Nova Scotia launches African Heritage Month

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and African Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Twila Grosse officially launched African Heritage Month Wednesday morning.

The pair hosted an event at the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia in Cherry Brook at 11 a.m.

The event included an official proclamation, a poster unveiling, music by Adina Fraser Marsman and presentations by Graham Creighton Junior High students.

“It’s always a great time of year to celebrate Black culture and Black history and the poster is something that everyone looks forward to. This year marks 42 years of celebrating African Heritage Month in the province of Nova Scotia and unveiling posters,” said Russell Grosse, the executive director of the Black Cultural Centre, during an interview with CTV Morning Live.

The ceremony is available to watch online.

An African Heritage Month Opening Night event is set to take place at the Halifax Central Library Wednesday night, with musical performances by Rhythm of Africa and Cyndi Cain.

This year’s African Heritage Month flag-raising will take place at Grand Parade Monday at noon.

A list of other events in the city can be found here.

African Heritage Month is recognized each February. This year’s provincial theme is “Legacy in Action: Celebrating Black Brilliance.”

Grosse calls it a “very powerful” theme.

“There’s a network of organizations across the province that get together each year to select a theme,” he said.

“They were looking for a theme that would reflect the long-lasting legacy of African Nova Scotians that have had a community here for over 400 years and a presence in the province and looking at that legacy, and looking at how that’s moved the needle, and how people of today are benefiting from the resilience and the contributions of people of African descent have made in the province of Nova Scotia.”

Grosse says people can learn about Black history all year, but it’s great to have one month to highlight it.

“African Heritage Month is a time for us within the Black community to be able to share our experiences, teach and allow people to get a greater understanding of our culture and heritage and we so value this time of year for that,” he said.

He also said people can visit the Black Cultural Centre any time to learn about the province’s 52 historic African Nova Scotian communities.

“(It) also shares the important designation that Nova Scotia is an origin point of Black culture and history in Canada with communities here that are older than any other part of the country, and so a really important story here to tell and a story that shares the perseverance of the community, the incredible contributions and most importantly provides a greater understanding of a diverse culture.”

With files from The Canadian Press.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page