 Flag of Black Nova Scotians, designed by Wendie Wilson and first unveiled in 2021[1] | |
 Population distribution of Black Canadians in Nova Scotia by census division, 2021 census | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 28,220 3% of Nova Scotia population (2021)[2] | |
| Languages | |
| African Nova Scotian English,Canadian English,Canadian French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (Baptist),Irreligion and others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| African Americans,Black Canadians,Merikins,Sierra Leone Creoles,Afro-Caribbeans,Americo-Liberians |
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Black Nova Scotians (also known asAfrican Nova Scotians,Afro-Nova Scotians, andAfricadians)[3] areBlack Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to theColonial United States asslaves orfreemen, later arriving inNova Scotia, Canada during the 18th and early 19th centuries.[4] As of the2021 Census of Canada, 28,220 Black people live in Nova Scotia,[2] most inHalifax.[5] Since the 1950s, numerous Black Nova Scotians have migrated toToronto for its larger range of opportunities.[6][7] The first recorded free African person in Nova Scotia,Mathieu da Costa, aMikmaq interpreter, was recorded among the founders ofPort Royal in 1604. West Africans escaped slavery by coming to Nova Scotia in early British and French Colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many came as enslaved people, primarily from theFrench West Indies to Nova Scotia during the founding ofLouisbourg. The second major migration of people to Nova Scotia happened following theAmerican Revolution, when the British evacuated thousands of slaves who had fled to their lines during the war. They were given freedom by the Crown if they joined British lines, and some 3,000 African Americans were resettled in Nova Scotia after the war, where they were known asBlack Loyalists. There was also the forced migration of theJamaican Maroons in 1796, although the British supported the desire of a third of the Loyalists and nearly all of the Maroons to establishFreetown inSierra Leone four years later, where they formed theSierra Leone Creole ethnic identity.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]
In this period, British missionaries began to develop educational opportunities for Black Nova Scotians through theSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (Bray Schools).[15][16][17] The decline of slavery in Nova Scotia happened in large part by local judicial decisions in keeping with those by the British courts of the late 18th century.
The next major migration happened during theWar of 1812, again with African Americans escaping slavery in the United States. Many came after having gained passage and freedom on British ships. The British issued a proclamation in the South promising freedom and land to those who wanted to join them. Creation of institutions such as theRoyal Acadian School and theAfrican Baptist Church in Halifax, founded in 1832, opened opportunities for Black Canadians. During the years before the American Civil War, an estimated ten to thirty thousand African Americans migrated to Canada, mostly as individual or small family groups; many settled in Ontario. A number of Black Nova Scotians also have someIndigenous heritage, due to historical intermarriage between Black andFirst Nations communities.[18]
In the 20th century, Black Nova Scotians organized for civil rights, establishing such groups as the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, theNova Scotia Human Rights Commission, theBlack United Front, and theBlack Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. In the 21st century, the government and grassroots groups have initiated actions in Nova Scotia to address past harm done to Black Nova Scotians, such as theAfricville Apology, theViola Desmond Pardon, the restorative justice initiative for the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, and most recently the official apology to theNo. 2 Construction Battalion.
According to the 2021 Census, 59.1% of African Nova Scotians areChristian, especially Baptist, and 38.1 % areirreligious.[19] 86.4% of African Nova Scotians are born to Canadian-born parents and 12% of them are born to at-least one immigrant parent.[19]
Black Nova Scotians were initially established in rural settings, which usually functioned independently until the 1960s. Black Nova Scotians in urban areas today still trace their roots to these rural settlements. Some of the settlements include: Gibson Woods, Greenville,Weymouth Falls,Birchtown,East Preston,Cherry Brook,Lincolnville,Upper Big Tracadie,Five Mile Plains,North Preston,Tracadie,Shelburne,Lucasville,Beechville, andHammonds Plains among others. Some have roots in other Black settlements located in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island includingElm Hill, New Brunswick, Willow Grove (Saint John, NB) and The Bog (Charlottetown, PEI).
Prominent Black neighbourhoods exist in most towns and cities in Nova Scotia includingHalifax,Truro,New Glasgow,Sydney,Digby,Shelburne andYarmouth. Black neighbourhoods in Halifax includeUniacke Square andMulgrave Park. The ethnically diverseWhitney Pier neighbourhood of Sydney has a significant Black population, first drawn there by the opening of theDominion Iron and Steel Company steel mill in the early 20th century.
