Places in the Afrikan world: Africville, Nova Scotia... Africville is/was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Introduction Africvilles story is very unique; many of the families who settled there can trace their origins in as far back as the late 1700s. Many others say it was established by Black slaves from America after the War of 1812. It was officially founded in the 1838. Regardless, these African people were among the first settlers in Nova Scotia. According to Parks Canada records, the population of Africville never exceeded 400 people, derived from up to 80 different families. It was a tight community of law-abiding, tax paying, mostly Baptist citizens who did their best to survive in the conditions they were forced to live in by the Canadian government. Despite the healthy-looking reputation Canada has of equality and the anti-slavery movements, the downfall of Africville shows another side of the story. Simply put, in the decades before the city of Halifax actually bulldozed Africville to the ground, the government made life miserable for its Black citizens. Due to unequal political rights and discrimination, the residents of Africville had no say in what came to pass with their community. The city built up a series of offensive industries around the community’s borders; a prison, night soil disposal pits, an Infectious Disease Hospital, plus a waste disposal site and incinerator. History Settled in earnest sometime after the War of 1812, it all began with a promise to Black Loyalists and War of 1812 Refugees of free land and equal rights. In 1836, Campbell Road was constructed creating an access route along the north side of the Halifax Peninsula which may have attracted settlement. The community of Africville was never officially established, but the first land transaction documented on paper was dated 1848. First known as The Campbell Road Settlement, the community became known as Africville about 1900. Although many people thought it was named Africville because the people who lived there came from Afrika, this was not the case. One elderly woman, a resident of Africville, was quoted as saying, it wasnt Africville out there. None of the people came from Africa…it was part of Richmond (Northern Halifax), just the part where the coloured folks lived. Africville began as a small and poor, but self-sufficient rural community of about 50 Afrikans in the 19th century; however, an influx of population and the imposition of industries and facilities starting in World War I led the community to evolve into a more crowded and neglected urban neighbourhood whose population peaked at 400 at the time of the Halifax Explosion. The communitys haphazardly positioned dwellings ranged from small, well maintained and brightly painted homes to tiny ramshackle dwellings converted from sheds. In the late 1850s, the Nova Scotia Railway, later to become the Intercolonial Railway, was built from Richmond to the south, bisecting Africville as the railways mainline along the western shores of Bedford Basin. A second line arrived in 1906 with the arrival of the Halifax and Southwestern Railway which connected to the Intercolonial at Africville. The Intercolonial Railway, later Canadian National Railways, constructed Basin Yard west of the community, adding more tracks. Trains ran through the area constantly. The Africville Seasides hockey team of the pioneering Colored Hockey League (1894-1930) won the championship in 1901 and 1902. The team beat West End Rangers from PEI to retain their title in a 3-2 single game victory in February 1902, and were led by star goaltender William Carvery, his two brothers on the team, plus three Dixon brothers also on the squad. In the Halifax Explosion of 1917, elevated land to the south protected Africville from the direct blast and complete destruction that levelled the neighbouring community of Richmond. However, the community did suffer considerable damage. A doctor of a relief train arriving at Halifax made note of Africville residents as they wandered disconsolately around the ruins of their still standing little homes. Four Africville residents (and one Mikmaq woman visiting from Queens County, Nova Scotia) were killed in the community.[7] In the aftermath of the disaster, Africville received modest relief assistance but none of the reconstruction and none of the modernization which was invested into other parts of the city after the explosion. Daily life Economically, the first two generations were not prosperous. Jobs were scarce and racism made life difficult. Many men found employment in low-paying jobs; many worked as seamen or Pullman porters, who would clean and work on train cars. Only 35 percent of labourers had regular employment, and 65 percent of the people worked as domestic servants. They had limited opportunities. Women were also hired as cooks, to clean the hospital or prison, and some elderly women were hired to clean upper-class houses. Opportunities were not only lacking in employment, education was also always a problem in the community. In 1883 they received their first elementary school, but were fully responsible for its funding. It was a poor community, so up until 1933 none of the teachers had obtained formal training. However, even with the school, only 40 percent of boys and girls received any education at all. Out of the 140 children ever registered, just 60 children reached either grade 7 or 8, and only four boys and one girl reached grade 10. To understand Africville, you got to know about the church. The Seaview African United Baptist Church was established at Africville in 1849 and joined up with other black Baptist Congregations to make the African Baptist Association in 1854. Their social life revolved around the church. Baptisms, weddings and funerals brought a sense of community for the people. Many other Black communities would choose Africville as their location of choice for Sunday picnics and events. Everything was done through the church, clubs, youth organizations, ladies auxiliary and Bible classes. The church was the centre of their unity and stability for so long. It showed the life and heart of the town. Throughout its history, Africville was confronted with much racial isolation. The town never received proper roads, health services, water, street lamps or electricity. Simple things all towns received, they did not. The continuing issues and protests for water and sewage, clearly show the disproportionate relationship the city of Halifax had toward Africville residents vs. other communities. The lack of these services had serious health implications for the lives of the people, and the citys concerns for them was as existent as these facilities they demanded. Contamination of the wells was a serious and ongoing issue, so even the little water they did receive needed to be boiled before use. As the City of Halifax expanded, Africville became a preferred site for all types of