Roxanne Joseph

Me, You and the Ghosts exhibit

“It isn’t easy being a ghost...people are scared of you or they don’t believe in you...”
Rogers Commercial

During my first trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the summer of 2004, I inquired where “Africville” was, only to discover nothing remained at its former site. My investigation examines the legacy of “Africville” and other black historical settlements across Canada. Mapping these articulations in a conceptual fashion is a conduit to track this discovery of actual locations, past and present, making this hidden part of our Canadian heritage accessible.
The exact number of desecrated black burial grounds remains unknown.

“Africville” Nova Scotia

Africville was located in the north end of Halifax. Initially the community was settled by the black refugees of the War of 1812 before Canada’s Confederation in 1867.

The community suffered blatant neglect from the City of Halifax which refused to provide necessary amenities like clean water. The well serving the community had a sign that read: “Please boil this water before drinking and cooking.”
The city dump, an abattoir, and a prison were relocated adjacent to the village. Africville was declared an unsanitary shantytown. Consequently, its people were relocated. One family moved, in a dump truck, to public housing after the City of Halifax bulldozed the community out of existence during the 1960’s.

“Nigger Rock”
St. Armand, Quebec

Located in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, “Nigger Rock” was a burial ground for slaves two centuries ago. Dominic Soulie, President of the newly formed Centre Historique de Saint-Armand says, “Nigger Rock is the only known burial ground in Canada for those who were born and died in slavery.” Currently the “Rock” is on private property, an obstacle with landowners concerned about people destroying their fields. Strong evidence points to the existence of numerous black villages in the St. Armand area.

Soulie’s historical society hopes to “bring this part of our history out of the shadows – which is where it has been hidden for two centuries.”

“Fort Victoria”
Fort Victoria, British Columbia

Born in Demerara British Guiana (present day Guyana, South America) in 1803, Sir James Douglas is known as “The Father of B.C.” and for helping the Hudson Bay Company become a trading monopoly in the North Pacific. In early Canadian history books, he has been described as “Black Douglas,” however the fact that he was the son of a Scottish merchant and a free coloured woman is omitted.
He made his first voyage to Fort Vancouver in 1825, four years after the North West Company merged in 1821 with the Hudson Bay Company. Prior to this, Douglas resided in Scotland from the age of twelve.

As the founder of settlement, trade and industry for British Columbia, Douglas began to construct Fort Victoria in 1843 on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, he was appointed Governor of Vancouver Island October 30, 1851. An invitation was extended for California Blacks to come settle in BC. Sunday, April 25, 1858 the date documented as their arrival at Fort Victoria.

“The Bog”
“The Bog,” Prince Edward Island

In both the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a number of African people were brought to and enslaved in Prince Edward Island. In 1881, once their freedom was obtained, they settled in Charlottetown’s west end in an area which came to be known as “the Bog,” consisting of at least 171 residents. Through intermarriage and emigration, the community’s population dwindled, and by 1960 approximately 48 residents remained. Today, most of the province’s black population (under 100) came originally from the Caribbean in the 1970’s.

“Amber Valley”
Amber Valley, Alberta

In 1910 160 black settlers left Oklahoma for north central Alberta. The name of their homestead was Amber Valley and it was located a few kilometers east of Athabasca. Strict immigration regulations governing health, literacy, and financial support were created as obstacles to their entry into Canada.

Among the first people to arrive were Jefferson Davis Edwards and his wife Martha. Edwards was influential in establishing the Toll school district in 1913 to educate their ten children.

The name Amber Valley was suggested for the community in 1931 (by Mrs. Cromwell who ran the post office) since every fall when the poplars turned, the valley glowed a rich, golden colour.

“Bathurst Street”
Bathurst Street, Toronto Ontario

From 1799-1802 there were black people living in the town of York (now Toronto) with no distinction between those who were enslaved or free. Slavery in Canada and the British Empire was completely abolished in 1833. In Dionne Brand’s Bread out of Stone: recollections, sex, recognitions, race, dreaming, politics, she writes about how Bathurst Street was the center of Toronto’s black community denied access to housing in other areas of the city in the 1940s’ and 1950’s. The four corners of the intersection of Bathurst and Bloor served as a meeting place for blacks and other marginalized peoples with the arteries of Bathurst Subway Oakwood, Vaughn Rd., St. Clair, and Eglinton down to Alexandra Park and Marlee.

“The Bog”