Black History Month in Canada

February is also Black History Month for black Canadians. About 2-3% of the national population is currently of African descent. The largest populations reside in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Alberta.

Black Canadian history is also linked to the United States. Slavery became increasingly rare in Canada and eventually became illegal in the British empire by 1833. Canada became a favorable place to escape slavery in the United States. Today, there are sizable black communities in Southern Ontario and Nova Scotia who trace their ancestry to the black ex-slaves who used the Underground Railroad to seek refuge and freedom in Canada. This also marks the 175th anniversary of the Act to abolish slavery in the British empire.

For more information about black Canadian history, click here. This is another interesting website on the black Canadian experience in Ontario, 1834-1914.

This news release has been recently announced by the national government of Canada.

The Honourable Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), today invited Canadians to celebrate Black History Month during the month of February.




"I invite all Canadians to join in the celebrations and, in so doing, to reflect upon the significant contributions of black Canadians to our society and the vital role this community has played in our shared history," said Secretary of State Kenney. "This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Act for the Abolition of Slavery in the British Empire, which ended slavery throughout the British colonies and was a key step toward recognizing the evil of slavery."

In December 1995, the Parliament of Canada officially recognized February as Black History Month. Communities across Canada will host events to celebrate the contribution of black Canadians to our society.

Martin Luther King National Birthday Holiday

Today is the Martin Luther King's National Birthday celebration. It marks the 45th anniversary of the renown civil rights leader's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Many people don't realize he was in Memphis to support the striking black sanitation workers' right to form a union. While his speech, "I have a Dream," resonates with all of us on his hopes for a more integrated society, he was also a staunch critic of the Vietnam War and was in the early stages to start the Poor People's movement, a symbolic rally to end poverty in America. He had other policy aspirations that would further advanced the civil rights struggle across the country. Many Americans, not suprisingly, at the time opposed his controversial views on human rights and thought he was a unpatriotic troublemaker.

Sadly, American society today has somewhat lost the true meaning of his message. What we celebrate today is oversimplified and sterile. He did not just have a dream for racial integration for his all children; he pushed a national agenda for progressive change to end social and economic inequality in America. The anti-war and anti-poverty demonstrations were among his activities but he had greater goals as a pastor and community organizer. King adopted Gandhi's theory of nonviolence as a potential tool to advance the civil rights struggle and bring about radical social change globally. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he shifted his focus to address human rights for everyone. It was not limited to just race or skin tone as the news media wants us to believe. He supported the redistribution of wealth and power in America to help the poor, the sick and the disabled. His life was cut short when an assassin's bullet killed him before he could truly fulfill his dreams.

CNN has an excellent short biography about Dr. King. If you are a teacher, this article is another great resource to ask students in grades 6-12 and college questions about his legacy. Oprah also expresses how Martin Luther King, Jr. changed her own life in this story.