Twenty years of celebration

By Michael Hugall

February marks the twentieth year of celebration for members of the African-Canadian community.
In 1995, Black History Month was adopted when Liberal MP Jean Augustine brought the idea to the Senate. The recognition of the month was officially noted in 2008 when Senator Donald Oliver had it unanimously approved.

As part of the months festivities, members of the African-Canadian community reflected on their heritage and remembering what the month means to them.

“I was fortunate enough to have people teach me about black history,” said Sandwich First Baptist Church deacon Kim Elliot. “Coming from Amherstburg where the town was much more integrated, I learned about black history in the first and second grade.”
Amherstburg is most-known as the freedom spot for refugees of the United States. It was the ending of the Underground Railroad.

The Amherstburg Black Historical Museum was established in 1964 by Melvin “Mac” Simpson and its purpose was to educate people about how enslaved African-Canadians escaped to freedom.
Elliott said in growing up and learning about the culture there were definitely feelings of shame, however, he was influenced to think differently by teacher Vivan Robbins, one of the founders of the Black Historical Society in Ontario.

“Knowing that we came from slavery only intensified the shame,” said Elliott. “Although, Black History Month is teaching us about where we came from… Kingdoms in Africa.”

Elliott said this month of celebration helped him at an early age to find his identity and said he knows it is much more then skin deep.

St. Clair College student Iesha Coburn said she sees this month as an opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of many African descendants in pop-culture and government office.

“There are movie stars, television anchors- you pretty much see all races everywhere now, whereas back in the day, there was a certain stereotype,” said Coburn. “There are a lot of things that black people have done and accomplished that I myself didn’t even know about.
Some notable inventions being the stop light, invented by Garrett A. Morgan, the guitar, invented by Robert F. Flemming Jr. and the thermostat, invested by Frederick M. Jones.”

One of the ways the black community celebrates this month in through Afrofest. Afrofest is a festival that is annually held at the University of Windsor as a celebration and a means of education for African Canadian culture.

This year marked Afrofest’s tenth anniversary. According to event’s coordinator Zainab Ikpong the attendance has been declining each year.
“I am not sure whether it is due to promotion, because students are busier with school, or because people are less interested,” said Ikpong. “I have also noticed that our attendance looks less and less diverse over the years.”

Ikpong said there is a lot that goes into running the event such as programming and promotion but she said the staff tries to make it the best experience possible.

Elliott said he intends to pass the message of equality onto his children and grand-children.

“I think that the education around African-Canadian history is better than it was when I was a kid,” said Elliott. “I know I have to set an example for my children.”