African Nova Scotian

History

According to the census of 2016 there are currently 21 915 residents of Nova Scotia who identify as Black Nova Scotian. Black Nova Scotian ancestry dates back to the 17^th century. The first identified black person in Nova Scotia was recorded among the founders of Port Royal in 1604. In the early 17^th and 18^th centuries West Africans were brought to Nova Scotia as slaves by both the French and British colonies.

A second migration of about 3000 people happened between 1776 and 1785, after the American Revolution, when the British promised freedom to slaves who took up the fight against the Americans and joined to fight on the side of the British. These people are known as the Black Loyalists. Many choose to settle in Birchtown, Nova Scotia. During this time there was also a forced migration of Jamaican Maroons in 1776. Four years later, a third of the Loyalists and almost all of the Maroons left Nova Scotia to found Freetown in Sierra Leone.

A third wave of migrants happened during the War of 1812. Again these were slaves that were promised freedom and land if they joined the side of the British in the war.

Below you can find links to significant historical information that was briefly mentioned above.

African Nova Scotian Affairs - African Nova Scotian Affairs (ANSA) works with government and the African Nova Scotian community to enhance cultural understanding and assist in the delivery of services that meet the unique needs of African Nova Scotians. (taken from webpage)

Black Nova Scotians - Wikipedia - wikipedia page outlining the history of Black Nova Scotians

Arrival of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia - Canadian Encyclopedia Article by Laura Neilson Bonikowsky

The Black Loyalists - NATIVE BORN is an important historical sketch of the Black community in New Glasgow. It was not written by professional historians but by a group of interested citizens desirous of making a contribution to the community's first official "Homecoming." (taken from page)

Black Loyalists -Canada's Digital Collections - digital collection

Black Loyalists - wikipedia page outlining The journey of the Black Loyalists

Remembering Black Loyalists - Nova Scotia Museum link

Black History Canada - The Canadian Encyclopedia link

African Heritage Timeline - Halifax Public Library link

Jamaican Maroons of Nova Scotia - Canadian Encyclopedia Article by John N. Grant

Jamaican Maroons Arrive - Black Cultural Centre information on the Maroons

Maroon video - video by Black Halifax telling the story of Captain Leonard Parkinson - a story of the Maroons

Culture

African Nova Scotian culture is diverse and has a rich history coming from the Loyalists, Maroons, Caribbeans, Refugees and others with African ancestry who came to Nova Scotia for a better life. African North Americans have made significant contributions to the music scene including African hymns, jazz, funk, and hip-hop. Western Black music is a story of struggle and celebration. Wendie Poitras, a teacher, community advocate and visual artist, says that traditional African Nova Scotian food comes from southern cooking known as "soul food" which has been meshed with what the land and sea had to offer. Examples of African Nova Scotian dishes include salt cod cakes, root vegetables, fresh and dried/cured meats and fish, legumes, greens, cornbread, stews and boiled cabbage. These are the foods that nourished the first Black families that came to Nova Scotia and which Ms Poitras hopes continues as a legacy of cultural pride.

Black Nova Scotian artists are also represented across the province in various fields. "The Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia (BANNS) is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary arts association that seeks to develop the African Nova Scotian arts community. BANNS works with African Nova Scotian communities around the province to document and present their art and culture stories and to initiate important community arts projects. "-taken from the BANNS website. Link is below.

African Nova Scotian food- link to newspaper article featuring Wendie Poitras

Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia-organization supporting and showcasing African Nova Scotian art

African Nova Scotia Culture - Nova Scotia page outlining the diverse group of Africian Nova Scotians.

The Story of Africville - By Matthew McRae on behalf of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Remembering Africville - video on you tube - Published in 2012 | 34 min. This short film depicts Africville, a small black settlement that lay within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. (taken from webpage)

Africville: Expropriating Black Nova Scotians - CBC Digital Archives

An exploration of black communities around Nova Scotia - 2016 CBC news article

Black Halifax - Stories from here - An innovative, interactive multidisciplinary project that celebrates Halifax’s vibrant Black community that has flourished since the 1700s and has been captured as a collection of stories, in the form of short videos, about the rich cultural life of the community. The stories are about personalities, sites, and events of historic significance to the African Nova Scotian community and are presented by local performance poets and professional actors that combine storytelling with archival photographs and film. (taken from webpage)

Our Roots - A collection of articles and stories

Language

African Nova Scotian English (ANSE and ANSD) is a variety of the English language spoken by descendants of black immigrants from the United States who live in Nova Scotia, Canada. Members of these communities are collectively known as Black Nova Scotians.

The dialect of Nova Scotian blacks retains the influence of West African pidgin. In the 19th century, African Nova Scotian English would have been indistinguishable from English spoken in Jamaica or Suriname. However, it has been increasingly de-creolized since this time, due to interaction and influence from the white Nova Scotian population, who mostly hail from the British Isles. Desegregation of the province's school boards in 1964 further accelerated the process of de-creolization. The language is a relative of the African-American Vernacular English, with significant variations unique to the group's history in the area. There are noted differences in the dialects of those from Guysborough County (Black Loyalists), and those from North Preston (Black Refugees), the Guysborough group having been in the province three generations earlier.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Nova_Scotian_English )