Canadian Black History and Other Bits & Pieces

February is Black History Month and in recognition of that, I'm going to tell you a bit about the history of African Canadians, also known as Black Canadians. These terms are used to describe people of African descent who have made their home in Canada. Some Black Canadians have recent origins in the Caribbean. Others can trace their roots back to slaves who were brought to this country by British and French colonists.

Many blacks came to Canada long before 1833 when the Slavery Abolition Act was passed. The first recorded black person to come to Canada was an interpreter by the name of Mathieu de Costa. He arrived sometime in the first decade of the 1600s when Samuel de Champlain's party landed here.

The first recorded black person to ever live in Canada was Olivier Le June, a slave from Madagascar.

When the American Revolution ended, thousands of United Empire Loyalists immigrated to Canada and brought their slaves with them. Free blacks, known as Black Loyalists, also made their way to Canada after the Revolution. Most of them took up residence in what is now known as Nova Scotia. They consisted of laborers and tradesmen and their families.

The first North American race riot took place in Birchtown, Nova Scotia. White soldiers attacked black settlers for taking jobs that the soldiers thought were rightfully theirs. Blacks were highly discriminated against at that time and the British government broke its promises to them.

On January 15, 1792, approximately 1200 black Africans left Nova Scotia to settle in Sierra Leone, Africa.

The history of Canada's slave trade is not often mentioned in the media. It's as if it slavery and discrimination never existed here. Shamefully, it did.

In other news it snowed here from 3am on Friday morning until about 9pm. Thank goodness it was a very fine snow or we would be snowed in big time. Instead, we have about a foot of snow. That's enough and I can't figure out where all the snowplows are. The roads are in terrible condition and we haven't even seen a snowplow but it sure is pretty. The world is dressed in a lacey white gown, as you can see from the photo below. The tree is in our side yard. Karen, I wish I could box some of it up and send it to you so you could have a little snow. I know you've been wishing for some.

I read in today's newspaper that on February 1, 1908, the city had the biggest snowfall of the year. They got 10 inches. You know the old saying that history repeats itself every 100 years. I guess this proves it. Today was the biggest snowfall of this winter and it is exactly 100 years to the day.

Heart of a Mommy presented me with this award. Thanks so much. You are very kind.

Here are the rules:

Here are the rules for passing it on…By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you have to award it to 10 more people who’s blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please award at least 10. Thank you out there for having such great blogs and being such great friends! You deserve this! Feel free to award people who have already been awarded…

I dislike choosing favorites to receive this award, so am going to break the rules, rebellious person that I am, and give it to everyone that visits me on a regular basis and to all of those on my blogroll. I enjoy visiting all of you.

February is Black History Month

February is Black History Month in the Canada and the US. It is the one month of the year when we celebrate and commemorate the contributions to our nations by people of African descent.

The first recognition of contributions of these individuals in the US took place on February 12, 1926, the birthday of former President Abraham Lincoln. Thereafter, the second week of February was set aside to recognize these contributions.

When the US celebrated its bicentennial in 1976, the celebration was expanded to one month. February was chosen because it was the birth month of both Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

President Bill Clinton proclaimed February as National African American History Month in 2000.

Canada has celebrated Black History Month since the 1950s, when it was established by the Canadian Negro Women's Association in Toronto. However, it wasn't officially recognized until 1978.

African Canadians have been contributing to Canadian society since 1605. The government of Canada chose February to recognize the achievements, contributions and successes of African Canadians.

Please join me throughout the month of February in celebrating Black History Month. Throughout the month I will be posting articles on noted figures in Black History to promote awareness of the contributions that those of African descent have made to the nations of Canada and the US.

If you would like to read my article, The Eagles of Squamish, please follow this link to my Treasures to Me blog.

It is a beautiful day here today, but yesterday was definitely a different story. The temperatures plummeted from spring like to -11 Celsius within hours and with the brisk 60 kg winds (higher at times) it was not a day to be outside.

The Skyway Bridge that is between Niagara Falls, ON and Toronto has terrible crosswinds. When a strong wind comes up the Skyway is to be closed. Well someone forgot to do that yesterday and the winds blew a tractor trailer onto its side. We saw the picture on TV and you would have thought that big rig was a toothpick the way it blew around on that bridge.

Other places the winds were as high as 122 kg per hr. Trees were blown down and houses were damaged. Electrical wires were blown down and many people throughout Ontario were without power. It was a bad day to not have any heat.

The visibility was zero in many places because of whiteouts and blowing snow and many roads were closed. My SIL was not able to get home from work. His company put him up in a Bed & Breakfast.

