Emancipation Day 2021
Nova Scotia has officially designated August 1, Emancipation Day in recognition of the history and impacts of slavery in the province.
The following list offers a selection of resources on a range of topics that are connected to Canadian and Atlantic histories.
Emancipation Day booklist
Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada
Natasha L. Henry
Dundurn Press, 2010
Rites of August First: Emancipation Day in the Black Atlantic World
Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie
LSU Press, 2011
On Juneteenth
Annette Gordon-Reed
Liveright, 2021
Slave No More
Aline Helg
University of North Carolina Press, 2019
The Hanging of Angelique: the Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montreal
Afua Cooper
HarperCollins, 2011
Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada
Diverlus, Hudson, Ware editors
University of Regina Press, 2020
Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present
Robyn Maynard
Fernwood Publishing, 2017
North of the Color Line: Migration and Black Resistance in Canada, 1870-1955
Sarah-Jane Mathieu
University of North Carolina Press, 2010
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
Michelle Alexander
The New Press, 2020 (10th Anniv. Ed.)
Black Canadians: History, Experience, Social Conditions
Joseph Mensah
Fernwood Publishing, 2010
Canada’s Forgotten Slaves: Two Hundred Years of Bondage
Marcel Trudel
Vehicule Press, 2013
A Forgotten History: the Significant Contribution of Black Slaves and Soldiers to the Building of Canada 1604-1945
Dr. Amadou Ba
Editions AB, 2021
Nova Scotia Black Experience through the Centuries
Bridglal Pachai
Nimbus Publications, 2007
Children and Teen Resources:
Talking About Freedom: Celebrating Emancipation Day in Canada
Natasha L. Henry
Natural Heritage, 2012
My Name is Phyllis Wheatley: A Story of Slavery and Freedom
Afua Cooper
KCP Fiction, 2009
Chasing Freedom: a Novel
Gloria Ann Wesley
Fernwood Publishing, 2011
If this is Freedom: a Novel
Gloria Ann Wesley
Roseway Publishing, 2013
Other lists and resources:
Halifax Public Libraries YA Reads Celebrating Emancipation Day list:
https://halifax.bibliocommons.com/list/share/1136103357/1449659817
Reading list from the documentary series “Enslaved” which aired on CBC Gem. The list has been compiled by Natasha Henry a notable author on the topic.
https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/enslaved/enslaved-reading-list-1.5802965
NSCAD is establishing the Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery:
https://nscad.ca/the-institute/
Nova Scotia Public Libraries downloadable eBooks and Audiobooks (OverDrive):
https://novascotia.overdrive.com/collection/1227575