Critical Race and Legal Theory

A website created by Charmaine Nelson, an art history professor at McGill University, that acts as a resource for Black Canadian Studies and a space for Nelson to share her research. BCS strives to support black academics working in Canada, regardless of nationality, ethnicity or research focus. It supports all faculty, academics, cultural workers, community historians and others working on topics of relevance to Black Canadian Studies.

The Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities & Community Health Project is a collaborative community-based research and engagement project on environmental racism in Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities.

Archives Nova Scotia has created a few collections focused on the experience of African Nova Scotians. These documents were assembled, probably in the 1880s, by the first Records Commissioner, T.B. Akins, around the theme of "Black Refugees." The earliest documents concern the 1792 emigration to Sierra Leone of about 1200 free black people, who had come to Nova Scotia as part of the Loyalist migration at the close of the American Revolutionary War in 1783. Other early documents relate to the arrival of the Jamaican Maroons in 1796 and to Government costs pertaining to their emigration to Sierra Leone in 1800. However, the documents focus primarily on the settlement of 2000 Black Refugees in Nova Scotia between September 1813 and August 1816. They came as the result of a proclamation by British military authorities during the War of 1812, giving Americans who deserted to the British side the opportunity of going as free settlers to one of the British colonies.

The Africville Heritage Trust runs the Africville Museum and provides other resources and opportunities to the African Nova Scotian Community. Today, the Africville Museum looks across the land where the people of Africville lived, worked, and raised their families by the water of Bedford Basin. Inside the Museum, exhibits tell the story of a community that met the indignities of racism with grace and faith. The museum is a place where former residents and their descendants can (re)connect, learn about their history and rebuild a sense of place and pride, a visitor attraction that draws residents and tourists, strengthens the province as a Black Heritage destination, and adds to African Nova-Scotian themed attractions, and a venue to remember the story of Africville and to recognize its contribution to Canadian and specifically, African diasporic history.

The Society for the Protection and Preservation of Black Culture in Nova Scotia (better known as the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia) was incorporated as a charitable organization as an act of provincial legislation in 1977. The Society has provincial Board of Directors, made up of representatives from various Black communities throughout Nova Scotia. The Centre is funded in part by the Government of Nova Scotia.

The home of the largest free black settlement in the 1780’s where people voted with their feet for freedom. This unique historical site is nestled in beautiful Birchtown Bay on the western shores of Shelburne Harbour, the third largest natural harbour in the world. It’s a history few in the region know much about. Come and enjoy a guided tour, search for your ancestral roots and learn about these courageous Nova Scotians.

This virtual museum collection has a page dedicated to slavery in Canada and the United States. The issue of slavery in Canada has long been glossed-over by historians and by Canadian society in general. Substantive recognition of this past history of slavery did not begin until the 1960s. Nevertheless, slavery was actively practised in New France, both in the St. Lawrence Valley and in Louisiana. This institution, which endured for almost two centuries, affected the destiny of thousands of men, women and children descended from Aboriginal and African peoples.

The Society for the Protection and Preservation of Black Culture in Nova Scotia (better known as the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia) was incorporated as a charitable organization as an act of provincial legislation in 1977. The Society has provincial Board of Directors, made up of representatives from various Black communities throughout Nova Scotia. The Centre is funded in part by the Government of Nova Scotia. The Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia was incorporated in May 1977, as a non-profit organization and the parent organization of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. The registered name is The Society for the Protection and Preservation of Black Culture in Nova Scotia. The Mandate of the Society is to Protect, Preserve and Promote Black Culture.

Central to the need for an African Nova Scotian Strategy (the Strategy), and the foundation of the Strategy itself, is the understanding that African Nova Scotians are a distinct people. The Strategy, supported by the African Nova Scotian Strategy Advisory Council, sets out the need for a proactive approach to increasing support for African Nova Scotian students, staff, and faculty at Dalhousie. The Strategy recommendations were developed based on the collective research, experience, expertise and wisdom of African Nova Scotian students, staff, faculty and other members of the African Nova Scotian community. If actioned, these recommendations will the full and equitable participation of African Nova Scotians at Dalhousie.

Our society aims to build connections, support our members, and encourage future generations to consider law school. We are a group of students at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. In addition to promoting and assisting African Canadian students in pursing their legal education and increasing opportunities, our chapter is dedicated to bridging the gap between the legal community and the African Nova Scotian community. Our society conducts an annual Christmas fundraiser to donate gifts to the children of incarcerated parents. Our society also holds a speaker series in February for Black history month within the law school. Our society is important to building community and collegiality among members. Our society also plays an important role in giving back to our African Nova Scotian communities.

The Centre provides support for any student of African descent to help identify goals and pathways through your post-secondary career at Dalhousie University. We assist you in developing skills that will make you successful learners and outstanding individuals. Assistance is available if you're having difficulty navigating academic expectations, financial management, or the complexity of campus life. Resources are available for one-on-one advising and academic encouragement. We can also act as an advocate if you find yourself involved in the campus academic or non-academic discipline processes.

The Indigenous Blacks & Mi'kmaq (IB&M) Initiative at the Schulich School of Law was established in 1989 to increase representation of Indigenous Blacks and Mi'kmaq in the legal profession in order to reduce discrimination. The IB&M Initiative works to ensure that Mi'kmaw and African Nova Scotian students, and other Aboriginal and Black students, are represented at the Schulich School of Law. The Initiative involves community outreach and recruiting, providing financial and other support to students, developing scholarships in the areas of Aboriginal law and African Canadian legal perspectives, and promoting the hiring and retention of graduates.

The James R. Johnston Chair is named after Mr. James Robinson Johnston. Mr. Johnston was an African Nova Scotian man and the first African Nova Scotian to earn a degree from Dalhousie in 1896. In fact, he was the first African Nova Scotian person to graduate from any university. Upon his graduation from law school, Mr. Johnston became the first Black lawyer to practice law in Nova Scotia. James R. Johnston worked across the province of Nova Scotia and provided his legal representation to many. Unfortunately, he died tragically in 1915, just days before his 39th birthday. In 1991, nearly a century after Mr. Johnston studied at Dalhousie, and in honor of his many accomplishments, Dalhousie University established the James R. Johnston (JRJ) Chair in Black Canadian Studies, at the time, the only endowed Black Studies Chair at a Canadian university. Through a public-government collective effort jointly developed between the institution and many individuals, the JRJ Chair was established with the support of an endowment (Thornhill np), of which the funds are also to be used in support of curriculum development, visiting lectures, and a special library collection. The James R. Johnston Chair is a significant senior academic post in Canada, based in Halifax to honour not only the life of Mr. Johnston, but also to recognize and honour the unique historical presence of African Nova Scotian people.

African Nova Scotian Affairs works with government, communities and partners to help provide services and programs for the African Nova Scotian community. They work within the community to keep African Nova Scotians informed and to encourage involvement. They also support activities that bring African Nova Scotians together to network, share ideas and identify opportunities for development and growth. African Nova Scotian Affairs is a division of the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.

The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is committed to building a national framework for the fight against racism in Canadian society. It aims to do this through knowledge-sharing and community support in the pursuit of equity, fairness, social justice and systemic change.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was established pursuant to Article 8 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee meets in two sessions each year in Geneva.