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BLACK ON THE PRAIRIES is a multiplatform project led by CBC Saskatoon journalist Omayra Issa and CBC Radio host Ify Chiwetelu, supported by CBC’s BEING BLACK IN CANADA project. Launched on April 26, 2021 in collaboration with CBC Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, BLACK ON THE PRAIRIES is a collection of articles, personal essays, images, audio stories and more, exploring the past and present lives of Black people on the Prairies.

“The stories of Black life on the Prairies are an indelible part of Canada’s history. This project celebrates the legacy of over 200 years of recorded Black presence on the Prairies, and looks to the future of the fastest growing Black population in the country. It is important storytelling on the Prairies and in Canada,” say Omayra Issa and Ify Chiwetelu. 

The earliest arrivals sought opportunities and built communities, while challenging racism and discrimination, something that remains to this date. Today, Black people continue to help shape Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba from the largest cities to the smallest rural towns. 

BLACK ON THE PRAIRIES shares triumphs and challenges, and underscores the contributions of Black people on the Prairies through five themes — Migration, Work, Politics and Resistance, Black and Indigenous Relations, and Black Futures. 

• Migration: This theme explores the arrival and movement of Black people on the Prairies.
• Work: How has Black presence impacted the Prairie economy? This theme looks at the contributions of Black communities in the workforce.
• Black and Indigenous Relations: The solidarity, disconnection, and everything in between Black and Indigenous communities is explored in this theme.
• Politics and Resistance: From sit-ins, to Black Lives Matter protests, this theme provides an analysis of how Black resistance has looked on, and shaped, the Prairies.
• The Future:The fastest growing Black population in Canada is on the Prairies. This theme imagines the future of Black prairie life.

The development, production, and delivery of this projectprioritised the involvement of Black journalists and storytellers, and engaged a 10-person community advisory board that provided critical feedback and guidance on the project, ensuring that Black on the Prairies authentically represents a diversity of experiences and histories. 

Black on the Prairies launch party

On April 26, CBC presented a virtual launch celebration hosted by Ismaila Alfaof CBC Toronto’s Metro Morning, featuring a photo booth, trivia, prizes, and exclusive interviews with CBC Manitoba’s Ify Chiwetelu and CBC Saskatoon’s Omayra Issa, who shared their journey in producing Black on the Prairies.

(https://www.youtube.com/embed/LoCfC09iTow)

Ruth B. debuted her new single, “Situation”, along with incredible performances by Saskatchewan 2021 JUNO nominee K-Anthony and Manitoba’s unforgettable Super Duty Tough Work.

(https://www.youtube.com/embed/K5TZ3DAvgpY)

CBC Music’s Black on the Prairies playlist

Looking for more music to carry you through the week? CBC Music has curated a Black on the Prairies playlist. Experience the Prairies through music created by the top Black artists hailing from Wild Rose Country, The Land of the Living Skies and Friendly Manitoba. In addition to Ruth B. and Super Duty Tough Work, hear Nuela Charles, JayWood and more.

Source : CBC News (link)

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Carrie Mae Best (née Prevoe), OC, ONS, LLD, human rights activist, author, journalist, publisher and broadcaster (born 4 March 1903 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia; died 24 July 2001 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia). Sparked by incidents of racial discrimination, Carrie Best became a civil rights activist. Co-founder of The Clarion, one of the first newspapers in Nova Scotia owned and published by Black Canadians, she used the platform to advocate for Black rights. As editor, she publicly supported Viola Desmond in her case against the Roseland Theatre. Best used her voice in radio and print to bring positive change to society in Nova Scotia and Canada.

Early Years

Carrie Best grew up in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in an era of racial discrimination. Although discrimination in Canada was less pronounced than in the United States, it was just as damaging and humiliating. Best and her two brothers were encouraged by their parents, James and Georgina (Ashe) Prevoe, to study the history of African-Canadians and be proud of their Black heritage. Although they had not received good schooling themselves, Best’s parents emphasized the importance of education.

An intelligent child, Best wrote her first poems at the age of four and often submitted her opinions in letters to the editors of local newspapers as a teenager. Unhappy with the racial stereotypes portrayed in popular books and local culture, Best sought out the work of African-American poets and historians.

Observing the calm strength and dignity of her mother, Best knew from an early age that she would not accept the restrictions to which Blacks were subjected. Career choices for young women in general were limited, and even fewer options were available for non-white women. Best considered nursing, but no Canadian schools accepted African-Canadians. She wasn’t interested in a teaching career in one of Nova Scotia’s segregated schools. And she refused to be a housekeeper for anyone other than herself.

Carrie married railway porter Albert Theophilus Best on 24 June 1925. They had one son, James Calbert Best, and later welcomed several foster children into their family: Berma, Emily, Sharon and Aubrey Marshall.

