February is Black History Month

Feb 07, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
The month of February is once again with us, and accompanying it is the 28 day acknowledgement of the contributions made by Blacks in Canada. I am certain that from the closure last February to the current opening this February neither the study, dissemination and sharing of history of Blacks in Canada was carried out. It is no mystery, though contrary to expectations but Black History ends February 28 one year and recommences February 1, the following year. A mature democracy has as its primary obligation, a duty to not only celebrate its victories but also acknowledge its failures and shortcomings.
Plainly put, Black History Month should give us all the opportunity to learn the stories of people we may not have known about until now. It is essential that the greater Canadian community know a history of Canada that includes all of the founding experiences, and be aware of the contributions made.As a nation that boasts of diversity, all histories need to be known, all stories to be told. One needs traditional history to engender a common culture, and Black History to engender a clearer and more complete picture.
The government of Canada created and produced a poster in honour of Black History Month, featuring inspirational athletes, beneath a caption that read: “Proud of Our History.” I wonder to which history reference was being made. Lyrics to the song “We are Family” made popular by Sister Sledge immediately took center stage in my cranium, on seeing such evidence of Canada’s smug satisfaction in her professed racial harmony and multicultural success. Canadians like to self-congratulate on not being like the United States. Truth be told Canada has a far worse race problem than her neighbor to the South. The problem is that we just can’t see it very easily.
Like the U.S Canada also participated in slavery, segregated schools and residences and discriminated through its immigration policies. We do not need to look at the past through the prism of “Black History”, but instead it should all be seen as a significant part of the larger Canadian context. As a nation should we proud of that history? Yes, our Black citizens rightfully deserve full recognition for their achievements and contributions to Canadian society for more than one month of the year.
However, it is my unwavering belief that an account of Black History in Canada is woefully incomplete without an understanding of how racism has both informed it and shaped it, as evidenced by the treatment meted out to black Caribbean immigrant workers who journeyed to Canada under the Domestic Foreign Workers programme. We have been repeatedly led to believe and told that racism is absent. Granted it may be less overt than previously, but absence in one area means that it is flourishing in new and more sophisticated forms in other areas.
June 8, 1955 following a cabinet meeting, the decision was taken to admit into Canada on an experimental basis100 domestic workers from the British West Indies. Seventy-five were to be selected from Jamaica and twenty-five from Barbados. This cabinet decision heralded the beginning of the Caribbean domestic scheme whereby an annual quota, determined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, was selected from the participating territories of the British West Indies.
Canada made it explicitly clear that if the experiment was not successful, the Caribbean domestic scheme would be terminated, and that if any of the women had to be deported it would be done at the expense of the particular Caribbean territory. What was not known at the outset, despite it being flaunted otherwise, the domestic workers scheme was a last resort to partially manage a labour shortage in Canadian homes, and designed and executed in a manner to make sure that Canada got maximum benefits at low costs. Of further significance is the fact that this scheme took place during a period when Blacks and East Indians, the two dominant groups in the Caribbean, were not welcome in Canada.
The Daily Gleaner newspaper in Jamaica in the issue dated September 22, 1955 wrote: “It is understood that the opportunities in this field of employment in Canada are very great, and it is hoped that the experiment will prove highly successful, and will further enhance the reputation overseas of Jamaican Workers.” The first page of a document prepared by the government of Barbados captioned Advice to West Indian Women Recruited for Work in Canada as Household Helps, read as follows: “You have a wonderful opportunity ahead, but you also have the responsibility to make good, so that in future years other West Indian women can look forward to similar opportunities. This is a comparatively new venture and you should regard yourself as missionaries who are resolved to succeed…”
The final line of the document read: “Remember the West Indies relies on you to do your part towards the success of this scheme.” In defending the decision, Canada claimed that it had made an exception to its racial immigration policy in 1955 “as a gesture of good will and in the interest of Canada’s important trade relations with Jamaica.” As soon as the inauguration of a domestic workers scheme with Jamaica and Barbados became known, the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean began clamouring for a chance to participate.
Yvonne Sam

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