CANADA'S BLACK HISTORY 

Origins and chronology

Despite a presence in Canada that dates back further than Samuel de Champlain's first voyage down the St. Lawrence River, peoples of African descent are conspicuously absent from Canadian history books. The same pattern of omission of the achievements and contributions of African peoples exists in the United States. For this reason, African-American historian Carter G. Woodson proposed an observance to honour the accomplishments of Black Americans. This led to the establishment of Negro History Week in 1926. Though no one knows for sure, Woodson is believed to have chosen February for this observance because the birthdays of the renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14) and former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12) fall in this month. During the early 1970s, the week became known as Black History Week and it was later expanded into Black History Month in 1976. In December of 1995, the Parliament of Canada officially recognized February as Black History Month, following a motion introduced by the first African-Canadian woman elected to Parliament, Jean Augustine, P.C., M.P. of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in Ontario and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. The motion was carried unanimously by the House of Commons.

An abbreviated chronology

1800 to 1865 Approximately 20,000 blacks found their way into Canada via the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad, spirited several hundred fugitive slaves into Canada, despite a $40,000 reward for her capture, dead or alive.

1812 The Cochrane Proclamation invites refugees of the War of 1812 to become British citizens through residence in British territory, including Canada. The settlement of Oro is established by the government for black veterans of the War of 1812. A Coloured Corps is formed after petitioning by black veteran Richard Pierpoint.

1833 The British Imperial Act abolishes slavery in the British Empire (which included Canada) effective August 1, 1834.

1850 The second Fugitive Slave Act is passed in the United States, placing all people of African descent at risk. The Underground Railroad steps up its operations - freeing enslaved blacks by transporting them into Canada. The Common Schools Act is passed in Ontario, permitting the development of segregated schools. The last segregated school in Ontario closed in the 1950s.

1853 Mary Ann Shadd left teaching in the U.S. to join with Isaac Ward and her brother Isaac in publishing and editing the Provincial Freeman, one of the two black newspapers published in Ontario from 1853-1857. Mary Ann Shadd is acknowledged as the first black newspaperwoman and the first woman publisher of a newspaper in Canada.

1857 William Hall of Nova Scotia became the first Canadian Sailor and the first person of African descent to receive the Victoria Cross for bravery and distinguished service.

1861 Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott became Canada's first doctor of African descent.

1885 Delos Roget Davis of Amherstburg, Ontario became one of Ontario's first black lawyers. He was appointed King's Council in 1910.

1894 William Peyton Hubbard became the first black council member elected to Toronto City Council, and was re-elected council member for 13 successive elections. He served on the Board of Control, and as acting Mayor on a number of occasions.

1905 The beginning of the Black Trek, the migration of dissatisfied African-Americans from Oklahoma to the Canadian prairies. That year, a group led by W.E.B. DuBois and Monroe Trotter met secretly in Niagara, Ontario, to organize resistance to U.S. racism.

1914 During the First World War, black Canadians joined combat units, despite opposition, and in 1916, a segregated unit, the Nova Scotia Number 2 Construction Battalion, was formed.

1939 In the Second World War, authorities again try to keep blacks out of the armed forces, but blacks insist on serving their country. Eventually, they join all services.

1948 Ruth Bailey and Gwennyth Barton became the first blacks to graduate from a Canadian School of Nursing.

1950's New laws make it illegal to refuse to let people work, to receive service in stores or restaurants or to move into a home because of race.

1951 The Reverend Addie Aylestock became the first black woman to be ordained a minister in Canada. The following year, Wilson Brooks, an RCAF Veteran, became Toronto's first black public school teacher, and in 1959, Stanley Grizzle was the first black person to run for a seat in the Ontario Legislature. In 1963, Leonard Braithwaite, elected to the Ontario legislature, was the first black to serve in a provincial legislature in Canada.

1962 Daniel G. Hill, an American-born black activist and writer who moved to Canada in 1950, was made the firstdirector of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the first government agency in Canada set up to protect citizens from discrimination. Hill later became chair of the Commission.

1968 Canada saw the election of its first black Member of Parliament - The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, of Hamilton. In 1979, he became Canada's first black cabinet minister, as Minister of Labour in the federal government. In 1985, he became Ontario's first black Lieutenant Governor, and the first black to be appointed to a vice-regal position in Canada.

1969 The first Black History Week was celebrated. Maurice Alexander Charles became the first black provincial judge of Ontario.

1978 The Ontario Black History Society is founded by Dr. Daniel Hill, Wilson Brooks and Lorraine Hubbard. The Society is dedicated to the acknowledgement and preservation of the contributions to Canada's development by Canadian blacks.

1991 Julius Alexander Isaac, a native of Grenada, was named Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Canada. He becomes the first black Chief Justice in Canada and the first to serve on the Federal Court.

1993 Jean Augustine was sworn in as Canada's first black female Member of Parliament.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship