FOCUS FAMILY LEARNING ON OUR DIVERSE POPULATION DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH
February is Black History Month. At our house, we’re marking the occasion in a few ways.
First, we’ll be taking our kids to see Black Panther, the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first to feature a predominantly black cast.
While the kids have seen black heroes before — Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Will Smith in Men in Black, and even their own dad playing Commander Canada in the Edmonton-made TV show, Tiny Plastic Men — this massive Marvel movie has major cultural impact. Black representation in the superhero world has been dismal and this black universe is significant to a lot of black children and adults alike ( just check out the hashtag #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe).
Does Black Panther count as black history? This film is making history — and that’s good enough for us.
In addition to a trip to the movies, this year, for the first time, we started to really talk to our kids about black history and what that means.
Our kids have a black dad and a white mom. But February is a good time for all kids to not only learn history not necessarily taught in the classroom, but to consider Canada’s diverse population, and whether our experiences are adequately reflected in the curriculum.
If they’re not, there’s work we can do at home, and discussions we can have with our kids that give them broader perspectives. Don’t know where to start? If you want to teach your kids some black history with an Alberta focus, here are a few ideas.
JOHN WARE
Recently the subject of a Workshop West play at the Backstage Theatre written by Alberta historian Cheryl Foggo, John Ware was a famous, influential and successful rancher.
Born into slavery in South Carolina, he honed his ranch skills in Texas after the U.S. Civil War and brought the first cattle to southern Alberta in 1882. He was a key figure in creating Alberta’s ranching industry.
Ware became known in Alberta for his unmatched skill riding and training horses. He met and married his wife, Mildred, and they made their life near Duchess with their five children. Today, a school in Calgary and a creek southwest of the city bear his name.
BLACK ALBERTA SETTLERS
Between 1909 and 1911, about 1,000 black pioneers made their way to Western Canada from the American South. They were fleeing oppressive Jim Crow laws and hoping to find a better, freer existence in the north.
Canada was less than welcoming and quickly stopped black immigration. But before they did, five communities sprang up in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The largest and most northerly was Amber Valley, located just east of Athabasca. My children’s greatgreat-grandparents were among Amber Valley’s first settlers.
VIOLET KING
The first female black lawyer to practise law in Canada, Violet King was a descendent of the original settlers in Keystone (now Breton) — one of the five black settlements. She attended the University of Alberta in 1948, one of only three women in the faculty of law where there were 142 students.
Overcoming massive barriers to both her sex and her race, she was the only woman in her graduating class and she was the first black person to graduate law school in Alberta.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
He’s not Canadian, but Martin Luther King Jr. is the foremost spokesperson for the American civil rights movement. He’s a great figure to include in your conversations — for his significance to black history in the U.S. and for the wealth of information (films, television, books) readily available in various age-appropriate iterations.
Your kids have probably already heard parts of the I Have a Dream speech. Here’s an opportunity to give them context and to discuss where we’ve come from and how far we have yet to go to achieve equality.
Of course, this list is just a starting point — and doesn’t even begin to encompass the vast contributions Edmonton and Alberta’s many Caribbean and African communities have made to the city and province. But these are a few stories of determination and perseverance — stories that are relevant and inspiring to all kids, no matter their cultural background.
And yes, take your kids to see Black Panther this weekend. It’s supposed to be great.