Roseland Theatre

In December 1941, Carrie Best heard that several high school girls had been removed by force from the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow. The Black teens had attempted to sit in the “white only” section. Best was outraged. She vigorously argued against the racist policy to the Roseland Theatre’s owner, Norman Mason, in person and by letter, but her argument fell on deaf ears. It was time for Best to go to the movies.

A few days later, the 38-year-old and her son, Calbert, attempted to purchase tickets for the main floor of the theatre. The cashier issued tickets for the balcony, the area reserved for Black patrons. Leaving the tickets on the counter, the mother and son walked into the auditorium. When the assistant manager demanded that they leave, the Bests refused, and the police were called. Roughly hoisted from her seat by the officer, Best and her son were charged with disturbing the peace, convicted and fined. Best could now take legal action against the theatre.

Filing a civil lawsuit that specified racial discrimination, Best claimed damages for assault and battery, damage to her coat and breach of contract. Mason and the Roseland Theatre Company Ltd. claimed that the Bests were trespassers without tickets. The case, heard on 12 May 1942, failed: the proprietor’s right to exclude anyone won out over the bigger issue of racism. The judge not only ignored the discrimination but also ordered Best to pay the defendant’s costs.

The Clarion Call

Despite losing the lawsuit against Mason and the Roseland Theatre, Carrie Best was not defeated. The persistent problems of racism and segregation would be publicly addressed by something arguably more powerful than the legal system: Best started a newspaper.

In 1946, she and her son, Calbert, founded The Clarion, one of the first Nova Scotia newspapers owned and published by Black Canadians. Initially a 20- by 25-cm broadsheet, The Clarion reported on sports, news, social activities and other significant events. Incorporated in 1947, the paper placed emphasis on better race relations. For a decade, The Clarion covered many important issues and advocated for Black rights. In 1956, it was renamed The Negro Citizen and began national circulation.

In 1946, Viola Desmond, a young Black businesswoman from Halifax, found herself in a similar dilemma to the Bests at the Roseland Theatre. She was a beautician, with her own line of products and a prominent beautician training school. While waiting for car repairs in New Glasgow, Desmond decided to go to the movies.

Since she wasn’t a resident of New Glasgow, Desmond was unaware of the town’s unofficial policy of segregation. She went to purchase a ticket and was given a seat in the balcony. She asked to pay the extra money for a seat on the main floor, but the cashier would not change the ticket. Regardless, Desmond settled into a seat on the main floor to watch the film.

The manager approached Desmond and asked her to leave the “white only” section, but Desmond refused. Police arrived and dragged her out, causing injuries to her body and spirit. The businesswoman was not only charged with defrauding the government out of the one-cent tax but also left in a jail cell overnight. Desmond was shocked and angered by the town’s discriminatory policy.

At her trial, Desmond (who did not have legal counsel) was convicted and fined $26. However, she decided to fight and had a strong ally in Best, who prominently featured her story in The Clarion and asked readers to contribute to a fund to help Desmond with court costs. But their efforts failed, as all five judges of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia rejected the case. Justice would not come until 2010, when Desmond was pardoned — by then, she had been dead for 45 years.

On the Airwaves

While operating her newspaper, Carrie Best took on another challenge. Unable to find radio programming to her liking, Best yearned for something soothing and inspiring. She solved the problem by broadcasting her own program, The Quiet Corner, which debuted in 1952, with Best at the microphone.

There was no raucous rock ’n’ roll on The Quiet Corner. Between classical and religious music segments, Best entertained fans by reading the works of American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. For 12 years, the show filled a need for avid listeners on four radio stations in the Maritimes.

Human Rights Columnist

In 1968, the Pictou Advocate hired Carrie Best to write a weekly column entitled “Human Rights,” which ran until 1975. Best used her sharp pen to promote Aboriginal rights, improve living conditions on reserves and advance basic civil rights for all.

However, the Black community still faced great inequality. Among other things, most Black residents of Vale Road and its side streets in New Glasgow were overtaxed so that they would be forced to sell their properties to make way for a new development. Best mounted an in-depth investigation and published her findings in her column; they also became the basis of a report she made to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.

In 1975, the activist founded the Kay Livingstone Visible Minority Women’s Society, an association that provides educational funding for Black women. Two years later, at the age of 74, Best penned her autobiography, That Lonesome Road: The Autobiography of Carrie M. Best.

Honours

Carrie Best’s substantial contributions to human rights were recognized provincially and federally. On 18 December 1974, the Governor General named her a Member of the Order of Canada. The honour was given “on behalf of the Negro community in Nova Scotia, in recognition of her zealous work as writer and broadcaster.” Five years later, she was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of her devotion to the “underprivileged, regardless of race, colour, creed or sex, and particularly her own people of the black community.”

