africville_novascotia

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// Africville, Nova Scotia //
Africville was a tiny seacoast village located on the outskirts of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its population never exceeded 400, with 8 families. Based on many interviews with Africville’s previous residents, it was said that Africville was founded in 1838, by a former American slave. Africville was a friendly little town, and at the turn of the century, it was a vibrant place with young and hardworking people that filled the place with potential. It was originally named Campbell Road, but due to its African Canadian population, it was eventually called Africville.

In the early 1960’s, the City of Halifax decided that Africville would be expropriated from 1964-1969 in a series of post-war renewal projects. Africville had become a “deep source of shame” for the City of Halifax. With no basic necessities such as running water, sewage systems, garbage pickup, street lights, public transportation, or even paved roads, the once gleaming community has turned into the slums. Years of neglect and passive attitudes from the city council have resulted in the conditions and lack of services in Africville. When the residents tried to petition to the council so that they can receive essential services in their community, they were told that their appeal would be “looked over”; in the end, nothing was done. The residents of Africville were like all the other residents in Nova Scotia: they paid the government taxes and did their job as citizens. However, the difference was that the other communities had all the services while Africville took the castoffs from the other communities (a prison, hospital for contagious disease, dump etc). In the end, it all came down to the fact that the government just didn’t care.

The families living in Africville did not want to give up their land to the government. The government had offered them $500 in compensation and the residents would be moved to live in government public housing projects. The families had lived there for many years and some could be traced back 150 years. Families said they owned the land, yet very few could come up with the deeds to prove this. In the end, the bulldozers came in 1970 and tore down the last buildings. One of the largest buildings in Africville was the Seaview African Baptist Church. The church was a place for residents to gather together and it was the heart of the community. One of the compensation that residents are asking from the government is to rebuild Seaview African Baptist Church. "Our church meant so much to us. All over the community, we could hear that bell. How it would toll. You could almost hear the words - come to church, come to church. No matter where we go, we alwayas say there will never, never, never be another church like that little Seaview Baptist Church." - Laura Hoe, resident of Africville (Source The Canadian Challenge)

The City Council’s call for relocation was said to be a humanitarian effort to lessen the socio-economic depression in Africville. However, many say that relocation was just to remove the “eyesore” that the slums of Africville had become to Halifax, rather than a real effort to aid the residents. One of the main reasons that caused the vibrant community of Africville to become the slums in the 60’s was due to the City of Halifax’s indifference. Former residents believe that their passiveness in itself was a form or racism and discrimination to the African Canadian community. When the city took away Africville and offered better housing to the residents, it may have sound like an offer you wouldn’t want to miss. However, to the residents of Africville it was a different story altogether. One former resident said to a reporter in an interview, “It's true I have a nicer home and I have hot and cold water and a bathroom but I haven't got happiness, that's one thing I haven't got ... if Africville was built up again, I'd be the first to move back, I would". This shows the huge impact that the government’s decision for relocation had on the residents on Africville. What former residents say was probably the most humiliating thing was when the government showed up with old working dump trucks to transport the women, children, and families into the city. In a more recent radio clip from an Africville conference (which marked the 20th anniversary of Africville’s destruction), when Allen O’Brien, who was mayor of Halifax when the city decided on relocation, said that the city did not use garbage trucks to transport families, many people’s temper flare up and challenge his opinion.

After the relocation, City officials, US officials and other officials in Canada praised the action. They thought it had been a great achievement on the City Council’s part. When Donald Claremont, a sociology professor, conducted a study on the relocation, the results showed what the residents at Africville felt all along:the city had failed to see the importance of Africville’s roots. The community of Africville was the livelihood for its residents. Although the place lacked many essential services, the people there were happy; and as former resident Joe Skinner said, "In this country, when you own a piece of land, you are not a second class citizen." The act of relocation was a grave mistake for the government and many believe that we should remember this act in history so that the government will not make the same mistake again. Basically, the reason for relocation was because the conditions in the slums of Africville was affecting the image of the city, therefore, the city decided that they needed to get rid of Africville and relocate its citizens. However, the only reason for Africville’s deterioration was due to neglect from the city. When citizens petitioned, they were more or less ignored. The underlying reason? Africville was a community of Canadians from African descent, the actions of the government showed that they just didn’t care because it was a community of African Canadians in a country where it was predominantly white. In July 5th, 2002, the government recognized Africville as a National Historic Site and erected a monument in Seaview Memorial Park, which is on the site of the original community. The irony is that the monument, which is a sundial, doesn’t even tell the right time. Although the news may give peace to some residents, some do not agree. Former resident, Dr. Ruth Johnson, who was in her 50’s during the relocation says, "This is a happy event for some but yet this is a sad event for me ... to think I lost my birthplace for a park.” In 2004, the United Nations urged Canada to pay reparations to compensate those affected by the relocation. However, even by 2008 the government still failed to have action.

Sources: [|CBC Archives] [|Africville - The Spirit Lives On] [|Gone but Never Forgotten: Bob Brooks' Photographic Portrait of Africville in the 1960s] [|Stolen From Africville] The Canadian Challenge

Emily Chui