Africville : an African Nova Scotian community is demolished - and fights back

Title
Africville : an African Nova Scotian community is demolished - and fights back

Personal Author EPSB
Gloria, Wesley

Summary
The community of Africville was founded in the late 1800s when African Nova Scotians built homes on the Bedford Basin on the northern edge of Halifax. Africville grew to include a church, a school, and small businesses. At its peak, about 400 people lived there. The community was lively and vibrant, with a strong sense of culture and tradition. But the community had its problems. Racist attitudes prevented people from getting well-paying jobs in the city and the City of Halifax refused residents basic services such as running water, sewage disposal, and garbage collection. In the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, the City of Halifax decided to demolish Africville, relocate its residents and use the land for industrial development. Residents strongly opposed this move, but their homes were bulldozed, and many had to move into public housing projects in other parts of the city. After years of pressure from former members of the community and their descendants, the City of Halifax finally apologized for the destruction of Africville and offered some compensation. A replica of the church was built on the site. But former residents and their descendents were refused compensation beyond what little was paid in the 1960s. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives, this book tells the story of Africville. It documents how the city destroyed Africville and much later apologized for it and how the spirit of the community lives on.

Year Published
2021

Series
Righting Canada's wrongs

Physical Description
94 pages : illustrations (some colour), maps (some colour), portraits (some colour) ; 29 cm

Subject
Black Canadians -- Nova Scotia -- Halifax -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
 
Black Canadians -- Nova Scotia -- Halifax -- Relocation -- History -- 20th century.
 
Relocation (Housing) -- Nova Scotia -- Halifax -- History -- 20th century.
 
Race discrimination -- Nova Scotia -- Halifax -- History -- 20th century.

Geographic Term
Africville (Halifax, N.S.) -- History -- 20th century.
 
Africville (Halifax, N.S.) -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
 
Halifax (N.S.) -- Ethnic relations -- History -- 20th century.
 
Halifax (N.S.) -- History -- 20th century.

Summary
The community of Africville was founded in the late 1800s when African Nova Scotians built homes on the Bedford Basin on the northern edge of Halifax. Africville grew to include a church, a school, and small businesses. At its peak, about 400 people lived there. The community was lively and vibrant, with a strong sense of culture and tradition. But the community had its problems. Racist attitudes prevented people from getting well-paying jobs in the city and the City of Halifax refused residents basic services such as running water, sewage disposal, and garbage collection. In the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, the City of Halifax decided to demolish Africville, relocate its residents and use the land for industrial development. Residents strongly opposed this move, but their homes were bulldozed, and many had to move into public housing projects in other parts of the city. After years of pressure from former members of the community and their descendants, the City of Halifax finally apologized for the destruction of Africville and offered some compensation. A replica of the church was built on the site. But former residents and their descendents were refused compensation beyond what little was paid in the 1960s. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives, this book tells the story of Africville. It documents how the city destroyed Africville and much later apologized for it and how the spirit of the community lives on.

ISBN
9781459416512

Publisher
Toronto : James Lorimer and Company Limited, Publishers, [2021].
 
©2021


LibraryCall NumberTypeItem BarcodeStatus
Lymburn971.6 WESBook30269000030887Non-Fiction