P.E.I. students to have new resource to study Black history

Students in P.E.I. will soon have more resources to learn about Canada's Black history.

As part of an initiative by the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I. for Black History Month, a researcher is collecting history — as far back as the 15th century — and compiling it to share with Island schools.

"Getting this information from a young age hopefully can help them make better decisions and be a part of their community," Joce Reyome, the Black Canadian Historical Research Content Co-ordinator for the project said. "Whichever one that may be, but also being allies to the communities that they're not a part of."

Reyome is using various sources to gather research — including old textbooks and articles. They will then compile it all onto a digital platform so that it's accessible. 

"A lot of the history that we learned in school was very white-washed," she said. "We want to do better in the future."

There have been barriers to this research, Reyome said— specifically, finding the correct information.

"So much was intentionally forgotten and intentionally not put out so that it wouldn't be remembered, so it's hard to even find the baseline," they said. 

Reyome will also be working with the P.E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation to visit heritage buildings as part of the research. They will share Black history facts on the foundation's Instagram every Thursday.

"It's important all the time, learning the history of so many things in the world, it can all be traced back to specifically Black history," Reyome said.  

"We really wanted to go ahead and get somebody on top of getting this information out in a way that feels digestible and important."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.