February marks African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black communities, past and present. We wanted to share some uncommon “Did You Know?” facts that highlight Black history and its spectrum in Nova Scotia. These stories reflect the important role recreation, sport, and community spaces have played in Black communities across the province, and beyond.
We invite you this month to learn, reflect, and celebrate with us.
Did you know?
Most Canadians know the music of Bob Marley. Fewer know that one of his most powerful songs, Redemption Song, traces its roots to a 1937 speech by Black rights activist Marcus Garvey in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Garvey’s call to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery” directly inspired the song’s most famous lyric. In the early 20th century, ‘Garveyism’ had a strong presence in African Nova Scotian communities, with active Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) chapters in Halifax, Sydney, and other Black communities across the province. These communities were part of a global Black freedom movement rooted in self-determination, pride, and resistance. The same themes echoed in Redemption Song.
Learn more: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-african-nova-scotian-roots-of-bob-marleys-redemption-song
Did you know?
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a special connection to recreation and sport that ties back to Canada, including Nova Scotia. His father and Black Loyalist descendent, Rocky Johnson, was born and raised in Amherst, Nova Scotia and became a legendary professional wrestler, later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Dwayne not only followed in his dad’s footsteps into professional wrestling, but he also spent part of his early athletic career playing Canadian football with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL, an experience he has called one of the defining periods of his life.
Did you know?
In 1970, Saint Mary’s University made Canadian university hockey history when Bob Dawson, Darrell Maxwell, and Percy Paris took the ice together as the first and only all-Black forward line in Canadian university hockey. Their presence also made Saint Mary’s the first Canadian university to roster three Black players on its hockey team. At a time when Black athletes faced widespread racism and exclusion, their achievement was groundbreaking, not just for the sport, but for representation, resilience, and history in African Canadian communities.
Learn more: https://www.smuhuskies.ca/general/2021-22/releases/20220203sbi7nz and https://www.smuhuskies.ca/sports/general/2015-16/Releases/First_all-black_line_in_Canadian_university_hockey_honoured