Today the sun is shining and it is -5C, but the wind is at 3kg, which is barely noticeable. It is a lovely winter day and a great day to be out and about. Thank goodness. I had errands to run and actually enjoyed being out. What a difference from yesterday.

Mary at Isabella's Closet is having a Valentine Banner Give-a-way. In case you didn't know, Mary made my Christmas banner as well as my current one. She is a very talented lady. This is what she has to say about her give-a-way.

I'm having a
Valentine banner give-a-way.
If you'd like to have this banner please leave a comment between now and Feb. 1.
I will pick a name at 7:00 AM est on Friday Feb. 1..
I will then add your blog name to this banner and email it to you..
I LOVE YOU ALL!
*******

Just follow the link I've created to join Mary's Give-a-way. She will personalize the above banner for your blog. Good luck!

Please keep Mary in your prayers. She is still dealing with some health issues. Thank you, Mary for having this Banner Give-a-way. The banner is beautiful.

Deena at Can I Be Pretty in Pink is having an Easter Banner Gift Away on her Tattered Works of Whimsy blog. She will be giving away the above banner that will be personalized for your blog. This is what Deena has to say.

I 'm Gifting an Easter Banner from
Mary , it is the one below, customized for the winner!!
Just leave me a post
about your favorite Easter outfit
as a child!! I so love such fond tales!!
Mine was white patent leather shoes, white patent
leather purse with a flower at the snap, white gloves,
a yellow bonnet and a sweet frilly yellow dress.
I'm going to try to find the black & white picture
of me in this little dress..I know I remember the outfit
because I remember the colors..I think I was THREE!!
I'll draw a winner on Friday February 15th!!
tell your friends..and if you post about my Gift away on
your blog, let me know..I'll add your name to separate drawing
for an Easter surprise from ME!!
Think Spring,
deena

Be sure to stop by Tattered Works of Whimsy to enter and tell Deena about your favorite Easter outfit. It will be a lot of fun to read about the Easter outfits that we wore as children.

Be sure to keep Deena in your prayers. She is fighting breast cancer and was supposed to start chemo last Friday. Because her white blood count was high, she was given antibiotics and the chemo was rescheduled for this Friday. Today is pre-chemo day and she has to have blood tests and see her oncologist. She needs prayer to get through her journey.

That's about all the news for today. I wish each of you a blessed Thursday. ~Blessings, Mary~

Tagged and Other News

Heart of a Mommy tagged me for a meme. I've enjoyed reading the memes that others have posted and I hope you enjoy mine. Here are the rules:

Rules:Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written.
Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.(Readers - don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments.)

Here are my links:

Family - Thanksgiving Day October 8th

Friends - Hello to All My Friends

Myself - 6 Things Meme

What I Love - Those Were the Days

My Choice - Canada's Endangered Animals

Now I'm supposed to tag five people, but I am just going to invite any of my readers who would like to take part to do so. If you do participate, please leave a comment here so I can come and check out your links.

Take care, my friends and readers and have a wonderful day. It's -11 Celsius here and feels like -24 C with the windchill. A bitter cold day and that winds seems to push the cold right into your bones. If you live in an area where it is cold and weather conditions are adverse, take care when driving and stay warm and cozy.

Anni at Hootin' Anni's has challenged anyone who would like to take part to a 175 Word Challenge. Anni has a very cool word counter that you can use to write an event about your life. The word counter counts the words as you type them and then you can edit the words to fit the word count. There is a bit of a descrepency with mine. Anni's word counter counts the words in my essay at 175. Micr*soft Word counts it as 178 words. So Anni, you be the judge. Here it is:

In 1974, my daughter and I left Toronto airport for Calgary and then on to Cranbrook, B.C. Over Winnipeg, the pilot informed us that there was a blizzard raging and we would be laying over until the storm let up and it was safe to go on.

We were stuck in Calgary airport for 24 hours. This was only my second time flying and I was not impresed. People were sleeping on the floor and on their luggage. An elderly woman from Reno commandeered a lounge seat in the lady's lounge so Michelle would have a place to sleep. Finally, the next day the airline put us all up at the Four Seasons. It was wonderful to be away from the crowds, have a place to shower and a bed to sleep in.

The next morning was sunny, bright day. We saw breathtaking views of the Rockies and landed safe and sound in Cranbrook a half hour after leaving Calgary.

Never in my life do I want to experience this again. It was a horrible nightmare.

Be sure to drop over to Hootin' Anni's and take part in this challenge. Can you write exactly 175 words about an event in your life? Sure you can and it's fun. Have a wonderful day. ~Blessings, Mary~