Often I tucked away interesting articles I come across thinking they are worth saving for another read later. Today, I came across one such article in the 2021 edition of an Our Canada magazine entitled A History For All. And since we celebrate Black History, it is an especially appropriate time to write about it. The article among other things, explains how the concept of The ABC’s of Canadian Black History came about.
The brainchild of Dr. Dorothy W. Williams, the kit is to help Black youth appreciate and learn about the lives and achievements of Black Canadians who are not often talked about.
Going through the alphabet, each page has a photo as well as a write-up about how that particular Black Canadian has contributed to our history. For example, R stands for Jackie Robinson – the first Black to become a professional baseball player despite segregation at the time.
There is a teacher’s text included with the kit for use in the classroom or virtually. The kit was launched in 2016 during Black History Month.
My Grounded kit which consists of a novel and a teacher’s activity book is also for teaching children virtually or in the classroom. In this case, the subject is polio, which is relevant as polio has some similarities to COVID. My kit lets children realize that other kids in the past have also had to go through similar restrictions. My kit also reminds parents and grandparents of the past. Some may still suffer from the effects of polio they had years ago. I have been told by adults who never suffered polio during their lives, that they learned a great deal about polio from my activity book, and I think you would too.
I also think The ABC’s of Canadian Black History would also be a very worthwhile and enjoyable way to learn more about how Black Canadians have added to our heritage.