The Story of Africville, Nova Scotia

Africville was a small community inhabited entirely by African-Canadians, situated on the suburbs of the Halifax. The community was considered a slum because the city refused to take care of it, leaving the residents there without proper sewage or garbage collection; but nevertheless, the community prospered on its own.

The origin of Africville and many other African-Canadian communities is from the Amerian Revolution. Black loyalists who fought on the British side of the war were allowed to move to Canada. Many of these were refugees who were once enslaved in the States. Slavery was never practiced in Canada on a large scale such as the U.S. cotton plantations, but there were small practices of slavery by individuals and households.

In 1962, the City of Halifax demolished Africville by bulldozing down the residents’ houses, relocating them to more prosperous urbanized locations of the city in an effort to "improve the city."

However, things did not end up going this way. The money that the government gave to these residents were barely enough to pay a few months of rent for social housing or pay the down payment of a house. After the Africville church was torn down, the old community members were fragmented and did not have a place to meet together any longer. Some of them relocated to other cities such as Winnipeg or Toronto. The government broke apart a thriving community, and this could never be repaired.

Africville represents the oppression that black people faced in Canada and an ongoing effort to make amends. The City of Halifax apologized in 2010.

Making it fair

One of the most tragic losses of the demolition of Africville is their loss of community, as a fragmented community is irreparable. We cannot change what we did wrong in the past, but we can make amends and try our best to take measures to bring a sense of community back. One way is to try to reunite the descendants of Africvillians. This can be done by hosting ceremonies or gatherings to attempt to bring these people together, or by rebuilding the Africvilie village remains into a museum. This can help to evoke a sense of pride among the Africville citizens and also has the effect of raising awareness – Canadian citizens can visit this museum to learn about racism, and Africville descendants can visit and reunite here. A museum would also serve the purpose of commemorating the jolly community and so that Africville residents are recognized. But of course, we don’t know if Africvillians want this without talking to them. Another way we must learn from the past is to make sure we consult the people in question before implementing any attempt at “making it fair” – whether it’s a ceremony, rebuilding the museum, or anything else. We want to make sure we are doing something that they themselves want.