- tions. David Peters of PRUDE noted that “[O’Ree] was just an ordinary person who decided she would no longer accept the indignity of segregation.” In 2003, the Tele- graph Journal described her as Saint John’s “greatest pioneer for racial equality.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Mary Matlida Winslow 1880-1963, Woodstock, New Brunswick

First Black woMAN to attend UNB

Winslow graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1905, with a bachelor’s degree in Classics. She graduated top of her class, winning the Montgomery-Campbell Prize for Classics. As a Black woman, Winslow was unable to find work and soon immi- grated to Birmingham, Alabama, where she taught classics and became a fierce support- er of schools promoting Black education. She left the southern United States in 1916 to avoid raising her children in segregation, eventually settling in Detroit, Michigan, where she continued to teach until her retirement. In 1954, she wrote to a UNB class- mate, “In looking over these fifty years, I realize I have failed in the shining ideals I had at graduation – ‘to follow knowledge, like a shining star, beyond the utmost bounds of human thought.’ I am comforted, however, with remembering the hundreds of young people I have contacted during these short years… I like to think that to some of them I have given part of the two most precious gifts UNB gave to me – the ability to think and a clear knowledge of the freedom of thought.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights mary loUIse mcCarthy 1955, Woodstock, New Brunswick

Community activist and Scholar

Mary Louise McCarthy is a local scholar who works tirelessly to restore and uncover New Brunswick’s Black histories and honour the community’s ancestors. Her research is focused primarily on forgotten and segregated graveyards across New Brunswick. In addition to her scholarship, McCarthy also served as the president of the New Brunswick Black History Society for six years. In 2015, McCarthy won a human rights case against Shoppers Drug Mart for an incident of racial profiling that occurred in 2011. McCarthy’s work is featured in the 2019 collection, Black Writers Matter, edited by Whitney French with a foreword by Afua Cooper. McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from York University, two Master’s degrees from the University of New Brunswick, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in the department of Social Justice at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the . When asked why she is so dedicated to preserving the histories of Black New Brunswickers, McCarthy stated, “I want my ancestors to be revered and respected. I have to tell their stories.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights MEASHA BRUEGGERGOSMAN 1977, Fredericton, New Brunswick

OPERA SINGER

Measha Brueggergosman, descended from Black Loyalists, recorded in The Book of Ne- groes, grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She studied voice and piano from the age of seven and spent summers on scholarships at the Boston Conservatory. She later went on to earn a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree at the Robert Schumann University of Music and Media in Dusseldorf, Germany. Brueggergos- man has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orches- tra, and at the famed Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. She has had numerous international appearances in various productions and performed the at the opening ceremonies at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. Brueggergosman is a member of the Canadian charity, Artists Against Racism, and is a goodwill ambassador with the Afri- can Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). In 2005, Brueggergosman was featured as a soloist in a recording of ’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, which won three Grammy Awards, including Best Classical Album. Brueggergosman has been nominated for two Juno Awards, winning once for Classical Album of the Year in 2010. In 2017 she was granted an honourary doctorate from for her work in Music and Philanthropy and declared “one of Canada’s greatest ambassadors”.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights MISS BETTY RILEY 1930, Saint John, New Brunswick

TELEVISION PRODUCER

Miss Betty Riley was a trailblazing television producer from New Brunswick. She later moved to Montreal, QC, and worked as an office supervisor for cable TV. Riley noted that, while there was increasing advocacy for recognizing ethnic diversity, “nothing was being done about Blacks. So I took it on myself to do something about it.” Riley became Canada’s first Black woman television producer when she created a television program titled Black Is which aired in the 1970s. This program was Canada’s first all-Black televi- sion program and dealt with contemporary issues affecting the Black community, dis- cussing topics such as police brutality and discriminatory immigration policies. Riley also engaged in community work and ran a television workshop to teach Black youth the basics of production, giving them the tools to craft their own narratives of the Black experience in Canada. Riley was an outspoken advocate for racial and gender equality in the workplace, as a Black woman working in a white, male-dominated field. She stated, “women’s liberation is not my struggle. Black women never fought for the right to work. They had no choice. They had to work.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights NANCY MORTON ~1762, Maryland & New Brunswick

