This project was a research and online documentation project to address many needs, including the need to:

• Create a website that can inform Black and non-Black communities about the influence and role of Black communities in Canada from Afro-Canadian perspectives – a missing patch of Canadian history – while supporting Black youth in understanding their local history and culture
• Document the significant link between Black communities and the local church, economy, and social-culture in five important places in Afro-Canadian history : Africville (NS), Amber Valley and Campsie (AB), Clarksburg (ON), Hogan’s Alley (BC), and Montreal (QC).

In each location, Black youth were coached and given opportunities to interview aging Black community members. In the process, the youth were supported to build relationships with local elders, learn skills, and access their local histories and culture as they experience modern day griot storytelling – a practice of oral storytelling which is part of African diasporic culture that the Nova Scotian Black communities are familiar with, but many people are losing.

All video interviews, educational resources, and materials from the project are now available for public engagement at https://www.afroheritage.ca/.

It has been a privilege to contribute to this rich project. The videos and stories present how churches in many locations were or are still a site of local religious, social, and/or political significance, how understanding history can be a spiritual activity for many people, and much more. CCRL will continue to contribute to the next phases of this project, where possible.

Interview recordings, Vancouver, January 2023

Linda Mantley and Corey Ross, Halifax, June 2023

Youth from West-Can Folk Performing Company playing jimbe drums to celebrate the launch of Afroheritage.ca, Montreal, June 2024

For project details and current developments, please contact sabrina@ccrl-clrc.ca.