Skating toward acceptance
Project highlights achievements of black hockey players.
Bob Dawson was the first black hockey player in the former Atlantic Intercollegiate Hockey League and was part of the first all-black line in Canadian university hockey. Dawson knows first-hand the barriers athletes of colour face.
Despite facing racism and other challenges, black hockey players have had a major impact on the game. Now a sportswriter and hockey historian, Dawson partnered with Black History Ottawa to highlight their achievements.
Dawson said the initiative was “a unique opportunity to connect with our past, celebrate who we are as black Canadians, and honour our achievements in the sport of hockey.”
The project launched in 2017. The first of three main events was a presentation about the history of the Coloured Hockey League of the Maritimes. The second was a screening of Damon Kwame Mason’s documentary Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future and a panel discussion with Willie O’Ree — the first black player in the National Hockey League. The project concluded with a commemorative hockey game held in Ottawa between teams named after two original Coloured Hockey League teams: the Dartmouth Jubilees and the Halifax Eurekas.
Dawson said it is important to recognize the racism that black hockey players were up against and to celebrate the perseverance of the players who broke down barriers to play the game they love.
History Makers is a celebration of community-based history initiatives across Canada. This project was shortlisted for the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.