(Photo from MLA Chris d’Entremont -Twitter–Right to left Argyle-Barrington MLA Chris d’Entremont, African-Nova Scotia Affairs Minister Tony Ince, Dr. Elizabeth Cromwell.)
A community with a rich history was the location for a municipal proclamation recognizing February as black History Month/African Heritage Month.
The event was hosted by the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown.
Birchtown is a National Historic Site and is famous as the largest settlement of Black Loyalists who joined the British during the American Revolutionary War and gained freedom.
The theme this year is “Passing the Torch…African Nova Scotians and the Next 150”
Vanessa Fells is the public outreach and community coordinator for the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre.
She says African Nova Scotians, particularly the youth, need to become more engaged.
“we’re not where we need to be yet. With centres like the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, the Africville Museum and the Black Cultural Centre we are getting our youth more engaged within their own history. Our education system still has that void where we’re not teaching Black history as it should be taught within our school system from grade primary right to grade 12.”
Birchtown is one of over 50 historic African Nova Scotian communities.
In 2014 the United Nations officially declared the decade of 2015- 2024 the International Decade for People of African Descent: Recognition, Justice and Development.
In proclaiming that, The Un says the international community is recognizing that people of African descent represent a distinct group whose human rights must be promoted and protected.