undesirable industries and facilities — a prison in 1853, an infectious disease hospital in 1870, then a slaughterhouse, and even a depository for fecal waste from nearby Russellville. In 1958 the city decided to move the town garbage dump to the Africville area. While the residents knew they could not legally fight this, they illegally salvaged the dump for usable goods. They would get clothes, copper, steel, brass, tin, etc. The dump was the final step in labelling this area an official slum. Eviction During the 1940s and 1950s in different parts of Canada, the federal, provincial and municipal governments were working together to take communities labelled slums and relocate the people to better housing. The intent was to use the land for business and industry. Many years earlier, and again in 1947, after a major fire burnt several Africville houses, the topic of relocation of Africville had been discussed. Concrete plans of relocation did not officially emerge until 1961. Stimulated by the Stephenson Report of 1957 and the creation of the Citys Department of Development in 1961, the topic of relocation finally became a reality. In 1962 Halifax adopted the relocation proposal unanimously, and the Rose Report, published in 1964, was passed 37/41 in favour of relocation. The Rose Report finalized everything. It promised free lawyers and social workers, job training, employment assistance, education services, etc. The report never went into details or analyzed what the lives of residents would be like in their new homes, but was insistent that their best interests were at heart. The actual relocation took place mainly between 1964 and 1967. The residents were forced in their move by Halifax literally moving the Africvillians with the city dump trucks. This image forever stuck in the minds and hearts of people and clearly indicated the degrading style in which these people were treated before, during and after the move. There were many hardships, suspicion and jealousy that emerged, mostly due to complications of land and ownership claims. Only 14 residents held clear legal titles to their land. Those with no legal rights were given a $500 payment and promised a furniture allowance, social assistance, and public housing units. Young families would make enough money to begin a new life, but most of the elderly residents would not budge as they had much more of an emotional connection to their homes. They were filled with grief and felt cheated out of their property. However resistance to eviction became harder as more people accepted and homes disappeared. The city quickly demolished each house as soon as residents moved out. The church at Africville was demolished in 1969 at night to avoid controversy. The last Africville home was demolished on January 2, 1970. After relocation, Africvillians were faced with just as many problems as before. The cost of living went up in their new homes, more people were unemployed and without regular incomes, none of the promised employment or education programs promised materialized, and none of the promises was granted as benefits were so modest as to be virtually irrelevant…within a year and a half this post-relocation program lay in ruins.[18] Family strains and debt forced many to rely on public assistance, and anxiety was high among the people. One of the biggest complaints was that they feel no sense of ownership or pride in the sterile public housing projects. Post eviction history Part of Africville is now occupied by a highway interchange that services the A. Murray MacKay Bridge; however, the port development at Fairview Cove did not extend as far east as Africville, leaving the waterfront intact. In light of the controversy surrounding the community, the city of Halifax created Seaview Memorial Park on the site in the 1980s, preserving it from development. Former Africville residents such as Eddie Carvery carried out periodic protests at the park throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In May 2005, New Democratic Party of Nova Scotia MLA Maureen MacDonald introduced a bill in the provincial legislature called the Africville Act. The bill calls for a formal apology from the Nova Scotia government, a series of public hearings on the destruction of Africville, and the establishment of a development fund to go towards historical preservation of Africville lands and social development in benefit of former residents and their descendants. Halifax mayor Peter Kelly has offered land, some money and various other services for a replica of the Seaview African United Baptist Church. After the offer was originally made in 2002, the Africville Genealogy Society requested some alterations to the Halifax offer, including additional land and the possibility of building affordable housing near the site. The Africville site was declared a national historic site in 2002. Africville Apology On February 23, 2010 the Halifax Council ratified a proposed Africville apology with an arrangement with the Government of Canada to establish a $250,000 Africville Heritage Trust to design a museum and build a replica of the community church. On 24 February 2010 Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly made the Africville Apology, apologizing for the eviction as part of a $4.5-million compensation deal. The City restored the name Africville to Seaview Park at the annual Africville Family Reunion on July 29, 2011.The Seaview African United Baptist Church, demolished in 1969, was rebuilt in the summer of 2011 to serve as a church and interpretation centre. The nearly complete church was ceremonially opened on September 25, 2011. Famous Residents Notable residents Parents of Mildred Dixon - wife of Duke Ellington (c.1928-1938) (Mildred was born in Boston) Clara Carvery Adams - namesake of Duke Ellingtons song Clara Eddie Carvery - Eddie Carvery is a political protester from Africville, Nova Scotia. The mainly black community in Halifax was destroyed by the city in the 1960s as an urban renewal project. Carvery started his protest on the site in 1970. Carvery lived in what became known as Seaview Park on and off over a period of 25 years before making international news when the G7 came to Halifax in 1995. The City of Halifax tried to evict Eddie and his brother Victor from Seaview Park. The brothers eventually moved out of the park and onto adjacent land, continuing the protest where the village school once stood. The Carverys remained protesting on the grounds of Africville as of 2010. Eddie remains at his protest site behind the newly built Africville Church as of February 2012. The Hermit of Africville, a biography of Eddie Carvery, was released by Pottersfield Press in 2010. George Dixon (boxer) Source: Alexander, Ken. Towards freedom : The African-Canadian experience. Toronto : Umbrella Press & Wikipedia
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:54:30 +0000
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