She became Dr. Best in 1975, when she was awarded an honorary doctor of laws (LLD) from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 1992, the University of King’s College in Halifax awarded her an honorary doctor of civil law (DCL). The university also offers an undergraduate scholarship for African-Canadian and Canadian Aboriginal students — the Dr. Carrie Best Scholarship — in her honour.

Additional awards were bestowed on the human rights advocate, including the Queen Elizabeth Medal (1977), Black Professional Women’s Group Award Certificate (1989) and Award of Excellence in Race Relations from the Minister of State for Multiculturalism (1990); she was also inducted to the Nova Scotia Black Wall of Fame (1980).

On 24 July 2001, Dr. Best died peacefully in her sleep at home. In 2002, she was posthumously awarded the Order of Nova Scotia. Canada Post issued a stamp that featured Best in February 2011.

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Elijah McCoy was born free in 1844 in Colchester, Ontario, Canada to George and Mildred (Goins) McCoy. At the time, they were fugitive slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Canada via helpers through the Underground Railroad.^[3] George and Mildred arrived in Colchester Township, Essex, Ontario Canada in 1837 via Detroit. Elijah McCoy had 11 siblings. Ten of the children were born in Canada from Alfred (1839) to William (1859). Based on 1860 Tax Assessment Rolls, land deeds of sale, and the 1870 USA Census it can be determined the George McCoy family moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1859–60.

Elijah McCoy was educated in black schools of Colchester Township due to the 1850 Common Schools act which segregated the Upper Canadian schools in 1850. At age 15, in 1859, Elijah McCoy was sent to Edinburgh, Scotland for an apprenticeship and study. After some years, he was certified in Scotland as a mechanical engineer. By the time he returned, the George McCoy family had established themselves on the farm of John and Maryann Starkweather in Ypsilanti. George used his skills as a tobacconist to establish a tobacco and cigar business.

When Elijah McCoy arrived in Michigan, he could find work only as a fireman and oiler at the Michigan Central Railroad. In a home-based machine shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, McCoy also did more highly skilled work, such as developing improvements and inventions. He invented an automatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships, patenting it in 1872 as “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines” (U.S. Patent 129,843).

Similar automatic oilers had been patented previously; one is the displacement lubricator, which had already attained widespread use and whose technological descendants continued to be widely used into the 20th century. Lubricators were a boon for railroads, as they enabled trains to run faster and more profitably with less need to stop for lubrication and maintenance.^[4]

McCoy continued to refine his devices and design new ones; 50 of his patents dealt with lubricating systems. After the turn of the century, he attracted notice among his black contemporaries. Booker T. Washington in Story of the Negro (1909) recognized him as having produced more patents than any other black inventor up to that time. This creativity gave McCoy an honored status in the black community that has persisted to this day. He continued to invent until late in life, obtaining as many as 57 patents; most related to lubrication but others also included a folding ironing board and a lawn sprinkler. Lacking the capital with which to manufacture his lubricators in large numbers, he usually assigned his patent rights to his employers or sold them to investors. Lubricators with the McCoy name were not manufactured until 1920, near the end of his career, when he formed the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company to produce them.^[4]

Historians have not agreed on the importance of McCoy’s contribution to the field of lubrication. He is credited in some biographical sketches with revolutionizing the railroad or machine industries with his devices. Early twentieth-century lubrication literature barely mentions him; for example, his name is absent from E. L. Ahrons‘ Lubrication of Locomotives (1922), which does identify several other early pioneers and companies of the field.

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Viola Irene Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was a Canadian civil rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946 she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refusing to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre. For this, she was convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat she had paid for and the seat she used, which was more expensive. Desmond’s case is one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history and helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada.

In 2010, Desmond was granted a posthumous pardon, the first to be granted in Canada.^[2][3] The Crown-in-Right-of-Nova Scotia also apologized for prosecuting her for tax evasion and acknowledged she was rightfully resisting racial discrimination.^[4] In 2016, the Bank of Canada inaccurately announced that Desmond would be the first Canadian woman to be featured on the front of a Canadian banknote, but that honour went to Agnes Macphail, who appeared along with three men on a small print run commemorative note issued in 2017 to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

In late 2018 Desmond became the first Canadian woman to appear alone on a Canadian bank note—a $10 bill which was unveiled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz during a ceremony at the Halifax Central Library on March 8, 2018.^[5][6] Desmond was also named a National Historic Person in 2018.

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Lincoln Alexander was a lawyer, member of parliament, cabinet minister and war veteran, but he is perhaps best known as the former lieutenant governor of Ontario. Alexander was the first person from a visible minority to take on the role, and the first black member of parliament in Canadian history.

Following his tenure as lieutenant governor, Alexander served as chancellor of the University of Guelph for 16 years. In 2006, he was named the ‘Greatest Hamiltonian of All Time’ by readers of the Hamilton Spectator.

Alexander died on Oct. 19, 2012. He was 90.

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