The Black History in Canada Education Guide is designed to enhance students’ awareness of and appreciation for the Black Canadian experience. It explores various aspects of the country’s Black history, including enslavement, migration and settlement, anti-Black racism, the Civil Rights Movement, and Black Canadian achievement and present-day experiences. The guide asks students to examine issues of identity, equality, equity, community, justice, and nation-building in historical and contemporary contexts. The Black History in Canada Education Guide is aligned with current Canadian curricula, and has been produced for use in middle and high school history and social studies classrooms.
This guide is accompanied by our new video on Thornton and Lucie Blackburn: freedom seekers, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists whose story was once lost to history. The Blackburns, whose story was lost and only re-discovered in 1985, were born enslaved in the United States. Almost extradited after escaping to Canada, the Blackburns settled in Toronto where they started the first taxi business in Upper Canada, generating enough wealth to help aid other freedom seekers. The Blackburns’ case helped set a legal precedent that popularized Upper Canada as a destination on the Underground Railroad. Their legacy of activism, generosity, resilience, and innovation helped shape the city of Toronto.
Black_History_in_Canada_Education_Guide_FINAL_Individual_Pages.pdf