Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Black History Month
Posted February 1st, 2016 on Niagara At Large
Ottawa, Ontario – The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement to mark Black History Month:
“February is Black History Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate the many achievements and contributions that Canadians of African and Caribbean heritage have made to our great country.
“This year, we mark the 20th anniversary of Black History Month in Canada. Throughout our history, Black Canadians have played a key role in building and shaping the diverse, free, and prosperous country that we enjoy today.
“The Government of Canada’s theme for this year’s Black History Month is “A Story of Courage – The Road to Canada 150”. As Canada prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, we invite everyone to celebrate the bravery and strength that Black Canadians have shown over the course of our history.
“Black History Month also reminds us that our nation’s greatest strength is its diversity. I encourage all Canadians to take part in the events and activities that take place in their communities – to honour the legacy of Black Canadians and our country’s heritage.”
A Footnote from NAL publisher Doug Draper – Niagara, Ontario and surrounding communities, including the Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York areas are rich in Black history.
For most of the 1850s, Harriet Tubman – known as the ‘Moses’ of the Underground Railroad for her courage in leading fleeing slaves from the American south to freedom in Canada, and who is now among the candidates to be the first woman whose image is featured on U.S. currency – lived in the Niagara, Ontario community of St. Catharines and was a member of the British Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the area’s oldest surviving Black churches located on Geneva Street (near Welland Avenue) in St. Catharines.
The seeds for the birth of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (better known today by its acrynym NAACP and one of America’s most influential civil rights organizations) were planted during meetings in Fort Erie, Ontario in the first decade of the last century.
That and much more about Black history in the Niagara area is chronicles in a short book written by Owen A. Thomas and titled ‘Niagara’s Freedm Trail – A Guide to Africian-Canadian History on the Niagara Peninsula, which may no longer be in print but may still be available on Amazon and few other sites. Hopefully, local libraries may still have a copy and if you know where people can obtain it, please let us know in the comment area below.
Also, check out the Buffalo-based PBS channel WNED TV (Cable channel 21 on Cogeco) for programs this February for Black History month. Click on http://www.wned.org/television for details.
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The book is out of print, but the St. Catharines Public Library has many copies, and I suspect several other Niagara libraries do as well. I worked in Special Collections at STPL when Owen Thomas came from Toronto to do months of research on the book, and he was a terrific guy.We had lots to offer him about Tubman, Salem Chapel and much more. We are in the acknowledgements in the book, she says humbly. Insert smile here..
If wanted, one could always put in a request through an antiquarian book dealer, for the book.
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