Dr. Henry Bishop

Weymouth Falls receives community spirit award alongside reunion celebration [VIDEO]

On Aug. 5, 2023, the historic African Nova Scotian community of Weymouth Falls is receiving the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award.

Weymouth Falls was selected for the award in 2022, but the ceremony was delayed so it could happen alongside the community’s biennial reunion celebrations — the first since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

Read more
Madden Ross (right) participated in an inaugural weekend-long basketball camp in Halifax hosted by Milwaukee Bucks guard, Lindell Wigginton (left). Photo: Lisa Ross.

‘Dream big’: NBA pro Lindell Wigginton hosts basketball camp in Halifax

Dozens of young basketball players from the Halifax area gathered in the Saint Mary’s University gym on Saturday morning to watch as a National Basketball Association (NBA) star stepped onto the court to offer some words of inspiration.

Lindell Wigginton, 25, who grew up nearby in the city’s Uniacke Square area, launched his inaugural weekend-long basketball camp at the university’s Homburg Centre in hopes of developing the next generation of talent.

The Milwaukee Bucks point guard said through his skills academy, he aims to offer resources and insight that weren’t available to him when he first started out.

Read more
Kerian Burnett, left, and Stacey Gomez, right, speak to reporters in Halifax on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. Burnett arrived in Nova Scotia from Jamaica to work on a strawberry farm, but says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis, leaving her without medical coverage. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Marlo Glass

Jamaican migrant worker granted federal health care after being fired from N.S. farm [VIDEO]

A migrant worker who was diagnosed with cervical cancer shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia has been granted health insurance under a federal program.

Kerian Burnett arrived from Jamaica in April 2022 to work on a strawberry farm, and says she was fired after her cancer diagnosis and left without medical coverage.

Her lawyer, Thiago Buchert, says that after nearly eight months Burnett has been admitted to the interim federal health program.

Read more
PC MLA Elect for Preston, Twaila Grosse, at her campaign announcement even in June, 2023.

Twila Grosse said no decision yet on her role with African Nova Scotian Affairs, joining caucus [AUDIO]

Twila Grosse won Tuesday’s byelection, making her the first person of African descent to be elected for the provincial PC party.

The next sitting of the legislative assembly will also be the first in Nova Scotia’s history where MLAs of African descent will represent all of the parties in the legislature.

At her campaign announcement event in June, Grosse and Premier Tim Houston said they had had some preliminary discussions about her taking on the role of minister with African Nova Scotian Affairs. In an interview with the Examiner on Thursday, Grosse reiterated that no decision has been made on that matter.

“Now my focus is, in terms of being oriented, being set up as an MLA, getting going with regards to trying to seek solutions, and trying to get up to speed on some of the various issues and some of the things that need to be done in the riding,” Grosse said.

“I’m sure at some point that discussion will be had with regards to moving forward and sort of how I can contribute to our government.”

Read more

Dartmouth mother of two felt “bullied” into signing fixed-term lease in Ocean Breeze

When Destiny Beals moved into her apartment in Ocean Breeze, she expected to be able to stay and live with her family for a few years.

According to Beals, Universal Property Management, a realty group managing leasing agreements in Ocean Breeze, told her and other residents not to worry about the details of their fixed-term leases, and that construction would not impact them for years to come.

“It felt like I was being bullied and pressured,” Beals said in an interview. “We are literally just being thrown to the wolves right now. We have no recourse.”

Read more

New union for Black artists launches in Nova Scotia to fight for fair wages, more protections

The founder and president of a new union for Black artists that launched this week says its mandate is to support Black talent and fight for fair wages, unlike local unions from the past that she says were “flawed from the beginning.”

Tara Taylor said the Union of Black Artists Society (UBAS) will have collective agreements for artists in theater, film, television, music, and fashion. 

“It’s for anyone that is interested in the industry. So, either you join with an interest and we train you to do what you want, or you join with credits and then we put you to work. It should be as simple as that,” Taylor said.

Read more
Acting chair of the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute, social worker, Robert Wright. Photo: Matthew Byard.

Justice Institute alleges systemic racism at Nova Scotia’s Crown prosecutor’s office

Systemic racism plagues the Crown prosecutor’s office in Nova Scotia, and the office’s efforts to address the problem have only made the situation worse, say critics.

Robert Wright is the executive director of the African Nova Scotian Justice Institute, an organization made up of Black lawyers and legal experts whose mandate is to support Black Nova Scotians in contact with the law and to address racism and overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system.  

In an open letter on behalf of the Justice Institute and in the interview with the Examiner, Wright said the institute’s correspondence with government officials and leadership at the Crown prosecutor’s office, formally known as the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), leaves them doubtful their concerns about systemic racism at the PPS are being heard and addressed. 

Read more