Exhibit at Antigonish Heritage Museum Focuses on Black Loyalist History

N.S. MUSEUM--Exhibit at Antigonish Heritage Museum Focuses on Black Loyalist History

The stories, strengths and struggles of Nova Scotia's black Loyalists are featured in a travelling exhibition at the Antigonish Heritage Museum, Antigonish until April 30.

The exhibit, organized by the Nova Scotia Museum, is titled Remembering Black Loyalists, Black Communities. It was shown earlier at Shelburne and Halifax, and will travel to other communities in the future.

It includes findings of historical and archaeological research about black Loyalists in two widely separated communities -- Birchtown in Shelburne County, and the Tracadie area in Antigonish/Guysborough counties.

It also lists the surnames of the known black Loyalist families who emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1783. They were among more than 2,700 black Loyalists who landed in Nova Scotia during the 1780s because of the American Revolution.

"This exhibit reinforces the contributions made by the black Loyalists who played such a significant role in Nova Scotia's history," said Rodney MacDonald, Minister of Tourism and Culture. "It portrays a powerful story of faith, of overcoming hardship and of fighting oppression and provides all of us with a better understanding of how black Loyalists helped to shape our collective history."

Survivors of slavery, war and harsh conditions in an unknown land, the black Loyalists founded settlements in several parts of Nova Scotia. By 1785, the largest community of free blacks in North America had been established in Birchtown. In 1787, some 74 black Loyalist families were granted 3,000 acres called the Brownspriggs Grant, in what is now the Tracadie area.

The research and the exhibit are facets of a two-year Nova Scotia Museum project that began in 1998. The Remembering Black Loyalists, Black Communities project was funded and supported by the Nova Scotia Museum, the Nova Scotia Department of Education and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Members of the Brownspriggs Historical Society of Guysborough/Antigonish and other African Nova Scotians from Birchtown played an active role in the project's advisory group, as did the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia; Parks Canada; the Atlantic Regional office of the Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage; and the Nova Scotia Education Department's African Canadian Services Division.

"This exhibition is about a part of our own regional history that deserves more recognition," said Jocelyn Gillis, curator at the Antigonish Heritage Museum. "We're pleased to make this exhibition available because the museum exists to represent the stories of everyone in the town and county of Antigonish."

Everyone is invited to the public opening on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. (Storm date: Sunday, Feb. 4, 2 p.m.) at the Antigonish Heritage Museum.

Two new museum INFO sheets -- The Black Loyalists of Nova Scotia, Part 1 and Part 2 -- presenting a concise history of the Black Loyalists, will be introduced at the opening. The event will also see the launch of four new curatorial reports detailing archaeological and historical research about Black Loyalists in Tracadie and Birchtown.

While the exhibition is in Antigonish, a curriculum-based school program for Grade Six classes will be offered for local school groups. The exhibition has already appeared in Halifax, Dartmouth, Birchtown and Shelburne. Among its future appearances will be Liverpool, Amherst and Stellarton.

The Antigonish Heritage Museum is located at 20 East Main St., Antigonish. The museum is open to the public from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, with admission by donation. Call 902- 863-6160 for more information.

kjd January 26, 2001 11:22 a..m.