African Heritage Month kicks off at Halifax libraries

Halifax Public Libraries is hosting a series of workshops and community events this month in honour of African Heritage Month.

“It’s been 400 years, and we’re still here. We’re still standing,” said Black History Month Association co-chair Crystal Mulder.

The African Nova Scotian community specialist is spearheading activities at Halifax libraries to engage youth and community members.

“We’re really pushing the family story aspect of the theme this year,” Mulder said.

The theme for 2023 is ‘Seas of Struggle — African Peoples from Shore to Shore,’ and calls on African Nova Scotians to explore their heritage.

“As an African Nova Scotian woman, learning and knowing our history and culture, learning and knowing where we came from and who we came from is extremely important,” said Mulder.

While the history of African Nova Scotians goes back 400 years, Mulder says that fact isn’t clear in some history books.

She hopes that upcoming genealogy workshops hosted by the library will encourage exploration of that untold heritage.

“One of the tough things about doing genealogy in the African Nova Scotian community is the disappearance of records,” Mulder said. “So what I’m hoping for people to be able to get is some tips and some hints on where to look for records.”

Mulder says participation in events like the ones scheduled as part of African Heritage Month keep the history of the community alive.

“Last time I checked, the Black community has been here 365 days a year, for 400 years,” she says.

The history is not new, but the expansion of public knowledge will be.

“Being able to spread that knowledge and to expand that knowledge base of Nova Scotian history, period, is why this is so important to me.”

More than 35 workshops, performances and community conversations are scheduled for February and beyond.

Mulder says that by gaining an understanding of Nova Scotia’s past, the province can continue to grow in the future.