Where My Black Canadians At?

As you know February is Black History Month. It is the month that teachers give you lessons on Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Harriet Tubman. There is a lot more influential Black people, but it seems like these three are the Blacks teachers are comfortable talking about.

As i've gone through schooling and was taught about these three amazing Black beauties I couldn't understand why....

asking questions instead of taking notes. oop.

A) What was white people's fascination with only these three people? B) Do they not know any other historical Black people? C) Where are the historical Black Canadians!?

Even though all Black history is important I didn't understand why Black Canadian history was never taught in school. Was Canada ashamed of their involvement regarding discrimination against black people? I mean i'm happy they put my sis Viola Desmond on the 10-dollar bill, but why was I only hearing about her now!?

At first I was upset that Black Canadian history was being hidden from me until I realized I never personally took the time to discover influential Black Canadians for myself. I could sit there and complain about the lack of education or I could take the time to get educated. So naturally I did both. Hence my little rant before this upcoming paragraph about growth. We love to see it.

I started off by getting to know my good sis Viola Desmond just a little better. It was nice to know she didn't just fight against racial discrimination at the cinema, but sis had a whole business! It was the Desmond School of Beauty and Culture where she educated and mentored young black women. P.s. we love it when a woman can say she has her own coins.

casually getting my search on.

Next I took the time to research different Black Canadian Communities like Africville. Africville was a Black community located in Nova Scotia. It was a prosperous and beautiful community filled with farmland, markets and dock yards. However (spoiler alert) as always, racists hated seeing Black people winning so they did everything in their power to destroy it.

Lastly, I took the time to speak with my mother and great grandmother. My great grandmother is 105 so she has seen some things. It's amazing to hear some of their stories. As sad as it is to hear about racial discrimination from people you love, it is important to have these conversations regularly and pass on their stories to our friends and children so our history does not begin to filter out.

sipping tea with my momma.

I encourage you to visit The Canadian Encyclopedia to learn more about Black Canadian history. We have some pretty amazing people and it can't hurt to let your teachers and/or friends know that Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and Harriett Tubman weren't the only ones who were about that life.