Over 10,000
Over 5,000
Over 1,000
Black Nova Scotians by share of overall Black Canadian population:
| Year | Number of Black Canadians | Number of Black Nova Scotians | Percent of all Black Canadians living in Nova Scotia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1881[21] | 21,394 | 7,062 | 33% |
| 1951[22] | 18,020 | 8,141 | 45% |
| 2016[23] | 1,198,545 | 21,910 | 2% |
The first recorded Black person in Canada wasMathieu da Costa. He arrived in Nova Scotia sometime between 1605 and 1608 as a translator for the French explorerPierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts. The first known Black person to live in Canada was an enslaved person from Madagascar namedOlivier Le Jeune (who may have been of partialMalay ancestry).
Of the 10,000 French living atLouisbourg (1713–1760) and on the rest ofIle Royale, 216 were African-descended slaves.[26][27][28][29] According to historian Kenneth Donovan, slaves on Ile Royal worked as "servants, gardeners, bakers, tavern keepers, stone masons, musicians, laundry workers, soldiers, sailors, fishermen, hospital workers, ferry men, executioners and nursemaids."[30][31] More than 90 per cent of the enslaved people were from theFrench West Indies, which included Saint-Domingue, the chief sugar colony, and Guadeloupe.[32]
Among the founders recorded for Halifax, were 17 free Black people. By 1767, there were 54 Black people living in Halifax.[33][34] WhenHalifax, Nova Scotia, was established (1749), some British people brought slaves to the city. For example, shipowner and traderJoshua Mauger sold enslaved people at auction there. A few newspaper advertisements were published for runaway slaves.[35][36]
The first Black community in Halifax was on Albemarle Street, which later became the site of the first school for Black students in Nova Scotia (1786).[37][38][39] The school for Black students was the only charitable school in Halifax for the next 26 years. Whites were not allowed to attend.[40][38][41][42][43][44][45]
Prior to 1799, 29 recorded Black people were buried in theOld Burying Ground; 12 of them were listed with both first and last names, seven of the graves are from theNew England Planter migration (1763–1775), and 22 graves are from immediately following the arrival of theBlack Loyalists in 1776.[46][47] Rev.John Breynton reported that in 1783, he baptized 40 Black people and buried many because of disease.[38][48]
According to a 1783 report, 73 Black people arrived in Halifax from New York.[49] Of the 4007 Black people who came to Nova Scotia in 1783 as part of promised resettlement by the Crown, 69% (2775) were free, 35% (1423) were former British soldiers, and 31% (1232) were slaves of white Loyalists. While 41 former slaves were sent to Dartmouth, none were sent to Halifax.[50] 550 Jamaican Maroons lived in Halifax for four years (1796–1800); they were resettled inFreetown (nowSierra Leone).[51] A return in December 1816 indicates there were 155 Black people who migrated to Halifax during theWar of 1812.[52]
The British had promised enslaved people of rebels freedom if they joined their forces (SeeDunmore's Proclamation andPhilipsburg Proclamation). Approximately three thousand Black Loyalists were evacuated by ship to Nova Scotia between April and November 1783, traveling onNavy vessels or British chartered private transports.[53] This group was made up largely of tradespeople and labourers. Many of these African Americans had roots in the American states of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland.[54] Some came from Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York as well.[55] Many of these African-American settlers were recorded in theBook of Negroes.
