August 1 is Emancipation Day in Canada and other former British territories. This day commemorates the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 took effect. Take this time as an opportunity to learn from history and celebrate the contributions of Black communities to our region. Check out some titles below and learn more about local festivities from the City of Kingston website.
The Kids Book of Black History in Canada by Rosemary Sadlier and Arden Taylor
The Kids Book of Black Canadian History has been reimagined for a new generation of young readers. It includes topics from Canada's legacy of slavery to the global impacts of the Black Lives Matter movement. Ages 8-12.
Trailblazers: The Black Pioneers Who Have Shaped Canada by Tiyahna Ridley-Padmore and Merryl-Royce Ndema-Moussa
This disruptive children’s book introduces readers to Canada’s Black history through the incredible and under-told stories of over forty important Black agents of change. Ages 12+.
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson and Kelly Marshall
Take a culinary journey that explores the hidden stories of Black Appalachians through powerful essays and forty comforting recipes.
Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia by Crawford Kilian
Some six hundred Black Californians made the trip to Victoria in the midst of the Fraser River Gold Rush, but their hopes of finding a welcoming new home were ultimately disappointed.
Blacks in Canada: A History by Robin W. Winks
Blacks in Canada covers history from the introduction of slavery in 1628 to the Caribbean immigration waves of the 1950s and 1960s, including the forced migration of enslaved people brought by Loyalists at the end of the American Revolution, Black refugees who fled to Nova Scotia following the War of 1812, Jamaican Maroons and those escaping slavery to British North America.
Black Futures by Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham
What does it mean to be Black and alive right now? Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham have compiled this collection of work—images, photos, essays, memes, dialogues, recipes, tweets, poetry, and more—to tell the story of the radical, imaginative, provocative, and gorgeous world that Black creators are bringing forth today.
