February is Black History Month
February 3, 2014
Every month of February, we celebrate the heritage, traditions and culture of the Black Canadians and Americans and the African diaspora.
The precursor to Black History Month was Negro History Week, established in the United States in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The second week of February was chosen on account it marked the birthday of both former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who disapproved of slavery, and Frederick Douglass, the renowned African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman who escaped slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement to end slavery in the U.S.
In 1976 as part of the U.S. Bicentennial, the informal expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987.
In December 1995, Canada began to acknowledge the too-often neglected accomplishments of the Black community when the House of Commons officially recognized the month of February as Black History Month in Canada. The Canadian Senate followed in February 2008.
The precursor to Black History Month was Negro History Week, established in the United States in 1926 by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The second week of February was chosen on account it marked the birthday of both former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who disapproved of slavery, and Frederick Douglass, the renowned African-American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman who escaped slavery and became a leader of the abolitionist movement to end slavery in the U.S.
In 1976 as part of the U.S. Bicentennial, the informal expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. Black History Month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987.
In December 1995, Canada began to acknowledge the too-often neglected accomplishments of the Black community when the House of Commons officially recognized the month of February as Black History Month in Canada. The Canadian Senate followed in February 2008.
Accomplishments of Mr. Stanley G. Grizzle
The autobiography of Stanley G. Grizzle:“My Name’s Not George”
There have been many accomplishments of Black Canadians, both past and present. One such example is Stanley Grizzle who was born and raised in Toronto to Jamaican parents who immigrated to Canada in 1911.
At the age of 22, Mr. Grizzle hired on as a Railway Porter with Canadian Pacific Railroad. He became active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which was formed in 1925, becoming the first labour organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (BRAC), now known as the Transportation Communications International Union (TCIU).
In 1938, Mr. Grizzle helped form the Young Men’s Negro Association of Toronto, initiating a period of activity which would make him one of the leaders in the black Canadian campaign for civil rights. After serving in the Canadian Army in Europe during World War II, Mr. Grizzle returned to play a more active role in the BSCP and was elected President of the Canadian BSCP in 1946. In the early 1950's, Grizzle had become a member of Canada’s Joint Labour Committee to Combat Racial Intolerance. He led groups which met with provincial and federal government officials to discuss anti-discrimination legislation and appeared often on radio and television to describe the issues facing African Canadians.
In 1959, Mr. Grizzle, along with Jack White, became the first African Canadians to seek seats in the Ontario legislature as candidates for the Co-operative Commonwealth (CCF) candidate, which is now the New Democratic Party (NDP).
The following year he was appointed an Officer of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, becoming the first black Canadian to hold a position at this level of provincial government, and remained on the Board until 1978 when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed him Judge of the Canadian Court of Citizenship, again another first for an African Canadian.
At the age of 22, Mr. Grizzle hired on as a Railway Porter with Canadian Pacific Railroad. He became active in the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP), which was formed in 1925, becoming the first labour organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (BRAC), now known as the Transportation Communications International Union (TCIU).
In 1938, Mr. Grizzle helped form the Young Men’s Negro Association of Toronto, initiating a period of activity which would make him one of the leaders in the black Canadian campaign for civil rights. After serving in the Canadian Army in Europe during World War II, Mr. Grizzle returned to play a more active role in the BSCP and was elected President of the Canadian BSCP in 1946. In the early 1950's, Grizzle had become a member of Canada’s Joint Labour Committee to Combat Racial Intolerance. He led groups which met with provincial and federal government officials to discuss anti-discrimination legislation and appeared often on radio and television to describe the issues facing African Canadians.
In 1959, Mr. Grizzle, along with Jack White, became the first African Canadians to seek seats in the Ontario legislature as candidates for the Co-operative Commonwealth (CCF) candidate, which is now the New Democratic Party (NDP).
The following year he was appointed an Officer of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, becoming the first black Canadian to hold a position at this level of provincial government, and remained on the Board until 1978 when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed him Judge of the Canadian Court of Citizenship, again another first for an African Canadian.
Stanley Grizzle
[Photo credit Kathy Grant] |
Mr. Grizzle received the Order of Ontario in 1990 from Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln Alexander (the first black person to hold a vice-regal position in Canada) in recognition for his work with the BSCP, and was awarded the Order of Canada in 1995.
In 1996, Mr. Grizzle completed an autobiography titled: “My Name’s Not George”, which described his life as a Sleeping Car Porter on the CPR and his time as a political activist. In July 2007, Stanley Grizzle was honoured at Rideau Hall in Ottawa for contributions and donations to Library and Archives of Canada, and four months later Toronto Mayor David Miller led a dedication ceremony for Stanley G. Grizzle Park which was located on Main Street in the city’s east end. Today, Mr. Grizzle is 95 and continues to make his home in Toronto. |
CN Porter Gerald Archambeau helps PM John Diefenbaker disembark the train in the 1957 federal election campaign
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Nora Hendrix, grandmother of Jimi Hendrix, and Fielding Spotts, Western Canada's first Baptist, featured on new Canada Post stamps
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Canada Post has issued two commemorative stamps for Black History Month in 2014.
The stamps reflect two historic Canadian neighbourhoods with significant links to black history; Africville (at left) and Hogan's Alley (at right). Africville was a small community located on the southern shore of Bedford Basin in Halifax and was populated almost entirely by Black Nova Scotians. The community has become an important symbol of African Nova Scotia identity and the struggle against racism. In 1996, it was designated a National Historic Site. |
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Hogan's Alley was a small, vibrant community in Vancouver close to where Vancouver's Chinatown currently exists. It was home to Vancouver’s first concentrated black community. Two of its most prominent residents, Fielding William Spotts Jr., a cooper by trade and the first Baptist in Western Canada, and Nora Hendrix, grandmother to rock legend Jimi Hendrix and cook at Vie's Chicken and Steak House, are featured on the stamp.
Unifor National Council 4000, which represents on-board and off-board workers at VIA Rail, Canada's only national passenger rail service, pays tribute to Stanley Grizzle for his many accomplishments during an incredible life, as well as the other brothers who were members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters whom were employed at Canada's railroads.
February will see several events across Canada paying tribute to the legacies and accomplishments of black Canadians, women and men, both past and present,
Please read Unifor's African Heritage Month Statement by clicking here
Unifor National Council 4000, which represents on-board and off-board workers at VIA Rail, Canada's only national passenger rail service, pays tribute to Stanley Grizzle for his many accomplishments during an incredible life, as well as the other brothers who were members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters whom were employed at Canada's railroads.
February will see several events across Canada paying tribute to the legacies and accomplishments of black Canadians, women and men, both past and present,
Please read Unifor's African Heritage Month Statement by clicking here
