Black History Month
Honouring the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities
This design seeks to memorialize prominent Black Canadians and their enduring legacies, which continue to radiate outwards today. Virnetta Anderson, Violet King, John Ware, Viola Desmond, and Donald H. Oliver are featured in the design.
Selected Black History Month Timeline
Jan. 1, 1926
Black History Month emerged from Negro History Week, which was first created by the African American historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson in February 1926. It also marked the birth month of two abolitionists, Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. According to Woodson: “Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history.”
Jan. 1, 1976
The United States President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month and encouraged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history.”
Jan. 1, 1979
The City of Toronto proclaimed February as Black History Month after a successful petition by the Ontario Black History Society. In 1993 the OBHS petitioned to have February declared Black History Month in Ontario.
Jan. 1, 1986
Black History Month was officially recognized by the United States Congress with the passing of the “National Black History Month” law in 1986 to ensure the American people were “aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity.”
Oct. 1, 1987
Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1987. It is now celebrated annually in October.
Feb. 1, 1988
The first Black History Month in Canada was observed in the province of Nova Scotia. The month was renamed African Heritage Month in 1996.
Dec. 5, 1995
The House of Commons officially recognized February as Black History Month in Canada in December 5, 1995. The motion to recognize the month was introduced by the Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected to the Canadian Parliament.
Feb. 1, 1996
The first Black History Month in Canada was declared on February 1, 1996, following the unanimously approved motion in the House of Commons.
March 4, 2008
The Senate of Canada unanimously approved the February 2008 motion by Senator Donald Oliver to recognize the contributions of Black Canadians on March 4, 2008.
Jan. 1, 2010
The Canadian Museum of History marked the “courage and achievements of Black pioneers” by creating an exhibit on “The Toles School” of Amber Valley, a one-room all-Black schoolhouse attended by Black settlers who arrived from Oklahoma between 1908 to 1911.
Jan. 31, 2017
The Government of Alberta officially proclaimed February as Black History Month in Alberta on January 31, 2017. The advocacy for this proclamation, and the first official celebration at the Legislature on February 3, 2017, were led by MLA David Shepherd.
Jan. 1, 2021
Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp honouring the historic Black community of Amber Valley, Alberta, which was populated by Black American homesteaders from Oklahoma between 1908 and 1911.
Jan. 21, 2022
Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp recognizing Edmonton-born jazz legend Eleanor Collins, C.M., “Canada’s First Lady of jazz.” Over the course of her career, she became known as Canada’s “First Lady of Jazz,” the first Canadian woman to have her own national television show (CBC’s “The Eleanor Show” (1955) and CBC’s “Eleanor” (1964)).
Black Albertans You Should Know
Trailblazing Black Albertans who, too often, are hidden in provincial and Canadian narratives. These stories, as the achievements of these Black Albertans, act as a corrective to misconceptions of Black Albertans as newcomers and the deficit narratives that function to limit Black aspirations and achievements.
Written and curated by Dr. Malinda S. Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion), UCalgary
Blackness in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
CBC’s Black on the Prairies places Blackness in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at the centre of the country’s story. Exploring the past, present and future of Black Prairie life through the themes of Migration, Putting in Work, Black and Indigenous Relations, Politics and Resistance, and Black to the Future.
The project’s first iteration, published in April 2021, explored the past, present and future of Black life here, but there is still so much more.
Scarborough Charter
The Scarborough National Charter on anti-Black racism and Black Inclusion in Higher Education: Principles, Actions, and Accountabilities are committed by institutions across Canada to combat anti-Black racism and foster Black inclusion in higher education.
Black on campus: Students, staff and faculty say universities are failing them
Students, staff and faculty at some of Canada's largest universities say they have experienced anti-Black racism on campus, and that they were targeted if they spoke out about their treatment, an investigation by The Fifth Estate has found.
UCalgary Anti-Black Racism Guide
The local and global mobilization around anti-Black racism following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto, among other incidences, have highlighted the urgency of addressing systemic racism and racial violence.
Driving Through a Blizzard for a Taste of Home
In Edmonton, there aren’t any butchers that sell goat meat with skin - like we had back in Nigeria, by Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike, for CBC First Person
This First Person column is the experience of Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike, who immigrated from Nigeria to Edmonton.