In 1785 in Halifax, educational opportunities began to develop with the establishment ofSociety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (Bray Schools).[15][16][56] In Halifax, for example, the first teacher was a "capable and serious Negroe woman".[45] Initially, the school was in the Orphan House and had 36 Black children, six of whom were enslaved. She was followed by Reverend William Furmage (d. 1793),Huntingdonian Missionary who was buried in theOld Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia).[57][58] After a year he was followed by Isaac Limerick.[45] Limerick moved the school and went into debt to maintain it. The next teacher was a white woman, Mrs. Deborah Clarke (1793–1809), followed by Mary Fitzgerald. The school was dissolved in 1814 (when theRoyal Acadian School was established for Black and white people).[45][page needed] The next teacher was Daniel Gallagher, who held the position of schoolmaster for a long period. The school was in the Black community on Albemarle Street, where it served the people for decades under the son of Rev.Charles Inglis.[38][59]
![Reverend William Furmage, Huntingdonian Missionary to the Black Loyalists, established black school in Halifax[57][58]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWilliam_Furmage%2c_Halifax%2c_Nova_Scotia.jpg)
Many of the black Loyalists performed military service in the British Army, particularly as part of the only black regiment of the war, theBlack Pioneers, while others served non-military roles. The soldiers of the Black Pioneers settled in Digby and were given small compensation in comparison to the white Loyalist soldiers.[61] Many of the Black settled under the leadership ofStephen Blucke, a prominent black leader of the Black Pioneers. Historian Barry Moody has referred to Blucke as "the true founder of the Afro-Nova Scotian community."[62][63]
Blucke led the founding ofBirchtown, Nova Scotia, in 1783. The community was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and was the largestfree settlement of Africans in North America in the 18th century. One of these Loyalists was a woman named Mary Postell, whose status as a free woman was contested. This eventually led to a court trial.[64] The community was named after BritishBrigadier GeneralSamuel Birch, an official who assisted in the evacuation of Black Loyalists fromNew York. (Also named after the general was a much smaller settlement of Black Loyalists inGuysborough County, Nova Scotia, called Birchtown.[65]) The two other significant Black Loyalist communities established in Nova Scotia were Brindley town (present-dayJordantown) andTracadie. Birchtown was located near the larger town ofShelburne, with a majority white population. Racial tensions in Shelburne erupted into the 1784Shelburne riots, when whiteLoyalist residents drove Black residents out of Shelburne and into Birchtown. In the years after the riot, Shelbourne county lost population due to economic factors, and at least half of the families in Birchtown abandoned the settlement and emigrated toSierra Leone in 1792.[66] To accommodate these British subjects, the British government approved 16,000 pounds for the emigration, three times the total annual budget for Nova Scotia.[67] They were led to Sierra Leone byJohn Clarkson and became known as theNova Scotian Settlers.[68]
The other significant Black Loyalist settlement isTracadie. Led byThomas Brownspriggs, Black Nova Scotians who had settled at Chedabucto Bay behind the present-day village ofGuysborough migrated to Tracadie (1787).[69] None of the Black people in eastern Nova Scotia migrated to Sierra Leone.
One of the Black Loyalists was Andrew Izard (c. 1755 – ?). He was formerly enslaved by Ralph Izard inSt. George, South Carolina. He worked on a rice plantation and grew up on Combahee. When he was young he was valued at 100 pounds. In 1778 Izard made his escape. During the American Revolution he worked for the British army in the wagonmaster-general's department. He was on one of the final ships to leave New York in 1783. He traveled on the Nisbett in November, which sailed to Port Mouton. The village burned to the ground in the spring of 1784 and he was transported to Guysborough. There he raised a family and still has descendants that live in the community.[70]
Education in the Black community was initially advocated byCharles Inglis who sponsored theProtestant Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.[71] Some of the schoolmasters were: Thomas Brownspriggs (c.1788–1790) andDempsey Jordan (1818–?).[72] There were 23 Black families at Tracadie in 1808; by 1827 this number had increased to 30 or more.[73]
While most Black people who arrived in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution were free, others were not.[74] Enslaved Black peoples also arrived in Nova Scotia as the property ofWhite American Loyalists.[75] In 1772, prior to the American Revolution, Britainoutlawed the slave trade in the British Isles followed by theKnight v. Wedderburn decision in Scotland in 1778. This decision, in turn, influenced the colony of Nova Scotia.[76] In 1788, abolitionistJames Drummond MacGregor from Pictou published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves' freedom and chastising his colleagues in the Presbyterian church who enslaved people.[77] Historian Alan Wilson describes the document as "a landmark on the road to personal freedom in province and country."[78] HistorianRobin Winks writes "[it is] the sharpest attack to come from a Canadian pen even into the 1840s; he had also brought about a public debate which soon reached the courts."[79] In 1790John Burbidge freed the people he had enslaved.
Led byRichard John Uniacke, in 1787, 1789 and again on January 11, 1808, the Nova Scotian legislature refused to legalize slavery.[80][81] Two chief justices,Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange (1790–1796) andSampson Salter Blowers (1797–1832) waged "judicial war" in their efforts to free enslaved people from their owners in Nova Scotia.[82][83][84] They were held in high regard in the colony. JusticeAlexander Croke (1801–1815) also impounded Americanslave ships during this time period (the most famous being theLiverpool Packet). The last slave sale in Nova Scotia occurred in 1804.[85] During the war, Nova Scotian SirWilliam Winniett served as a crew on boardHMS Tonnant in the effort to free enslaved people from America. (As the Governor of theGold Coast, Winniett would later also work to end the slave trade in Western Africa.) By the end of theWar of 1812 and the arrival of the Black Refugees, there were few people left enslaved in Nova Scotia.[73][86] (TheSlave Trade Act 1807 outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire and theSlavery Abolition Act 1833 outlawed slavery all together.)
