Celebrating Black Voices: Selected websites

"Have we read our own authors such as Dionne Brand, Afua Cooper and George Elliott Clarke? Do we know that the story of African-Canadians spans four hundred years, and includes slavery, abolition, pioneering, urban growth, segregation, the civil rights movement and a long engagement in civic life?"
— Lawrence Hill

Olivier Le Jeune is the first enslaved person to have been transported directly from Africa to Canada. He was brought to Québec in 1629 in but apparently died a free man. From then until the British Conquest (1759-60), approximately 1,000 Black people brought from New England or the West Indies were enslaved in New France (see Black Enslavement in Canada). Local records indicate that by 1759 there had been a cumulative total of 4,092 enslaved people in New France, including 1,443 of African origin. Most enslaved Africans were domestics rather than fieldhands.

Historical Walks through Montreal Neighborhoods. Black Montreal Experiences chronicles the presence and history of the Black Community of Montreal and its significant impact on local and international culture.

School history books have long glossed over the record of visible minorities in the Canadian province of Quebec. It’s as if Quebec, if not all of Canada, has always been some sort of paradise of racial tolerance. It’s as if Black people never existed in Quebec. But in fact Quebec has had an African presence from its inception as a French colony in the early 1600s.

When Canadians talk about slavery, we often point with pride to the role our country played in the mid‐1800s as a safe haven for Americans escaping captivity via the Underground Railroad. This, however, is only half the story. Like the United States, this land has its own history of slavery – and it is a history we should never forget.

Montreal’s Little Burgundy is nestled between the southwest neighbourhoods of Saint-Henri and Pointe-Saint-Charles. It has a distinct history and unique importance as one of the earliest Black community settlements in Canada. As the birthplace of Montreal’s Black English-speaking and working-class community and home to many world-renowned musical legends during the golden age of jazz, it’s historically been referred to as the ‘Harlem of the North’.

Local historian, writer and rapper Aly Ndiaye has developed a walking tour of Old Quebec that highlights the history of slavery in Quebec City and the province of Quebec. On the tour, which Ndiaye calls Quebec History X, he takes people on a deep dive into the city’s Black history and the lives of several well-known historical figures who owned slaves.

This guide is being developed and updated by Concordia librarians, faculty members, and students to support research in Black Studies at Concordia. It showcases Concordia's archival collections, and brings together relevant resources for academic work in this field including database and journal recommendations, tips for designing search strategies, and links to online collections and tools.

Each February, people across Canada participate in Black History Month events and celebrations that honour the legacy and contributions of Black people in Canada and their communities.
The 2025 theme for Black History Month is: “Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations.” This theme acknowledges the diversity of Black Canadians, the importance of Black leadership and the legacy being built for future generations. Black communities are diverse at many levels. Those with a long history in this country have established a legacy for the newer communities. The theme underscores that Black Canadians have a rightful place in the nation's narrative, with over 400 years of historical presence on these Indigenous lands, deserving acknowledgment and celebration.
We invite all Canadians to learn more about Black Canadian communities, and how they continue to help shape Canada.

Le Comité du Mois de l’Histoire des Noirs, en collaboration avec l’équipe EDI du Secrétariat général de HEC Montréal, vous invite à prendre part à une série d’activités riches et variées qui auront lieu tout au long du mois de février. Ces événements gratuits et ouverts à tous les membres de la communauté de l’École sont une occasion d’honorer le précieux héritage des communautés noires des générations passées et de mettre en lumière les talents exceptionnels d’aujourd’hui.

Little Burgundy is a neighborhoods in the southwest borough of Montreal, Quebec. It is the historical home of the city’s Black English-speaking, working-class community. Montreal's early Black settlement was comprised mainly of African Americans who lived in the Faubourg (French for "suburb") of St. Antoine — a neighborhood that is now known as Little Burgundy. The settlement dates to the emergence of the railway companies in the mid- to late 19th century and the era of the Black sleeping car porters.

Black History Month aims to celebrate, honour, increase knowledge, and amplify the voices of Black communities by recognizing their rich history and achievements, fostering connection, and bringing together McGill students, staff, and faculty, and alumni and members within and beyond the Montreal community.

The Round Table on Black History Month is a non-profit organization that promotes activities highlighting both the history and the contemporary situation of Black communities in Quebec. The 2024 theme is "Many Shades, One Story."

Black Montreal is diverse and growing. This article discusses the two prominent groups of Black Montrealers.