Amber Valley, AB
Several Black pioneer prairie settlements were found, but the most extensive and storied is Alberta's Amber Valley. Little remains of the community, in Athabasca County, north of Edmonton.
The community was one of several in Alberta and Saskatchewan settled by Black people from Oklahoma, Texas and other southern states. In response to the federal government's Dominion Lands Act, they came to Canada, which was passed in 1872 to encourage settlement on the Prairies.
Other communities settled by Black Americans include Wildwood, about 120 km west of Edmonton, Breton, about 110 km southwest of the capital, and Campsie, about 140 km northwest of the city in Alberta and the Maidstone area, about 480 km northwest of Regina, in Saskatchewan.
Books by and on Black Canadians
Curated by Dr. Malinda S. Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion), UCalgary
Calgary Public Library
The Calgary Public library is holding a variety of virtual events for Black History Month.
Films about the Black Experience in Canada
This section includes a selection of film resources on the historical and contemporary Black experience across Canada. You will find that most of the films are open access. We will update this site as new materials become available.
Curated by Dr. Malinda S. Smith, PhD, Vice-Provost & Associate Vice President Research (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion), UCalgary
DARE Project
The project, titled Teaching Against Anti-Black Racism and Toward Black Inclusion was conducted as part of the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (DARE) program for undergraduate students enrolled in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS).
Entries in this database have been gathered by Jellisa Ricketts as part of the summer 2021 Dean’s Award for Research Excellence project, supervised by Professor Andrea Davis.
![“Canadian Pacific Railway porters in union hall, Calgary, Alberta”, [ca. 1941-1942], [PA-3439-6], Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Archives and Special Collections, University of Calgary](/sites/default/files/styles/ucws_thumbnail_portrait/public/2022-02/union-hall.png?itok=7O_BClSX)
Index to Interviews for Black Communities in Alberta
The Alberta Labour History Institute (ALHI) was founded in 1999 to give working people a chance to preserve their own stories in their own words. We are a group of trade unionists, community activists, archivists, and historians dedicated to the collection, preservation, and dissemination of the stories of Alberta’s working people and their organizations.
Black History Month profile - Virnetta Nelson
Calgary Eyeopener with David Gray, Angela Knight
Virnetta Anderson (1920 - 2006) was an American-Canadian community activist and politician, who was elected to Calgary City Council in 1974 as the city's first Black Canadian municipal councillor.
Further reading by Sean Myers, Calgary Herald, February 2009
Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD
Vice Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) | Associate Vice-President Research-EDI | Professor, Political Science | Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | University of Calgary
Black History Month profile - Violet King
Calgary Eyeopener with David Gray, Angela Knight
Violet Pauline King Henry (1929 -1982) was a lawyer and a descendant of Black settlers from the United States. Her life consisted of several important milestones. She was the first Black Canadian to obtain a law degree in Alberta, the first Black person admitted to the Alberta Bar and the first Black woman to become a lawyer in Canada.
Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD
Vice Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) | Associate Vice-President Research-EDI | Professor, Political Science | Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | University of Calgary
Black History Month profile - Annie Saunders
Calgary Eyeopener with David Gray, Angela Knight
Annie Saunder ( 1836 - 1898) was an American, born in the States, and she met Mary Macleod — Colonel Macleod’s wife — on a Missouri riverboat as Mary Macleod was heading west. In 1877, Saunders decided to join Mary Macleod and arrived in Fort Macleod to begin work as a nanny or nurse to the Macleod children. This is how she was most often documented, but recent research suggests that Saunders was a pioneer in her own right, running multiple businesses in Fort Macleod and later in Pincher Creek.
Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD
Vice Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) | Associate Vice-President Research-EDI | Professor, Political Science | Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | University of Calgary
BHM at UCalgary
CBC Calgary News
Dr. Malinda Smith's interview about Black History Month with Rob Brown begins at time 18:50.
Dr. Malinda Smith, PhD
Vice Provost (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) | Associate Vice-President Research-EDI | Professor, Political Science | Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion | University of Calgary
Ours to Tell
This design uses tropical ferns to recall the ancestral homeland of Black Canadians, their fronds echoing the strength and beauty of an afro. The university's vibrant palette evokes a sense of individuality, each hue a thread woven into the rich tapestry of our collective achievements