London Black Heritage Council and Museum London are partnering up for the Black History Month Opening Ceremony on Saturday.
The ceremony will offer an opportunity to reflect, learn, and celebrate the contributions and stories of London’s vibrant Black community. Community groups, guest speakers, and performers will be at the ceremony to help educate the community about our history.
“Black history is Canadian history… the difference is it’s not in history books,” said Carl Cadogan, chair of the London Black Heritage Council.
Last year, Ontario made Black history mandatory in their curriculum update. In the release, it said that students will now learn about contributions of Black individuals to Canada. That means many teens and adults today were not taught about those contributions, which has impacted communities across the country. In London, it resulted in many important contributors to the city’s history being forgotten because of their skin colour.
Black Lives Lived Here (source: Museum London)
TD Curator of Collections, Zahra McDoom, curated Black Lives Lived Here: London Family Photos, 1910s-1960s, an exhibit that features photos of Black people and communities in London and surrounding areas.
“There is a lot of history, and unless we met and spoke with these folks, and learned their story, the wider London might not be aware of their resilience and some of the more difficult stories,” said Mcdoom.
Mcdoom said the process took about three years as they had to go to communities around the area such as Hamilton and Sarnia for these stories. “The stories are kept within the community, often kept in old lockers, shoeboxes, and albums,” said Mcdoom.
Many of the figures featured in the photos are named, and each have a story that has been untold or forgotten for decades.
One of the photos include a group called ‘The Elite,’ a softball team composed of Black women from London and the surrounding area. In a time where white people did not play with Black people on teams, these women were pioneers in sports and worked to gain equal rights for the Black community.
Elite London womens recreational softball team, Port Stanley, 1923. Courtesy Lena Ruehle
The Black History Month Opening Ceremony will run from 1-4 p.m on Saturday. Museum London, and The London Black Heritage Council will be holding more events throughout the month and further as they celebrate this year’s theme, Empowered Voices, Endless Possibilities: 200 Years of Living History.