According to historian Richard Cannon, on June 26, 1796, 543 men, women and children,Jamaican Maroons, were deported on board the ships Dover, Mary and Anne, from Jamaica after being defeated in an uprising against the British colonial government.[87] However, many historians disagree on the number who were transported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, with one saying that 568 Maroons ofCudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) made the trip in 1796.[88] It seems that just under 600 left Jamaica, with 17 dying on the ship, and 19 in their first winter in Nova Scotia. A Canadian surgeon counted 571 Maroons in Nova Scotia in 1797.[89] Their initial destination was Lower Canada but on July 21 and 23, the ships arrived in Nova Scotia. At this time Halifax was experiencing a major construction boom initiated byPrince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn's efforts to modernize the city's defenses. The many building projects had created a labour shortage. Edward was impressed by the Maroons and immediately put them to work at theCitadel in Halifax, Government House, and other defense works throughout the city.
The British Lieutenant GovernorSir John Wentworth, from the monies provided by the Jamaican Government, procured an annual stipend of £240 for the support of a school and religious education.[90] The Maroons complained about the bitterly cold winters, their segregated conditions, unfamiliar farming methods, and less than adequate accommodation.[91] The Maroon leader,Montague James, petitioned the British government for the right to passage toSierra Leone, and they were eventually granted that opportunity in the face of opposition from Wentworth. On August 6, 1800, the Maroons departed Halifax, arriving on October 1 atFreetown,Sierra Leone.[90][92] In their new home, the Maroons established a new community atMaroon Town, Sierra Leone.[93]
In 1808,George Prévost authorized a Black regiment to be formed in the colony under captain Silas Hardy and Col.Christopher Benson.[94]
The next major migration of Black people into Nova Scotia occurred between 1813 and 1815.Black Refugees from theUnited States settled in many parts of Nova Scotia including Hammonds Plains,Beechville,Lucasville andAfricville.
Canada was not suited to the large-scaleplantationagriculture practiced in the southern United States, and slavery became increasingly rare. In 1793, in one of the first acts of the newUpper Canadian colonialparliament, slavery was abolished. It was all but abolished throughout the other British North American colonies by 1800, and was illegal throughout theBritish Empire after 1834. This made Canada an attractive destination for those fleeing slavery in the United States, such asAmerican ministerBoston King.
In 1814,Walter Bromley opened theRoyal Acadian School which included many Black students – children and adults – whom he taught on the weekends because they were employed during the week.[96] Some of the Black students entered into business in Halifax while others were hired as servants.[97]
In 1836, the African School was established in Halifax from the Protestant Gospel School (Bray School) and was soon followed by similar schools at Preston, Hammond's Plains andBeech Hill.[98][99]
Following Black Loyalist preacherDavid George, Baptist ministerJohn Burton was one of the first ministers to integrate Black and white Nova Scotians into the same congregation.[100] In 1811 Burton's church had 33 members, the majority of whom were free Black people from Halifax and the neighbouring settlements of Preston and Hammonds Plains. According to historian Stephen Davidson, they were "shunned, or merely tolerated, by the rest of Christian Halifax, the they were first warmly received in the Baptist Church."[100] Burton became known as "an apostle to the coloured people" and would often be sent out by the Baptist association on missionary visits to the black communities surrounding Halifax. He was the mentor ofRichard Preston.
New Horizons Baptist Church (formerly known as Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, the African Chapel, and the African Baptist Church) is abaptist church inHalifax, Nova Scotia that was established byBlack Refugees in 1832. When the chapel was completed, Black citizens of Halifax were reported to be proud of this accomplishment because it was evidence that former enslaved people could establish their own institutions in Nova Scotia.[101] Under the direction of Richard Preston, the church laid the foundation for social action to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians.[102]
Preston and others went on to establish a network of socially active Black baptist churches throughout Nova Scotia, with the Halifax church being referred to as the "Mother Church."[101] Five of these churches were established inHalifax:Preston (1842),Beechville (1844), Hammonds Plains (1845), and another inAfricville (1849) and Dartmouth.[103] From meetings held at the church, they also established the African Friendly Society, the African Abolition Society, and theAfrican United Baptist Association.
