Africville

Shirley J.      Juvenile Non-Fiction        History of the Africville community in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Africville by Shauntay Grant  32 pages

A children's book on the history of the black community known as Africville located in Halifax, Nova Scotia.   Africville was a part of Halifax for 150 years, beginning in the 1800s until its demise in the 1960s.   Africville was an area of brightly painted houses, a bustling tight knit community of black residents many former slaves from the United States who had made their way north across the Canadian border in hopes of freedom and a better life.   Sadly, the black settlers were met with racism from the local white people and the Africville community grew up on the outskirts of Halifax on the south shore of the Bedford Basin.   Despite local prejudice, the Africville community thrived.   There were stores, a school, a post office and the Seaview United Baptist Church, which served as the spiritual and social center.

The city of Halifax refused to provide access to clean water, the folks in Africville had to boil their water for usage, there was no sewage nor garbage disposal either even though the whites in Halifax had these things and the residents of Africville paid the same taxes the whites did.  Africville residents were forced to rely on wells for their water.    The residents asked the City to provide these basic services on many occasions but no action to help the residents there was ever taken.  The City brought even more problems to Africville by building an infectious disease hospital there, putting a dump there and also a prison.   In a further show of disrespect for the residents the City came in and removed and relocated long time residents from their homes without any warning nor discussion.   The residents were not consulted in any way about this forced move and as a further slap they were forcibly moved in garbage trucks to new locations at which locations they were met with further hatred, racism and threats of being burned out.  Many cried to be forced from the homes they owned and had lived in all their lives.   The City had no heart for the black people.   The City said they wanted the land to build industry and infrastructure.  They came in and tore down their homes razing them to the ground.   They claimed they were raising their standards of living relocating them to better areas.   Most residents got no more than $500 for their property and those who couldn't show proof of ownership even though they had lived in their homes for generations, got nothing.  No consultation with residents, no consideration of their viewpoints.  This from the Halifax Human Rights Advisory Committee, the group charged with consulting the community.   The community was demolished in 1964.   The last home was destroyed in 1970.   Most of the residents were forced onto government assistance in social housing.    In the 1980s the Africville Genealogy Society was formed.   An apology was issued to the Africville community by the Mayor of Halifax in 2010 and after years of residents seeking recompense, a settlement was reached though some former residents still seek individual compensation for what they suffered.   The Seaview Baptist Church was rebuilt as part of the settlement and today serves as the Africville Museum.