Commemorating Black History Month

February 27, 2012

Looking Back with Pride, Moving Forward with Strength

Human Rights & Diversity/ HR Services commemorates Black History Month 2012 by highlighting some prominent Black people and key historical events that have contributed to the advancement of the world.

Did you know...

Mathieu Dacosta

  • The first Black person known to have visited Canada was Mathieu Dacosta in the 1600s.
  • Dacosta understood the language of the First Nations and acted as an interpreter for Samuel De Champlain and the First Nations community. It is believed that he made previous visits to Canada in order to work as an interpreter for the First Nations peoples of this land.

Olivier Lejeune

  • Olivier Lejeune was the first recorded enslaved African purchased in Canada.
  • At the time of his death, Lejeune’s status was changed from domestic servant to free person.
  • Lejeune was educated in a school established by the Jesuit priest, Father LeJeune, and was later baptised as “Olivier Le Jeune” taking the surname of the Jesuit priest.

Robert Sutherland

  • Robert Sutherland was born in Jamaica and lived in Kingston, Ontario.
  • Sutherland graduated from Queens University with Honors in Classics and
    Mathematics in 1852 and with a Degree in Law in 1855.
  • Robert Sutherland became the first Black student and graduate of Queen's University and the first Black lawyer in Canada.

Africville

  • The village of Africville in Nova Scotia, held the largest population
    of Black families in the 1800s.
  • In October 1962, the City of Halifax displaced the residents of Africville. Homes were demolished and residents were transported from the village in garbage trucks.
  • Today, Africville has been designated a national historic site
    in Canada.

Jean Augustine

  • We officially celebrate Black History Month in Toronto in part due to the
    efforts of Grenadian-born, Jean Augustine.
  • Augustine, the first AfricanCanadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons in 1993, introduced a motion in the House of Commons to celebrate Black History Month throughout Canada in 1995.

Ferguson "Fergie" Jenkins

  • One of Canada’s Greatest Baseball Players.
  • Jenkins is one of the first pitchers in Baseball history to have more than 3000 strikes.
  • Ferguson Jenkins is the only Canadian inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.

Wangari Maathai

  • Maathai was the first woman in East & Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree.
  • She started the Green Belt Movement in 1977, working with women to improve their livelihoods by increasing their access to resources.
  • Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation.
  • She was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.