RaceRelations: How Nova Scotia Fosters Black Heritage (from ATSNN), page 1

As part of the celebrations of African Heritage month, the town of Inglewood N.S. is spotlighted for its efforts to bring to the forefront the rich heritage and contributions of Canadians of African descent. This is a nice story.

www.th estar.com
INGLEWOOD, N.S.—Edith Cromwell may be 88, but she can still belt it out, still turn a crowd into a chorus with that classic call-to-arms: "We Shall Overcome."

The song was sung yesterday after the children's play about civil rights hero Rosa Parks, and before the proclamations read by a man in stockings and a three-cornered hat at an African Heritage celebration in this little town.

The celebration was typical of hundreds taking place across Canada this month, but for one thing: Minister of African-Nova Scotian Affairs Barry Barnet was sitting in the audience.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The first recorded black to arrive in the area was Mathieu da Costa (first name French, last name Portuguese) who arrived on the island of Ste. Croix between Maine and New Brunswick in 1604 with Samuel de Champlain and Pierre du Gua de Monts. They later ended up at Port Royal, N.S. (now known as Annapolis Royal), where the first European settlement was established. Following the American War of Independence, upwards of 3,000 African Americans made their way to Canada as loyalists.

As a point of interest, both Canada and the U.S. maintain an international friendship park at Ste Croix (near Calais, Mn and St. Stephen N.B.). I was there this past summer and the history of the area is very rich...as are the ties between the neighbours - who once shared the same transit system!!!

Related News Links:
www.pch.gc.ca
northernblue.ca
www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca

[edit on 16/2/05 by AlwaysLearning]

[edit on 16/2/05 by AlwaysLearning]