The church remained the centre of social activism throughout the 20th century. Reverends at the church includedWilliam A. White (1919–1936) andWilliam Pearly Oliver (1937–1962).[citation needed]
Numerous Black Nova Scotians fought in theAmerican Civil War in the effort to end slavery. Perhaps the most well known Nova Scotians to fight in the war effort areJoseph B. Noil andBenjamin Jackson. Three Black Nova Scotians served in the famous54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry: Hammel Gilyer, Samuel Hazzard, and Thomas Page.[104]
In 1894, an all-Blackice hockey league, known as theColoured Hockey League, was founded in Nova Scotia.[105] Black players from Canada'sMaritime provinces (Nova Scotia,New Brunswick,Prince Edward Island) participated in competition. The league began to play 23 years before theNational Hockey League was founded, and as such, it has been credited with some innovations which exist in the NHL today.[106] Most notably, it is claimed that the first player to use theslapshot was Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas, more than 100 years ago.[107] The league remained in operation until 1930.
TheNo. 2 Construction Battalion,Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), was the only predominantly Blackbattalion inCanadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of Black soldiers to serve inWorld War I. The battalion was raised in Nova Scotia and 56% of battalion members (500 soldiers) came from the province. ReverendWilliam A. White of the Battalion became the first Black officer in the British Empire.
An earlier black military unit in Nova Scotia was theVictoria Rifles.
Founded byPearleen Oliver[108] and led by ministerWilliam Pearly Oliver, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People was formed in 1945 out of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. The organization was intent of improving the standard of living for Black Nova Scotians. The organization also attempted to improve Black-white relations in co-operation with private and governmental agencies. The organization was joined by 500 Black Nova Scotians.[109] By 1956, the NSAACP had branches in Halifax, Cobequid Road, Digby, Weymouth Falls, Beechville, Inglewooe, Hammonds Plains and Yarmouth. Preston and Africville branches were added in 1962, the same year New Road, Cherry Brook, and Preston East requested branches.[110] In 1947, the Association successfully took the case ofViola Desmond to the Supreme Court of Canada.[111] It also pressured the Children's Hospital in Halifax to allow for Black women to become nurses; it advocated for inclusion and challenged racist curriculum in the Department of Education. The Association also developed an Adult Education program with the government department.
By 1970, over one-third of the 270 members were white.[110]
Along with Oliver and the direct involvement of the premier ofNova ScotiaRobert Stanfield, many Black activists were responsible for the establishment of theNova Scotia Human Rights Commission (1967).[112] Originally the mandate of the commission was primarily to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians. The first employee and administrative officer of the commission wasGordon Earle.
In keeping with the times, Reverend William Oliver began theBlack United Front in 1969, which explicitly adopted a Black separatist agenda.[113] TheBlack separatist movement of the United States had a significant influence on the mobilization of the Black community in 20th Century Nova Scotia. This Black separatist approach to address racism and black empowerment was introduced to Nova Scotia byMarcus Garvey in the 1920s.[114] Garvey argued that Black people would never get a fair deal in white society, so they ought to form separate republics or return to Africa. White people are considered ahomogenous group who areessentially racist and, in that sense, are considered unredeemable in efforts to address racism.
Garvey visited Nova Scotia twice, first in the 1920s, which led to aUniversal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) office in Cape Breton, and then the famous 1937 visit.[115] He was initially drawn by the founding of an African Orthodox Church in Sydney in 1921 and maintained contact with the ex-pat West Indian community. The UNIA invited him to visit in 1937.[114] (Garvey presided over UNIA regional conferences and conventions in Toronto, in 1936, 1937, and 1938. At the 1937 meeting he inaugurated his School of African Philosophy.)
