Last Days in Africville

Last Days in Africville
Author: Dorothy Perkyns
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2006-02-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 145971590X

In mid-1960s Halifax, 12-year-old Selina is growing up in a tightly knit community of African-Canadians whose days are numbered when ugly rumours surface about the fate of Africville.

Africville

Africville
Author: Shauntay Grant
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Total Pages: 19
Release: 2018-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1773060449

Finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books When a young girl visits the site of Africville, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the stories she’s heard from her family come to mind. She imagines what the community was once like — the brightly painted houses nestled into the hillside, the field where boys played football, the pond where all the kids went rafting, the bountiful fishing, the huge bonfires. Coming out of her reverie, she visits the present-day park and the sundial where her great- grandmother’s name is carved in stone, and celebrates a summer day at the annual Africville Reunion/Festival. Africville was a vibrant Black community for more than 150 years. But even though its residents paid municipal taxes, they lived without running water, sewers, paved roads and police, fire-truck and ambulance services. Over time, the city located a slaughterhouse, a hospital for infectious disease, and even the city garbage dump nearby. In the 1960s, city officials decided to demolish the community, moving people out in city dump trucks and relocating them in public housing. Today, Africville has been replaced by a park, where former residents and their families gather each summer to remember their community.

Africaville

Africaville
Author: Jeffrey Colvin
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2019-12-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0062913735

2020 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee-Debut Fiction A ferociously talented writer makes his stunning debut with this richly woven tapestry, set in a small Nova Scotia town settled by former slaves, that depicts several generations of one family bound together and torn apart by blood, faith, time, and fate. Vogue : Best Books to Read This Winter Structured as a triptych, Africaville chronicles the lives of three generations of the Sebolt family—Kath Ella, her son Omar/Etienne, and her grandson Warner—whose lives unfold against the tumultuous events of the twentieth century from the Great Depression of the 1930s, through the social protests of the 1960s to the economic upheavals in the 1980s. A century earlier, Kath Ella’s ancestors established a new home in Nova Scotia. Like her ancestors, Kath Ella’s life is shaped by hardship—she struggles to conceive and to provide for her family during the long, bitter Canadian winters. She must also contend with the locals’ lingering suspicions about the dark-skinned “outsiders” who live in their midst. Kath Ella’s fierce love for her son, Omar, cannot help her overcome the racial prejudices that linger in this remote, tight-knit place. As he grows up, the rebellious Omar refutes the past and decides to break from the family, threatening to upend all that Kath Ella and her people have tried to build. Over the decades, each successive generation drifts further from Africaville, yet they take a piece of this indelible place with them as they make their way to Montreal, Vermont, and beyond, to the deep South of America. As it explores notions of identity, passing, cross-racial relationships, the importance of place, and the meaning of home, Africaville tells the larger story of the black experience in parts of Canada and the United States. Vibrant and lyrical, filled with colorful details, and told in a powerful, haunting voice, this extraordinary novel—as atmospheric and steeped in history as The Known World, Barracoon, The Underground Railroad, and The Twelve Tribes of Hattie—is a landmark work from a sure-to-be major literary talent.

Africville

Africville
Author: Donald H. J. Clairmont
Publisher: Canadian Scholars’ Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN: 1551300931

In the mid 1960s the city of Halifax decided to relocate the inhabitants of Africville--a black community that had been transformed by civil neglect, mismanagement, and poor planning into one of the worst city slums in Canadian history. Africville is a sociological account of the relocation that reveals how lack of resources and inadequate planning led to devastating consequences for Africville relocatees. Africville is a work of painstaking scholarship that reveals in detail the social injustice that marked both the life and the death of the community. It became a classic work in Canadian sociology after its original publication in 1974. The third edition contains new material that enriches the original analysis, updates the account, and highlights the continuing importance of Africville to black consciousness in Nova Scotia.

Communities Then and Now

Communities Then and Now
Author: Katie Peters
Publisher: Lerner Publications ™
Total Pages: 16
Release: 2021-01-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1728408555

This nonfiction title walks readers through a changing neighborhood using eye-catching photos with a tight text-to-photo match. Pairs with the fiction title Grandpa's Photos.

Righting Canada's Wrongs: Africville

Righting Canada's Wrongs: Africville
Author: Gloria Ann Wesley
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2019-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 145941358X

The community of Africville was founded in the late 1800s when African Nova Scotians built homes on the Bedford Basin on the northern edge of Halifax. Africville grew to include a church, a school, and small businesses. At its peak, about 400 people lived there. The community was lively and vibrant, with a strong sense of culture and tradition. But the community had its problems. Racist attitudes prevented people from getting well-paying jobs in the city and the City of Halifax refused residents basic services such as running water, sewage disposal, and garbage collection. In the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal, the City of Halifax decided to demolish Africville, relocate its residents and use the land for industrial development. Residents strongly opposed this move, but their homes were bulldozed, and many had to move into public housing projects in other parts of the city. After years of pressure from former members of the community and their descendants, the City of Halifax finally apologized for the destruction of Africville and offered some compensation. A replica of the church was built on the site. But former residents and their descendents were refused compensation beyond what little was paid in the 1960s. Through historical photographs, documents, and first-person narratives, this book tells the story of Africville. It documents how the city destroyed Africville and much later apologized for it — and how the spirit of the community lives on.

A Love Letter to Africville

A Love Letter to Africville
Author: Amanda Carvery-Taylor
Publisher:
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2021-02-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781773634364

A Love Letter to Africville compiles personal stories and photos from former residents of Africville. Much has been written about the struggles of the Africville community, who have been hurt and discriminated against for so long -- but Africville is so much more than the pain. This book corrects the historical narrative and helps former residents heal by emphasizing the beautiful and positive aspects of Africville. Amanda Carvery-Taylor organizes captivating stories and stunning photography that express the love and importance of Africville.

Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged

Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged
Author: Jody Nyasha Warner
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2010
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0888997795

Tells the story of Viola Desmond, an African Canadian woman who, in 1946, challenged a Nova Scotia movie theater's segregation policy by refusing to move from her seat to an upstairs section designated for use by blacks.

Africville's Daughters: I Saw What You Have Done

Africville's Daughters: I Saw What You Have Done
Author: Sheila Flint
Publisher: Africville's Daughters
Total Pages: 98
Release: 2019-09-12
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781775090601

Sheila Flint was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the evening of October 29th, 1951. She was raised not far away in a part of Africville called Bigtown. She and her family enjoyed their life along the shores of Bedford Basin as anyone would - swimming, fishing, and building bonfires for cookouts. She enjoyed lobsters, crabs, mussels, and penny-winkles. This was the life she knew until 1966 when the city of Halifax rushed in with their long-standing plan for 'urban renewal' that would remove their families from their homes. Those affected suffered in numerous ways, including trauma, deaths, and separations of families - including Sheila's immediate family. Sheila and other children were bullied and treated unfairly by the school board because they were black. She endured pains that no girl should have to endure - but she has chosen to forgive and live a life of gratitude. After feeling lost in other people's thoughts and wants for her life, she has learned to choose her own destiny, not leaving it up to others to determine. She now lives in Montreal and has chosen to master whatever comes her way and feel inspired by those who truly care about her. In seeking out new challenges and enjoying her life, she's decided to write Africville's Daughters as her first project. This is an avenue by which she is freeing herself of all burdens and committing to achieving her goals. Sheila is moving past the bad memories to be able to live life and enjoy making new memories with her children and family that she has left.