Dear King’s community,
We’re in the first week of African Heritage Month—a time to formally acknowledge the many contributions that African Nova Scotians have made to our culture and history. This year, the provincial theme is “Legacy in Action: Celebrating Black Brilliance” to honour this heritage and the achievements and resilience of African Nova Scotians who have shaped our history for more than 400 years.
To kick off this month’s celebrations and events, we will raise the African Nova Scotian flag and the Pan-African flag on the King’s campus today. There will also be a flag-raising ceremony on the Dalhousie campus at noon today that will include hot chocolate and brief remarks to recognize the ongoing legacy and significance of African heritage and creativity in shaping local and global cultures.
I hope you’ll explore the many opportunities to learn more about and celebrate African Nova Scotian culture throughout the month—you’ll find a list of some of these opportunities on our site. And be sure to peruse books on display for African Heritage Month and Black History Month at the King’s bookstore and library.
On February 12th, Dal is holding its Flagship African Heritage Month Event in the Sculpture Court at the Dal Arts Centre to recognize the outstanding contributions of Black students, staff and faculty. The Dalhousie Art Gallery’s new exhibits, Oluseye: by Faith and Grit, Down Home: Portraits of Resilience and Theaster Gates: Billy Sings Amazing Grace, feature artists of African descent from Nova Scotia and across North America.
Beyond campus, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia posts a community calendar of events throughout the province and is hosting an African Heritage Month Gala Dinner on February 22nd, which I will have the honour of attending with a group of King’s students. We’re grateful for our formal partnership with the centre that continues to evolve—recently, the centre provided valuable advice that contributes to work underway on conceptual designs for our new building.
2024 may have marked the final year of the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent, but in December, the UN proclaimed a second International Decade for People of African Descent, an opportunity to build on awareness generated in the first decade and focus on more “concrete actions to confront the legacies of enslavement and colonialism, deliver reparatory justice, and secure the full human rights and freedoms of people of African descent worldwide.” As a signatory of the Scarborough Charter created, in part, as a response to the UN’s global initiative, King’s has made ongoing commitments to be part of the coalition of universities and colleges redressing anti-Black racism and fostering Black inclusion in higher education in Canada.
I’d like to acknowledge the work of scholars, past and present, who push us to reveal and acknowledge the many ways that Canada’s history, including King’s history, has benefited from the contribution of Black communities—in often complex and painful ways. To change our future for the better, we must understand our past.
On our path toward a more diverse and inclusive future, our commitment to supporting Black communities, including the 52 African Nova Scotian communities, must be part of every month and every day—now more than ever.
In these coming days, let’s celebrate Black brilliance together and learn and explore ways that we can contribute to positive change in our community.
Sincerely,
William Lahey
President and Vice-Chancellor