SUED FOR HER FREEDOM

Nancy Morton was allegedly born to an African enslaved women in Maryland but was brought to New Brunswick in 1785 with Captain Caleb Jones, slave owner. Nancy ran away from his estate in Nashwaaksis, New Brunswick sometime around 1786, along with her four-year-old son and five other enslaved people. After recapture, Nancy went to court to sue Jones for her freedom, represented by well-known lawyers Ward Chipman and Samuel Denny Street. Her suit was ultimately unsuccessful, and she was forced back into enslavement for fifteen years. Nancy’s case was brought before the Supreme Court of New Brunswick in 1800, where it reached an ineffective split-decision. At the time, there was no existing New Brunswick legislation on slavery, meaning the court could not prove the legal existence of slavery as an institution, nor could it prove Nancy’s freedom. The Trial of Nancy Morton vs. Capt. Caleb Jones played a significant role in the future of abolition in New Brunswick and marked an unofficial decline in the popularity of slavery in the province. The details of Nancy’s life following her trial, or the lives of the other enslaved people she escaped with, remain unknown.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights RALPH ‘TIGER’ THOMAS 1938, Saint John, New Brunswick

COMMUNITY ACTIVIST

Ralph ‘Tiger’ Thomas of Saint John, New Brunswick, has been active in illuminating the history of Black New Brunswickers, believing it to be integral to the heritage and fabric of New Brunswick. He became president of the organization, Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education (PRUDE), in 1997, a group focused on creating inclusion through programs and mentorships throughout the province. He co-founded the New Brunswick Black History Society and was successful in the efforts to get New Brunswick to change racist geographic names of 5 places in the Saint John and Grand Bay-West- field areas. Before his activism, Thomas was a successful boxer, known as ‘Tiger,’ and is considered the godfather of amateur boxing in New Brunswick. Upon retiring from the sport, Thomas founded the New Brunswick Amateur Boxing Association, serving as its president for 20 years. He opened the Golden Gloves Club in 1968, where several Saint John members have won both national and international boxing titles. Thomas was in- ducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1976 and the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the New Brunswick Human Rights Award in 2012, and was granted an honourary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick in 2019.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights THE BOHEE BROTHERS James (1844-1897) George (1857-1930), “Indiantown”, NB

MUSICIANS

The Bohee Brothers, James Douglass and George, were respected banjoists in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. James was a self-taught musician, and could not read printed music. In 1879, the Bohees moved from New Brunswick to the United States and worked for a touring minstrel show. In 1881, their troupe went to London to perform, where the brothers remained to create their own business, the “Bohee Brothers Coloured Minstrel Company”. When not on tour, they made their living as per- formers, promoters, composers and music teachers. The brothers taught private banjo lessons to many middle and upper-class Victorians of the time, including then Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. They were amongst the earliest Black musicians to have recorded their music, some of which survives in British archives. Following James’ death, George continued to perform, teach and record music. An obituary for James in 1897 described the duo as “the best banjoists in the world.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights The Carty Brothers Saint John, New Brunswick

Military Service

Known as the Carty Brothers, Adolphus, William, Clyde, Donald, and Gerald were the eldest five of seven brothers from Saint John, New Brunswick. They were the sons of Albert Carty, who served in the First World War as part of the No. 2 Construction Battalion. All five brothers served as airmen despite discrimination and racial policies which restricted Black men’s service in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Flight Sergeant Adolphus Carty, the eldest, was an airplane mechanic. Flight Sergeant William Carty was an aeronautical inspector while Leading Aircraftman Clyde Carty had initially been in the Army’s coastal artillery, though he later became an Air Force firefighter. Aircraftman (2nd Class) Donald Carty was an equipment assistant. Gerald Carty, the youngest, enlisted at age 18; he completed training at the top of his class, going on to become one of the youngest commissioned officers in the RCAF. In keeping with fam- ily tradition, the two youngest brothers who remained at home during the war, Robert and Malcolm, were members of the Army and Air cadets. All five brothers who served survived the war and returned home to their community.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights THOMAS PETERS 1739-1792, Born in Nigeria

