Fiona Tinwei Lam has published a lovely article in The Tyee: Beyond the Underground Railroad. Excerpt:
Black History Month is officially over. But the study of black history need not be confined to a particular day, week or month of the year. Actor Morgan Freeman is quoted to have said to 60 Minutes journalist Mike Wallace, "You're going to relegate my history to a month?... Which month is White History Month?... Black history is American history."
Important as it is to celebrate Black History Month in Canada, we need to recognize the contributions of black communities and individuals as an integral part of Canadian history as well. When my son was in kindergarten a few years ago, we read about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, where Canada was the destination for African-American slaves seeking freedom. Now that he's gotten older, he has been ready to hear about the more complicated side of Canada's black history.
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