Historic Black Nova Scotia
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$21.95The history of Nova Scotia’s black communities is a complex story of triumph and struggle, intertwined with the many stories of ancestors, destinies, and challenges. The knowledge and insight of veteran authors Bridglal Pachai and Henry Bishop provide welcome guidance to the mosaic of Nova Scotian black history in Historic Black Communities. Presented in the engaging format of an Images of Our Past book, this readable history book is interspersed with ample black and white photos, providing a visual link to the stories of the past.
Eleven chapters explore the African presence in Nova Scotia, and range from topics such as the influence of the church and the African United Baptist Association (AUBA); pioneers in publishing, law, politics and business; the legacy of Africville; heroes of sports, military, arts, and volunteer activism; Historic Black Communities provides a comprehensive, but always accessible entry into the many realms of black influence. Above all, the many photos and stories of this historic tribute salute the dignity and achievements of the resilient black community in Nova Scotia, and provide an unshakeable optimism for its promising future.
Unspoken Truth Unmuted and Unfiltered
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$19.95With strength and resilience, Africans have persevered through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and were able to rebuild a life after slavery while enduring the inhumane conditions of the civil rights Jim Crow era forced upon them by the African diaspora. The lack of acknowledgement of the generational trauma these events have had on their descendants continues to create further injury. Even today, barriers prevent their healing and transition from survival to a thriving existence.
Unspoken Truth is a bold collection of poetry highlighting the generational pain of Africans living in the diaspora. Through her poems, Bowden creates a panoramic view of the terrible conditions they endured for centuries. Deliberately, with dignity, she brings the trauma stories of African Nova Scotians told around kitchen tables for decades to the homes of readers while restoring the balance of humanity and royalty from which the African journey began. Despite all odds, they were able to preserve their lineage and lean on the resilience buried deep in their souls while passing this pride, culture, and strength on to future generations so they may one day fulfill the hopes and the dreams of the former slaves.
This collection seeks to spark the necessary conversations the larger society needs to engage in around the perseverance of systemic racism, a society now grappling to make the connections between historical trauma and current-day conditions of inequality. It summons the conscience of every reader to acknowledge the truth and reconcile it with their own dissonance. The poems pay homage to the ancestors, honour the elders, and provide inspiration for the youth so they can heal from this historical inheritance and build upon their own narratives.
The Hermit of Africville The Life of Eddie Carvery
Publisher: Pottersfield Press$21.95As Black Lives Matter protests swept the world, one of Canada’s greatest anti-racism fighters returned to reclaim the Black space and Black history to which he’s dedicated his life.
Eddie Carvery’s Africville protest reached its 50th year in 2020. He was just 23 when the City of Halifax bulldozed Africville, an African Nova Scotian village on the shores of the Bedford Basin. Under the disguise of “urban renewal” and using lies of a “home for a home,” the city destroyed every house and business before finally smashing the church in the middle of the night.
In the city, he found drugs, violence, and ultimately prison. His life was engulfed in tragedy and he hurt those he loved most. But in Africville, the land of his ancestors, he developed a great strength. His mind cleared and he saw the purpose of his life was to stand for Africville.
On a fine summer day in 1970, Eddie walked out to Africville, looked in sorrow at the ruins of his world, and decided to fight back. He pitched a tent and vowed to stay until everyone saw what he saw: that it was racist and wrong to destroy Africville, and that Halifax ought to give it back to its people.
Standing alone in Africville, he endured as racists set fire to his home, shot bullets at him, and tried again and again to drive him off the land.
This updated edition of The Hermit of Africville includes an introduction from Eddie himself reflecting on 50 years of fighting racism and his vision for a Canada that embraces all its peoples.
100% of the royalties from The Hermit of Africville go to Eddie Carvery and his Africville protest.
Pearleen Oliver Canada’s Black Crusader for Civil Rights
Editor: Ronald CaplanPublisher: Breton Books$18.00In a winning new book, Pearleen Oliver: Canada’s Black Crusader for Civil Rights brings to life a compassionate and passionate African Nova Scotian, the story of her growth and activism—a book that shows how one woman’s voice changed the course of Nova Scotia’s history.
The Life of Boston King
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing$14.95In the summer of 1783, at the end of the American Revolution, several thousand Black men, women and children left New York City with the British Army, bound by ship for Nova Scotia. Now uniformly called “Black Loyalists”, regardless of their status at leaving New York, theirs is a rich and fascinating history. One of the most well-documented of these Black Loyalists was a man named Boston King, born a slave to Richard Waring, a rice-planter in South Carolina.
King experienced a religious revelation while in Nova Scotia, and became a Methodist preacher; he went to Sierra Leone in 1792 to spread the Gospel; and from there was invited to England to study at a Methodist school. While there, he wrote the story of his life and conversion. This was published in the Methodist Magazine of the times.
Thus survived one of only three autobiographies of a Black Loyalist, full of details of the Loyalist settlement of Nova Scotia. It is reprinted here as “Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, a Black Preacher,” edited by Ruth Holmes Whitehead and Carmelita Robertson. An introduction by Ruth Holmes Whitehead presents new research findings about King’s life, and her Afterword examines particularly his life as a slave on the Waring Plantation, near Charleston, SC. Whitehead and Robertson revisited the ruins of two Waring plantations, where King would have worked as a child and young man, and photographed the dirt road, still running through one plantation, down which he would have ridden away to freedom.
Abigail’s Wish
$22.95Spring. Beautiful blossoms. Chirping peepers. Trees swaying in their new greenery. Pussy willows glistening in furry white coats. Rain and warmth. New births and new beginnings…
Ten-year-old Abigail Price is excited about spring in her new home in Birchtown. Spring means lots of things, like flower buds and fresh leaves and her Aunt Dinah’s new baby. She’s hoping it also means she’ll get a new dress to wear for the celebration, but new clothing, like many things, is hard to come by.
The first children’s picture book set in historic Birchtown, Nova Scotia, Abigail’s Wish is a window into the life of a Black Loyalist family in the early years of the historic colony. Through the eyes of young Abigail, this stunning collaboration between poet and novelist Gloria Ann Wesley and awardwinning illustrator Richard Rudnicki will teach readers about Black Loyalist life, and the value of friendship and patience.
Children of Africville (2nd edition)
$15.95The children of Africville, Nova Scotia, lived in a special community where everyone knew their neighbours, and all helped and cared for each other. It was the perfect place for children to play and grow up. The Children of Africville is the remarkable story of these children during the community’s final years, before it was torn down and its families were relocated. Full of photographs and stories from Africville people, this book is an important celebration of Nova Scotia black history, its vibrant community, and the children who lived there.
