Ottawa’s Lukasa Library and its African Diasporic Collections
Youth in Ottawa worked together to create the Lukasa Library, an intimate collection of books and other media based in Black history.
Archival Story
Archive of the Diaspora Engages the Land as a Living Archive
Archive the Diaspora’s Miriam Makeba Environmental Youth Program connects Black diasporic youth in Kitchener-Waterloo to land, memory, and storytelling as living archival practice. Author Celine Isimbi writes about how the environment can be a kind of archive.
Why I created Vintage Black Canada Seven Years Ago—and Why it Matters
Vintage Black Canada is a digital archive on Instagram started by Aaron Francis, featuring photographs from his family collection. By centring personal and everyday moments, the archive uses family history to tell a wider story of Black life and the African Diaspora in Canada.
Carter Family’s Etobicoke Story, and Judge George E. Carter’s Life as an Archive
Micah J. Nelson, the granddaughter of George E. Carter, Ontario’s first Black judge, writes about her family’s story from 1950s Etobicoke to present day.
Why You Should Know Wilson O. Brooks
Nicole S. Bernhardt’s grandfather was the first Black principal in Ontario. Here’s what she says you should know about his life.
Interview: founder of the social media platform Toronto’s Black Archives
Social media can be a great way to create community archives. In this interview, Choltu shares why she started an Instagram account dedicated to Toronto’s Black archives.
Interview: Carolyn Whitzman on the archival story behind novel Clara at the Door
Dr. Carolyn Whitzman takes us beyond the pages of her book Clara at the Door to tell her journey of archival research.
The ArQuives: A Legacy of Resistance and Community (Part 2)
In Part 2 of this series, Syriah Bailey writes about the iconic Black queer activists in Toronto you should to know, and where you can find records of them at The ArQuives.
Furnace Slaps: Listening to the Black Sonic Past
Bap! Bap! Mark Campbell explains his methodology, theory, and hopes behind his 2024 installation, Furnace Slaps.
Land, Archives, and Buried Black History
Preserving the locations of historic Black burial grounds in Ontario is important. So is documenting their existence. In this blog post, William Felepchuk writes about why.