Category: Feature Updates

That Hockey Photo Keeps Circulating. Let’s Get the History Right.

Black-and-white historical photo of a Black hockey team holding wooden sticks, centered on a black background with a yellow border; text above repeats the claim “Slaves Ran Away to Canada and Invented Ice Hockey,” stamped with a large red “FALSE,” and a BlackNovaScotia.ca logo appears in the bottom right corner.

A photo from the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes often circulates online with the claim that runaway slaves invented ice hockey in Canada. The image is real, the caption is not. Here’s why the timeline, geography, and documented history tell a more accurate and more powerful story about Black hockey in Nova Scotia.

THE ROOTS OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATIONS IN NOVA SCOTIA

Composite black-and-white image showing two historical scenes related to Black History organizing in Nova Scotia. The top photo shows three Black youth seated behind a table with a microphone during a Black History knowledge tournament. The bottom photo shows six members of the Black Cultural Awareness Group at Queen Elizabeth High School standing behind a display titled “Display of Black Culture in Nova Scotia,” photographed in 1982.

Before Black History Month became a province-wide fixture in Nova Scotia, it was built through grassroots organizing, youth leadership, and public library programming. This historical account—originally shared by the Black Artists Network of Nova Scotia (BANNS / BANS)—documents the early origins of Black History Week and the community-driven efforts that helped expand it into what it is today. Preserved here as originally written, the text offers a reminder that Black History Month in Nova Scotia was shaped from the ground up, long before it was institutionalized.

$2 Million Investment Strengthens Black Community Land Trusts Across Nova Scotia

Across Nova Scotia, African Nova Scotian communities are reclaiming land as a foundation for housing, culture, and long-term stability. A new $2-million investment in four Community Land Trusts — in Truro, North End Halifax, Upper Hammonds Plains, and Weymouth Falls — is helping strengthen Black-led approaches to land stewardship rooted in history, accountability, and intergenerational care.

Environmental Racism in Nova Scotia: What Was Promised, What Was Withheld, and What Black Communities Should Take From It

A social media graphic using a historic Africville photograph as its background. The image includes bold headline text discussing environmental racism in Nova Scotia, framed by a yellow border. The background photo shows unsafe water conditions in a Black community, reinforcing the article’s focus on environmental harm and systemic neglect.

For months, Nova Scotians heard about a provincial report on environmental racism not because it was released, but because parts of it leaked. When the government finally posted a draft, it raised more questions than it answered — about delay, accountability, and what justice actually looks like for Black and Mi’kmaq communities still living with the consequences. This piece breaks down what happened, why it matters, and what Black Nova Scotians should be watching for next.

The Unsung Hero of the Halifax Explosion: Dr. Clement Courtenay Ligoure (1887-1922)

Split image showing a historical portrait of Dr. Clement Ligoure alongside the North Street building in Halifax that housed his Amanda Private Hospital.

Long before Halifax rebuilt itself after the Explosion, Dr. Clement Ligoure was already doing the work—treating the injured by lamplight from a small private hospital on North Street. He never turned anyone away. He never closed his doors. And yet, for decades, his name was missing from the city’s official memory of that day.

Quebec Man Confronted at Historic Black Monument in New Glasgow

A still image shows a tense interaction at the Afrocentric Heritage Park in New Glasgow. A white man in a blue cap and shirt faces a Black man wearing a bicycle helmet and a black T-shirt with a lion design, as a police officer stands nearby watching. A monument plaque is visible in the foreground. Text over the image reads, "Historic Black Monument in New Glasgow Disrespected During Homecoming Week" inside a yellow border.

Yesterday morning, a white man was confronted by a group of Black community members at the Afrocentric Heritage Park Monument in New Glasgow after several ropes were strung across the structure, holding what appeared to be blankets or towels — laundry — on a monument built to honor the African Nova Scotian community, its history, and its ancestors.

Africville Reunion Shooting: In Advance of the One-Year Anniversary

A young Black woman with long braided hair smiles gently while wearing a white top. She stands outdoors in front of a red vehicle and a brick building, with other people and cars visible in the background. This is Chrishia Carvery, the victim of the 2023 Africville shooting.

As the one-year anniversary of the Africville Reunion shooting approaches, this piece reflects on the 2024 incident that left five people injured, including 17-year-old Chrishia Carvery, who was paralyzed. It also notes the ongoing lack of arrests and the community’s continued calls for healing and accountability.