February is Black History Month in Canada. A great opportunity to take the time to really take an interest in black communities.
On the Government of Canada website, we can read that this year’s festivities are taking place under this theme: “The excellence of black people: a heritage to celebrate; a future to build.
The government also encourages the population to “learn about black communities and the ways in which they continue to shape Canada.”
I am not against this idea of the government.
I notice that many white Canadians are not really interested in black communities, what they experience and have experienced.
Millions of black people
In 2021, the population of Black people in Canada was 1.5 million and continues to grow, so the country could have more than 3 million Black people by 2041.
In 2024, in a country that is diversifying, we can no longer hide behind the phrase: “yes, but my colleague is black” or “I play tennis with a black person” to absolve ourselves of our responsibility to know the History of our country and its communities.
Since this unfortunately does not seem to have been sufficiently integrated into our schools, it is our duty to take the time to be interested in knowledge that has not necessarily been taught to us.
Did you know that?
By inquiring, I realized, for example, that the immigration of people of African origin between the 1600s and 1900s to Canada contributed to the success of births in Nova Scotia.
For what? Because with their expertise as midwives, many women of African origin have provided support to mothers and helped bring generations of healthy Canadians into the world.
Just a small example to show you that there is so much information just waiting to be known by more people.