Exploring Black Nova Scotia's history through film
As the first high school graduate from Beechville in 1968 to attend university, much was expected of Sylvia D. Hamilton.
The Nova Scotian hasn’t disappointed.
A small rural community outside Halifax, Beechville was established by Black Refugees from the War of 1812 (they had liberated themselves to fight on the side of the British) and for the first four years of her elementary training, she attended a segregated school.
Hamilton said the only reference to Black people she had in school books was a short paragraph about ‘Negroes in Nova Scotia’, in a small Grade 5 text book. It was difficult for her to connect that passage to herself and the people she saw while growing up.
Read more: https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2020/3/5/exebziwro87ddz68t1cg3pp2n323n7
