It’s February, which means it’s time to remember history.

Black History Month is a time that “provides an opportunity to share and learn about the experiences, contributions and achievements of peoples of African ancestry,” according to blackhistorycanada.ca.

History Professor Alisa Harrison said Black History Month is partly a movement to foster social recognition for African Americans.

“A lot of it was really a response to the civil rights movement,” said Harrison.

Harrison’s research includes the civil rights movement, and the legacy of slavery in modern America. She says that, while it is important to think of black history year round, Black History Month serves as a jumping-off point.

“Black History Month gives us a really focused place to watch some of these documentaries,” said Harrison, referring to special coverage many TV stations offer in February.

Despite the fact Black History Month rose out of the U.S. in the ‘70s, Harrison and colleague professor James Colby agree it is relevant to all North Americans today.

Black History Month evolved from Negro History Week, which was founded by African-American historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. The month has been celebrated in Canada since 1950, when a man named Stanley G. Gizzle organized a celebration at Toronto’s African-Canadian “Shaw Street” British Methodist Episcopal Church.

However, it wasn’t until 1979 that February was officially declared Black History Month in Canada. The City of Toronto made the first official declaration of Black History Month in Canada, thanks to the petitioning efforts of the Ontario Black History Society.

Revisiting marginalized stories

“I think the question with Black History Month that has emerged sort of alongside black history itself is, what connection does it have with mainstream history that people think about as U.S. history and Canadian history as well?” said Colby.

He says the month offers an opportunity to draw a nation’s attention to a particular part of history that’s been marginalized.

“A lot of what this has been about ... is asserting that there is that history; that it’s more recoverable than people think,” said Colby. “Slavery didn’t just cut people off from their family histories and their past and their culture, but it silenced that past. It basically gave people the message that they didn’t have a history — at least not one worth remembering.”

Colby added that Western Canada has a more complex black history than most people tend to recognize, especially since Canada is so influenced by U.S. history and events. Black history is an integral part of this.

“One of the things I think about with black history is that it’s, in many ways, at the core of the experience in North America — at least from the first arrival of Africans,” he said.

Colby said that Canada was often viewed as a land of freedom.

“I get the sense that when Canadians do think about it, they sort of have a sense of national pride, that race is different in Canada,” said Colby. “For Canada, black history is not a source of deep national debate and tension and anxiety in the same way.”

However, Colby said African Americans often encountered similar, if not identical, forms of racism north of the border.

Harrison says Canadians, because they don’t have the same history of slavery, often regard themselves as morally superior to Americans.

“People have a false belief that we don’t have these problems,” she said.

Black History Month should challenge us to look at race relations in Canada, says Harrison.

“It can be a way to push us to kind of say ‘what are the basic premises in both of our countries’ histories that support ongoing white supremacy and separation?’”

Harrison says Black History Month is useful to Canadians because it’s an opportunity to look at certain historical stories that might otherwise get overlooked.

365 days a year

Black history shouldn’t be limited to February, Harrison and Colby both noted.

“In some ways, it tends to sort of give the perception (at least for a lot of white students and maybe for students of colour as well) that the rest of the year we talk about the real history and then in February we talk about black history,” said Colby.

UVic’s Students of Colour Collective (SOCC) agrees.

“To SOCC members in general, Black History Month, we don’t feel it’s just one month,” said SOCC advocacy representative Hassan Sheriff. “Every month, we remember the history of African Americans and African Canadians.”

Sheriff says Black History Month is similar to the National Day for the Elimination of Racism, which takes place March 21.

“We feel you shouldn’t wait until March 21 to practice anti-racism. We feel it’s something that should be perpetually practiced,” he said. “And for Black History Month, it should be perpetually remembered.”

Sheriff said SOCC doesn’t want to define how community members celebrate Black History Month, and that people should celebrate in any way they feel is right.

However, for students who would like to take the initiative and learn more about black history, he has some suggestions.

“Just talk to profs. Just take the initiative to learn. Read books in the library; talk to other individuals,” he said.

This year for Black History Month, SOCC is partnering with UVic’s Anti-Violence Project (AVP), which is showing the movie Precious on Feb. 26. SOCC will be participating in a panel discussion after the film.

Victoria’s black history

Though rarely discussed, Victoria saw a significant migration of dissatisfied African American pioneers in the 1850s.

According to historian Robert W. O’Brien, 800 African Americans migrated to Victoria from California after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the U.S.

The act made it so alleged fugitives could not give testimony in a trial.

Angered by this new law, African Americans from all over California made the decision to migrate to Canada. And, on April 20, 1858, 65 pioneers traveled north to purchase land in Victoria.

In Victoria, they discovered land was available for 20 shillings an acre and, as land owners, they would be entitled to the rights of electoral franchise and all protections under the law afforded to citizens of the colony after nine months of residency.