I arrived at the Halifax waterfront on a Wednesday afternoon when the sun had finally broken through after days of coastal fog. The wooden boardwalk creaked beneath my feet as I joined dozens of visitors gathered around a series of new exhibits that tell a story often pushed to the margins of Canadian history.
“Most people don’t realize that Black history in Nova Scotia goes back over 400 years,” said Marcus Adams, a community historian who guided me through the newly installed heritage displays. “Our ancestors helped build this province, but you wouldn’t know it from most history books.”
The Halifax waterfront has transformed into a living museum of African Nova Scotian heritage this summer, featuring installations that chronicle the complex journey of Black Nova Scotians from the days of slavery through the destruction of Africville to contemporary cultural revival.
What struck me most was the careful balance between acknowledging historical trauma and celebrating cultural resilience. The exhibits don’t shy away from difficult truths – panels detail how enslaved people were sold on these same docks where tourists now eat ice cream and take selfies. Yet the displays equally emphasize the vibrant cultural contributions that have emerged from centuries of community perseverance.
“We’ve always been more than our suffering,” said Tamara Williams, one of the exhibit designers and a descendant of Black Loyalists who arrived in Nova Scotia in the late 18th century. “This project is about reclaiming space and telling our full story – the hardships and the triumphs.”
The waterfront initiative comes after years of advocacy from organizations like the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which has documented how African Nova Scotian communities have maintained distinct cultural identities despite facing generations of systemic racism and displacement.
A 2020 report from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission found that many tourists and even local residents remain unaware of the province’s deep Black history, which includes some of the oldest Black communities in North America. The waterfront exhibits aim to address this knowledge gap through accessible public education.
One particularly moving installation features recordings of elders from historic Black communities like North Preston, East Preston, and Cherry Brook. Their voices play from speakers nestled between traditional fishing boats and maritime artifacts, creating a powerful juxtaposition between Nova Scotia’s celebrated maritime heritage and its less acknowledged Black history.
“My grandmother used to say that our stories are in the wind, in the water, in the land itself,” shared Elder Ruth Johnson in one recording. “Now they’re finally being told where everyone can hear them.”
The exhibits don’t exist in isolation. They’re part of a broader cultural reclamation happening across Nova Scotia. Last year, the province officially recognized August as Emancipation Month, commemorating the 1834 abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire, including Canada. Meanwhile, community organizations have launched initiatives to preserve African Nova Scotian foodways, music traditions, and religious practices.
“What we’re seeing is a renaissance of African Nova Scotian cultural pride,” explained Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard, a senator and longtime social justice advocate who attended the exhibit’s opening. “Young people especially are reconnecting with traditions their grandparents practiced but that almost disappeared.”
The waterfront exhibits incorporate this living culture through weekly performances showcasing gospel music, traditional drumming, and storytelling. During my visit, a youth choir from the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Upper Hammonds Plains performed spirituals that have been passed down through generations.
The initiative hasn’t been without controversy. Some community members questioned whether tourism-focused presentations could adequately address centuries of injustice. Others worried about cultural commodification – the risk of reducing deep history to digestible attractions for visitors seeking entertainment.
“We debated these concerns extensively,” acknowledged George Elliott Clarke, the renowned poet and scholar who served as a consultant for the project. “But ultimately, visibility matters. Our stories deserve to be at the center, not the periphery, of how Nova Scotia presents itself to the world.”
The exhibitions also highlight ongoing struggles. Interactive maps show historic Black communities like Africville that were destroyed through racist urban planning, while contemporary data visualization demonstrates persistent disparities in employment, education, and housing.
“This isn’t just about the past,” insisted community organizer DeRico Symonds as he led a group of high school students through the exhibits. “It’s about understanding how history shapes our present and what we need to do differently moving forward.”
For visitors from outside Nova Scotia, the exhibits offer revelations about Canadian history rarely taught in schools. The story of the Black Loyalists – free Black Americans who sided with Britain during the American Revolution and were promised land in Nova Scotia – challenges simplified narratives about Canada as a historical safe haven from American racism.
“I had no idea about any of this,” admitted Bethany Johnson, a tourist from Alberta. “We learned about the Underground Railroad in school, but nothing about these established Black communities that have been here for centuries.”
For African Nova Scotians themselves, the waterfront initiative represents something more personal – a public acknowledgment of their central place in the province’s identity.
As the sun began to set over Halifax Harbour, I watched an elderly man trace his finger along a timeline displaying key events in African Nova Scotian history. He stopped at a photograph from the 1960s showing civil rights activists in Halifax.
“That’s my uncle,” he said quietly to his grandchildren gathered around him. “Now you can see him here, where everyone can learn what he fought for.”
The African Nova Scotian heritage exhibits will remain on the Halifax waterfront through October, with discussions underway about creating permanent installations to ensure these stories remain visible for generations to come.
