A coalition for Black voices in Nova Scotia

Photo: Halifax Examiner

Since 2015, the African Nova Scotian Decade for People of African Descent Coalition has been working on issues in the Black community, including justice, health, education, employment, and social services.

Virtual panel discusses the ongoing legacy of slavery and the topic of reparations

On Monday, Cikiah Thomas, Delvina Bernard, and Andrea Douglas participated in a ‘Pre-Conference Event for 2023 Universities Studying Slavery Conference, which was moderated by Isaac Saney.

On Monday, speakers at a virtual panel discussion talked about reparations and the ongoing legacy of slavery from Nova Scotian and Canadian perspectives. The event was hosted by Dalhousie University, University of King’s College, and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia and was advertised as a pre-conference event for the 2023 Universities Studying Slavery Conference to be hosted by University of King’s College. Isaac Saney, director of the transition year program, moderated the three-person panel.

Lionel Desmond was a victim of racism, cousin testifies at inquiry

Left: Raymond Sheppard, Right: Lionel Desmond

It was two years ago this month that Raymond Sheppard first wrote in the former Nova Scotia Advocate about the role racism played in the case of his younger cousin, Lionel Desmond, who, in 2017, killed his wife, Shanna, mother, Brenda, and 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah, before killing himself.

Desmond who served in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in the war in Afghanistan suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). An inquiry into deaths is now underway.

Lionel Desmond was a victim of racism, cousin testifies at inquiry

Lionel Desmond in a 2007 tour in Afghanistan that “was said to be the bloodiest of the Canadian Military’s combat mission,” according to Raymond Sheppard.

“Three guys that had been harassing him jumped Lionel in the men’s locker room and used racial slurs such as “chocolate milk” in reference to his wife (my sister Shanna). Lionel ended up successfully defending himself against the aggressors and ended up going to summary trial in response to the attack. There would definitely be records of that summary trial if we looked into it.”