Black History Month 2024
Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build
“We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.”
Pope Francis, June 2020
Officially recognized in Canada since 1995, every February Black History Month is a time to pause and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians.
The national theme for Black Hstory Month 2024 is “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrte; A Future to Build”. This theme represented both an opportunity to engage in open dialogue and a commitment to learning more about the stories Black communities in Canada have to tell about their histories, successes, sacrifices and triumphs." Visit the Government of Canada's Black History Month page to find images to use on social media and links to materials about Black history in Canada and biographies of notable Black Canadians.
How are you celebrating Black History Month? We would love to share and spotlight your celebrations on this page, so we can continue to build anew with grace, mercy and peace. Please contact Steph Maher, Jonathan Rajalingam or Wade Tower to share.
Some ideas from Simcoe Muskoka Catholic...
During Black History Month, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic will be posting about different Black Saints and holy people to the Social Media accounts. Check them out to share/use:
@SMCDSB (Twitter/X)
@we_are_smcdsb (Instagram)
Religion & Faith
Faith Matters #86.pdfFaith Matters #86 focusses on Black History Month.
Resources
Why a Black History Month?
"As a people, with roots dating back to 1603, African-Canadians have defended, cleared, built and farmed this country; our presence is well established, but not well-known.” Rosemary Sadlier answers this question in this short article.
Find a timeline of Black settlement in Canada here.
Local Public Libraries
Many of our local public libraries have pages dedicated to Black History Month with a range of texts and activities to engage in:
Barrie Public Library - Black History 365
Innisfil ideaLAB and Library - Black History Month
Black History Month 2024 - Some Events to Share
These are provided for information purposes and have not been evaluated/previewed. Not all events are intended for students, please contact the organisers for more information about audience and concet.
Making Change
Black History Month
Making Change Simcoe County has two large events to celebrate Black History Month.
Details on their Black History Month page.
MacLaren Art Centre
What's On @ The Gallery
The MacLaren Art Centre (Barrie), working with Making Change Simcoe County, Shak's World and The Bradford West Gwillimbury Library is hosting a number of events throughout Black History Month.
Check out their Black History Month page for details.
Simcoe County Museum
Black History Month Virtual Lectures
Simcoe County Museum is hosting a series of afternoon lectures featuring notable Black Canadian historians.
Check out the events page for details.
Shared from SMCDSB
MR-029 Black History Month Events and Learning Opportunities - Community Connections Memo MR-029 Black History Month Events and Learning Opportunities - Community Connections lists some opportunties and events that can be attened/shared with families.
Access the memo here.