BLACK LOYALIST LEADER

Thomas Peters was a Black Loyalist leader born in Nigeria and brought to Colonial America as a slave. During the American Revolutionary War, Peters escaped enslavement and joined the Loyalist cause, joining the Black Pioneers, a unit made up of formerly enslaved men. The British government had previously promised freedom for all enslaved peoples who fought against the American patriots, prompting many to leave their own- ers and join the Loyalist forces. After the war, Peters moved to the province of Nova Scotia (which included New Brunswick until 1784), with ~3,000 other Black Loyalists, many of them formerly enslaved people. When the British government failed to uphold their promises of land grants to Black Loyalist settlers, Peters travelled around the Maritimes and across the Atlantic Ocean to London to petition on behalf of the commu- nity. In 1792, when the grievances of Black Loyalists in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were still not acknowledged, he organized the migration of 1,190 community members, departing from Halifax for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Peters is considered to be one of the ‘Founding Fathers’ of Sierra Leone, and his statue was erected in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 2011, to honour his legacy.

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Vincent Churchill McIntyre 1918-2011, Fredericton, New Brunswick

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE

Vincent ‘Manny’ McIntyre was a skilled athlete in both baseball and hockey. In 1946, he became the first Black Canadian to play professional baseball for the Sherbrooke Canadiens, a farm team for the St. Louis Cardinals. McIntyre also played hockey for the Sherbrooke Saints as part of the famed ‘Black Aces,’ the first all-Black line in professional hockey, which included McIntyre and brothers Herb and Ozzie Carnegie. Together, the Black Aces played hockey across North America, and travelled to France, making them the first Black hockey players to compete in Europe. During their career, all three Black Aces were consistently among the league’s top ten scorers. Officials, fellow players and fans widely agree that had it not been for racial prejudice in sports, the Black Aces would have been able to compete at any level, including the National Hockey League (NHL). McIntyre was elected into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, and induct- ed into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, posthumously. Former teammate Herb Carnegie stated, “I always admired Manny because his presence on the team was one of great joy for all the players. If something was to go in a certain positive direction, it might have been Manny who caused it.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights Major walter peters 1937-2013, Litchfield, Nova Scotia

Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot

Born in Nova Scotia, Walter Peters’ family relocated to Saint John, New Brunswick, where he attended Saint John High School. He later attended Mount Allison University on an athletic scholarship for football, earning a degree in engineering. At age 24, Peters enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and completed the training course with top honours, becoming the first Canadian-born Black jet fighter pilot in RCAF history. In addition to his distinguished RCAF career, Peters was the first Human Rights Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, and an advisor to the United Nations Security Council at UN headquarters in New York. Peters was also the first president of the New Brunswick Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NBAACP) and was outspoken about racism and discrimination in aviation and the armed forces. Following his retire- ment from the RCAF in 1984, Peters worked for the Canadian Aviation Safety Board and Transport Canada. Walter Peters Drive at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport is named in his memory. In an interview with Mount Allison University’s alumni magazine, Peters stated, “You don’t have to accept me, but you do have to respect me.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights WILLIE O’REE 1935, Fredericton, New Brunswick

FiRST BLACK PLAYER IN THE NHL

Born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Willie O’Ree became the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL) when he debuted in 1958 while playing for the Boston Bruins. He had a decorated professional career spanning over twenty years with several NHL teams. O’Ree was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in 1984, and received the Order of Canada in 2008. In 2018, O’Ree was honoured in the Hockey Hall of Fame, recognized as a ‘Builder’ within the sport. The same year, the NHL instituted the annual Willie O’Ree Hero Award in his name, to “recognize the individual who has worked to make a positive impact on his or her community, culture or society to make people better through hockey.” As of May 2019, the 116th United States Congress authorized a bill to award O’Ree the Congressional Gold Medal, “in recogni- tion of his contributions and commitment to hockey, inclusion, and recreational oppor- tunity.” Reflecting on his experience with racism in his sport, O’Ree stated, “[I]t didn’t bother me, I just wanted to be a hockey player, and if they couldn’t accept that fact, that was their problem, not mine.”

Art Centre In conjunction with: Bi-campus Standing Committee on Equity, College of Extended Learning Diversity, Inclusion & Human Rights