Despite objections fromMartin Luther King Jr., this separatist politics was reinforced again in the 1960s by theBlack Power Movement and especially its militant subgroup theBlack Panther Party.[116][117] Francis Beaufils (a.k.a. Ronald Hill) was a fugitive Black Panther facing charges in the U.S. who had found refuge in rural Nova Scotia.[117] The separatist movement influenced the development of the Halifax-basedBlack United Front (BUF). Black United Front was aBlack nationalist organization that includedBurnley "Rocky" Jones and was loosely based on the 10 point program of theBlack Panther Party. In 1968,Stokely Carmichael, who coined the phraseBlack Power!, visitedNova Scotia helping organize the BUF.[118][119]
Reverend William Oliver eventually left the BUF and became instrumental in establishing theBlack Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which opened in 1983. The organization houses a museum, library and archival area. Oliver designed the Black Cultural Centre to help all Nova Scotians become aware of how Black culture is woven into the heritage of the province. The centre also helps Nova Scotians trace their history of championing human rights and overcoming racism in the province. For his efforts in establishing the four leading organizations in the 20th century to support Black Nova Scotians and, ultimately, all Nova Scotians, William Oliver was awarded theOrder of Canada in 1984.
Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, African Nova Scotians began leaving their settlements in order to find work in larger cities and towns such as Halifax, Sydney, Truro and New Glasgow. Many left Nova Scotia for cities such as Toronto andMontreal, while others left Canada altogether for the United States.[120][121]
Bangor, Maine's lumber industry attracted Black people from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for decades. They formed a sizeable community on the town's west end throughout the early 1900s.[122] A small African Nova Scotian community had also developed inSudbury in the late 1940s due to aggressive recruitment efforts in Black Nova Scotian settlements byVale Inco.[123]
By the 1960s, a Black Nova Scotian neighbourhood had developed in Toronto, around theKensington Market-Alexandra Park area.First Baptist Church, the oldest Black institution in Toronto, became the spiritual centre of this community.[124] In 1972, Alexandra Park is said to have had a Black Nova Scotian population of over 2,000 – making it more populous than any of the Black settlements in Nova Scotia at the time. Escaping rural communities with little education or skills, young Black Nova Scotians in Toronto faced high poverty and unemployment rates.[125]
In 1977, between 1,200 and 2,400 Black Nova Scotians lived in Montreal. Though dispersed throughout the city, many settled among African-Americans and English-speaking West Indians inLittle Burgundy.[126][127]
Dwayne Johnson,Arlene Duncan,Beverly Mascoll,Tommy Kane, andWayne Simmonds are examples of prominent individuals who have at least one Black Nova Scotian parent that settled outside the province.
Several organizations have been created by Black Nova Scotians to serve the community. Some of these include theBlack Educators Association of Nova Scotia,African Nova Scotian Music Association,Health Association of African Canadians and theBlack Business Initiative. Individuals involved in these and other organizations worked together with various officials to orchestrate the government apologies and pardons for past incidents of racial discrimination.
TheAfricville Apology was delivered on February 24, 2010, byHalifax, Nova Scotia, for the eviction and eventual destruction ofAfricville, a Black Nova Scotian community.
On April 14, 2010, theLieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia,Mayann Francis, on the advice ofher premier, invoked theRoyal Prerogative and grantedViola Desmond aposthumous free pardon, the first such to be granted in Canada.[128] The free pardon, an extraordinary remedy granted under theRoyal Prerogative of Mercy only in the rarest of circumstances and the first one granted posthumously, differs from a simple pardon in that it is based on innocence and recognizes that a conviction was in error. The government of Nova Scotia also apologised. This initiative happened through Desmond's younger sister Wanda Robson, and a professor of Cape Breton University, Graham Reynolds, working with the Government of Nova Scotia to ensure that Desmond's name was cleared and the government admitted its error.
In honour of Desmond, the provincial government has named the firstNova Scotia Heritage Day after her.
Children in an orphanage that opened in 1921, theNova Scotia Home for Colored Children, suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse by staff over a 50-year period. Ray Wagner is the lead counsel for the former residents who successfully made a case against the orphanage.[129] In 2014, the Premier of Nova ScotiaStephen McNeil wrote a letter of apology and about 300 claimants are to receive monetary compensation for their damages.[130]
Since theimmigration reforms of the 1970s, a growing number of people of African descent have moved to Nova Scotia. Members of these groups are not considered a part of the distinct Black Nova Scotian community, although they are Black Canadian. The last group to be accepted as members of the Black Nova Scotian ethnic group areBajans who came to Cape Breton in the early 1900s, referred to as the "later arrivals".[131]
Top 5 immigrant ethnic origins for people of African descent in Nova Scotia:[20]
| Country of origin | Population 2016 |
|---|---|
 Jamaica | 480 |
 Nigeria | 350 |
 Bahamas | 230 |
 Ethiopia | 185 |
 Ghana | 185 |
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