An interview with Russell Grosse, Executive Director of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, on the new exhibition A History Exposed: The Enslavement of Black People in Canada. The exhibition was created with guest curator by Dr. Afua Cooper and in partnership with the Black Cultural Centre. It runs from August 1, 2024- January 5, 2025 at the Museum.
The exhibition tells a story that will be new to some and contradicts some of our national myths. What will visitors learn?
One of the key factors of this exhibit is how entrenched the business of slavery was in Canada. We've always thought as Canadians that it was more of a south-of-the-border sort of thing. But it actually influenced a lot of the economic development of large-scale businesses and organizations that are still here today. There are major parts of our society that played a role in that horrible business of slavery.
This exhibit provides the evidence base that there was an actual slave trade in Canada and that there was business that was derived from it. And it was an economic driver, to be quite honest. Many generations later, I can say that, as a Black Canadian, although I was aware of slavery in our country, this exhibit really made it real for me. There was a thriving slave economy on our shores.
“...there was an actual slave trade in Canada... there was business that was derived from it.”
The exhibition has featured bios of several enslavers and enslaved people. Is there one story that sticks out in your mind?
One of the stories that really touched me is the story of Olivier Le Jeune. He's recorded as the first enslaved person to hit the shores of Canada - we're talking 1629. His journey from Madagascar to Quebec, the fact that he was a young boy and that his whole life, all he knew was slavery. When he came to Quebec, he was given a different name, so he lost his identity, he lost his family, he lost his home. It’s almost unimaginable. You are in a place that you have no reference point to, you're not being treated the best, obviously, but just the aspect of identity, you know. It makes me really think about how the business of slavery affected identity and how that effect on identity still exists today.
What will happen with the exhibition after its run here at the Museum?
It will visit the Black Cultural Centre before it travels around the country. But the Black Cultural Centre will be vitally important. It answers a lot of questions, not only for the greater community but for the African Nova Scotian and Black Canadian community. Here at the Black Cultural Centre, when we would have school kids of colour coming in, they would be kind of ashamed as we start to talk about things like slavery. For many people of colour, slavery is a difficult story to talk about, because people are felt to believe that that's all they're defined as. But there has to be a reference point to say that we've acknowledged that we went through this pain, that this is a part of our heritage and our culture. And that some 400 or 500 years later, the legacy of perseverance and overcoming adversity is very strong in our communities.
How well-known is the history amongst Black Nova Scotians and Black Canadians?
I think that the knowledge is well preserved. If you talk to the Elders of the community, they have memories of marginalization as a result of slavery. Today, with the younger generations, it's something that's not well taught in our schools. And because of the racialized trauma that's associated with it, it's not passed down much within families. For the most part, it is a silent story in the community. An exhibit like this will create an opportunity where discussions can happen.
When we look at the younger generation I don't think that they get the context of what slavery meant about the loss of identity, the loss of control of your life, the fact that every inch, every minute of your life was planned and controlled by somebody else. That there was no freedom.
I hope it will spawn future exhibits and more research, because this is only scratching the surface. This exhibit will hopefully be that turning point that community will feel the need to share more and researchers will dig deeper and find more of that hidden history that that hasn't been shared.
“For the most part, it is a silent story in the community. An exhibit like this will create an opportunity where discussions can happen. ”
What things would you like all Canadian students to know about Black history in these lands?
The perseverance of the community. The fact that you have a community that had this horrible introduction into the British Empire or Canadian life, and that those communities today are thriving. And that there have been major contributions made to society and to the fabric of our country by Black communities across our country. In particular, here in Nova Scotia where the communities have 400 years of heritage and history. The fact that those communities still thrive today is the story of overcoming adversity. Today, we can look back at it and say that that was a difficult point in our heritage, in our history, but it's not the point in our heritage or history that defined us.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I think that it’s very forward-thinking and a point of leadership that this major exhibition has been led by the Canadian Museum of Immigration Pier 21. It’s a major step forward. In those early years, the only way that people of colour could “immigrate”, so to speak, was through the business of slavery. So for a museum that's focused on immigration, it's great that they're able to share why that's missing in the narrative. To spearhead something like this not only creates a greater understanding of what things were like in the time, but it also is forward-thinking in the respect that we're getting the whole story.
It's fact-based. That's the most important aspect of this exhibit. It's no-holds-barred.