society: February a celebration of black history, culture
Amy Schmidt, The Peak

Black History Month, observed during the month of February, celebrates the rich, diverse history of black people that has often been neglected in North America.

The Association of Students of African Descent (ASAD) at SFU is putting on several events on campus during the month to give students the opportunity to learn about African history and culture. Every Wednesday in February the club will be showing documentaries about people of African descent, such as Bob Marley, and their culture.

ASAD is working with a UBC club to put on an African Heritage Film Festival on February 28 at the Harbour Centre. They also want to spread awareness of the club and the fact that all students, including those who are not of African descent, are welcome to get involved and use ASAD's resources to learn about African history and culture.

Karen Ameyaw, co-president of ASAD, sees Black History Month as especially important in Canada because "we are multicultural" and therefore, "every culture should have the opportunity to be celebrated." She also sees Black History Month as an opportunity for the black minority in Canada to come together.

For another SFU student, originally from Jamaica, Black History Month in Canada is important because, "Black Canadian youth have no knowledge of self and many have no identity." He said that Black History Month gives them an opportunity to learn more about their past and reclaim their "identity." He also pointed out that the Canadian black population is very diverse and therefore often divided, coming from the Caribbean (Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica), the United States or from the African continent, so Black History Month helps to create a sense of unity.

The history of black people in Canada dates back further than Samuel de Champlain's first voyage down the St. Lawrence River but is conspicuously absent from Canadian history books. There were many influential men and women in Canada, and many were even instrumental in abolishing slavery for their southern neighbours in the United States. Women like Mary Ann Shad, at the time of the Underground Railway, taught refugee children from the U.S., distributed anti-slavery material, and became the first woman publisher in Canada with Free Man. Josiah Henson, a slave who escaped to Canada, wrote an autobiography, which inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Karen Ferguson, an SFU history professor specialising in African American history, believes there is not only a Canadian black history, but she also wants to "get the message out that there is a B.C. black history." As early as 1858, blacks left racial discrimination in San Francisco, when Governor James Douglas invited them as settlers to B.C. They settled on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, often becoming prosperous farmers and playing important roles in building B.C.'s first communities.

Early black pioneers included Mifflin Gibbs, a prominent politician, Charles and Nancy Alexander, founders of the Shady Creek Methodist church, and John Deas, who established a salmon cannery. Ferguson adds that, "Here, they were able to pursue independence and establish autonomy, something they had been unable to do in the U.S.A."

However, it was not a history free of racism. Three black men were mysteriously killed on Salt Spring Island in 1867, and an Aboriginal man was blamed for their murders. Today, there is still much controversy surrounding the murders.

Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, an African American PhD, established Black History Month in 1926. February was chosen to recognise the birthdays of African American pioneers and institutions such as Frederick Douglass, a renowned abolitionist, W.E.B Du Bois, and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). The Parliament of Canada officially recognised Black History Month in December 1995 when Jean Augustine, the first African Canadian woman elected to parliament, introduced the motion.

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