By Gary Pieters M.Ed.

As an educator and school administrator, I believe that students should have an appreciation of the full and rich experiences of African-Canadians in Canada during the periods of French colonial rule, British colonial rule, post confederation and the 21st century nation state. African Heritage/Black History Month provides an opportunity to positively amplify the presence and contribution of Canadians of African descent. Black History is Canadian history. This journey began over 400 years ago when Mathieu DaCosta, a black slave arrived in Canada during the period of French colonial rule of Canada then known as New France. DaCosta had many roles and these included acting as a translator between the French and the Aboriginals. This high profile but seldom mentioned fact demonstrates the importance of providing the time and space for fostering awareness of the positive presence of Canadians of African Descent to the National Identity of Canada.

The history of Blacks in Canada is one that is reflected in historic settlements including Buxton, Africville, Port Royal, St. Catherines. The North Star points the way to African-Canadians who were instrumental in influencing public policy thus shaping the reputation of Canada as 'a just society' whose people represent the many faces of the global mosiac. The Brotherhood of Sleeping car porters were among those who led a delegation to Ottawa in the 1950's to push for equitable immigration laws that gave equal consideration to non-European immigrants on the same level as was the case for aspirants from Europe.

It is important that February be observed as African Heritage/Black History Month since all Canadians deserve to know that the building of the national identity and character of Canada involved Canadians whose ancestry spans the globe. The current history texts and other literature does not make this fact visible. A few years ago, the CBC hosted a contest to identify 'the greatest Canadian'. None of the nominees identified were of African descent. Further, it was harder to find more than a couple of the nominees who were not of European ancestry. The same is true for the textbooks and other sources which present the image of Canadian history in a one-sided, hegemonic, Eurocentric and exclusionary manner.

Canadians of African-descent have left an indelible mark on Canada.

I developed an interest in African Heritage/Black History during my early undergraduate years during the late 1990s. I eventually completed my B.A. [Hons.] degree with a minor in African Studies at the University of Toronto. As an educator, I noticed that many of the instructional materials provided through textbooks in classrooms, have insufficient inclusion of the contributions of Canadians of African descent. One of the ways I am working to address this is through the creation and updating of a comprehensive online resource Canadian Black Heritage in the Third Millennium, which serves as a web portal for Internet resources with diverse content on Canadians of African descent available at http://www.oocities.org/EnchantedForest/2738/blklinks.html

The site can be accessed by anyone with a networked computer that is connected to the Internet. One of the goals of the site is to support teachers and students engagement with learning materials that reflect diverse Canadians and their contributions to the development and expansion of Canada from the 1600s to present. I believe this is an important undertaking as the Internet gains more widespread accessibility in schools, students can asily locate materials on Black Loyalists in Early Canada, Early Black-Canadian Settlements in Canada, Black Canadian soldiers and law enforcers, black educators and black inventors and scientists.

I believe that having Black Canadian History integrated into all aspects of the curriculum in schools fosters a pedagogy of inclusion and leads to student excellence and respect for the diverse nature of the people who make up the population of Canada. Integrating the experiences of African Canadians in the curriculum provides students with a broader worldview and their connections with the curriculum.

The integration of African-centred curriculum materials through websites such as the Canadian Black Heritage in the Third Millennium enables all students to realize that the curriculum can act as a catalyst for academic engagement with a body of knowledge that seeks to enable all students to share, enjoy, appreciate and engage with the contributions of Canadians of all cultures and life experiences.

Most of these events are black firsts.

• 1954 Bromley Armstrong, [was the youngest member of] a delegation to Ottawa to lobby for change in Canada's immigration policy to include people from countries that included the Caribbean and Africa. [Correction: Donald Moore Led the delegation]

• 1955 Herb Carnegie started the first hockey school for boys. Was not drafted into the NHL because of the colour lines which at that time shut out blacks from the NHL. Also the founder of a safe schools program called Future Aces

• 1955 John Douglas Salmon completed degree in medicine at U. of T. He became Chief of General Surgery at the Scarborough Centenary Hospital the 1990s

• 1959 Lawrence McLarty became the first black police officer in Toronto

• 1962 Dan Hill III becomes the first director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission established in 1961 to enforce the Ontario Human Rights Code

• 1963 Leonard Braitwaite, Liberal MPP, Etobicoke elected to the Ontario Legislature.

• 1965-now Dudley Laws serves as a community activist for youth empowerment, anti-racism, and police accountability. A founding member and director of the Black Action Defense Committee [BAD-C]

• 1970 Salome Bey performar, actor and singer

• 1985 Alvin Curling, Liberal MPP, Scarborough appointed to cabinet as Ontario Minister of Housing

• 1990 Zanana Akande, NDP MPP, St Andrews-St. Patrick, appointed Minister of Community and Social Services

• 1990 Professor Frederik Case appointed principal of New College, University of Toronto

• 1993 Jean Augustine, Liberal MP, becomes first black woman elected to the Federal House of Commons for the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Served as parliamentary secretary to prime minister Jean Chretien. Appointed to cabinet in Fall 2002 as Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Women's Issues.

• 1996 Claire Alleyne, Registrar OISE/UT

• 1997 Joseph Halstead, Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and tourism for the City of Toronto.

• 2004 Jay Hope, Deputy Commissioner for the Ontario Provincial Police

• 2002 Toronto writer Austin Clark wins the Giller Prize for Literature for his book The Polished Hoe

• 2002 George Dei chair of the department of sociology, OISE/UT

• 2002 Selwyn Pieters, a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School agrees to a negotiated settlement in his racial profiling complaint against Canada Customs. This case resulted in changes to the way Customs conducts secondary searches on travelers

• 2005 Keith Forde, Deputy Chief of Toronto Police Services.

• 2005 Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada.

Editor's Note: This article forms an interview response which I submitted to the Toronto Star on January 27, 2006. Excerpts were used in the following Articles:

• Trading knowledge Saturday, February 4, 2006

• Month marks black history Thursday, February 2, 2006

• Notable individuals and accomplishments as we mark Black History Month