Black community centre in Digby County gets $3M boost from province
CBC
A community centre imagined more than a decade ago by a Black community group in Digby County is one big step closer to reality with an injection of $3 million from the provincial government.
Now, with about $9 million committed to the project, the first phase of the Jordantown-Acaciaville-Conway Betterment Association Center of Excellence could break ground as soon as this summer, said association president Kerry Johnson.
It will include a 250-seat community room, a preschool, an area for seniors, and eventually — after a second phase of construction — a gymnasium.
Johnson said the space will promote learning about the history and culture of the Black communities for which the association is named.
"Our history needs to be told. We've lived segregated since 1783.… We don't get the most high-paying jobs. Most folks who wanted to make a living moved to the city or across the country," he said.
"So what we want to be able to do is basically re-establish a community."
The centre will be located in Jordantown. Johnson estimates that Jordantown, Acaciaville and Conway have a combined population of 200 to 300 people.
However, the space will be open for everyone in the Digby area to use.
"I think it's time, in 2022, that we become part of the whole community in Digby County."
Johnson said the wider community is supportive of the project.
"Everybody is seeing and wanting change," Johnson said.
Digby Mayor Ben Cleveland said the centre will be an asset to the area, which is why his council has pitched in about $44,000 over the past four years.
"It addresses the injustices that have been ongoing for a long, long, long time, and gives [Black Nova Scotians] a facility they can be proud of, but it's also a facility that the community as a whole should be proud of."
Cleveland said existing community centres in Digby are often fully booked and he expects the new centre will be a welcome addition to the mix.
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