Halifax (Kjipuktuk) is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet), and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726. The treaties did not deal with the surrender of lands and resources but in fact, recognized Mi’kmaq and Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.

Adrian Labor highlights seminal works on Black Canadian stories from the 18th century onward, discussing efforts to define the One Journey strategy. Features Dr. Afua Cooper's talk on the renowned civil rights leader and black Atlantic revolutionary, Thomas Peters.

The #1792 project was born from an art installation for Halifax's Nocturne Festival in October 2021, called Message in a Bottle: 15 Ships to Sierra Leone, inspired by Dr. Afua Cooper's poem https://afuacooper.com/2015/03/07/15-ships-to-sierra-leone/. The letter-writing project “Book of Letters” began in September of 2021, in preparation for the 230th anniversary of the first recruitment that took place in Preston on October 12, 1791. To learn more and join the effort, visit https://abn.hrce.ca/abn/general-information/1792-project

Thanks to students Zai, Samara Hudson-Ash, Adeola Wyse, Yema Ong'ongo and Ezra kenye Ong'ongo for lending their voices to reading letters from students. [Outro music: Detroit Youth Choir - Glory, featuring IndigoYaj, 2020 https://youtu.be/EDWsm7lcGXM (orig. John Legend, Common, 2014)]

[Interlude: Africville (Africville Suite) - Joe Sealy, 1996 Sea Jam, Triplet Records] [Interlude: Radio Democracy Freetown; Music: Kokonat Ed - Emmerson, 2020 Sugar Entertainment]

[Image: Advertisement for the settlement of black Nova Scotians in Sierra Leone. Date: 2 August 1791. Reference: Commissioner of Public Records Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 419 number 1 (microfilm 15460)]

(00:00) Introduction

(06:32) The Canadian story as a cementing piece in the journey to liberty and self determination

(08:30) Noted writings and historic volumes

(12:45) Introduction of Historian Dr. Afua Cooper and the importance of enriching the Atlantic connection with Canada

(17:34) Dr. Afua Cooper on Thomas Peters

(32:17) West Africans in early Canada, and other community histories of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

(34:30) The #1792 Project

(49:29) Students reading from the Book of Letters, closeout

This podcast is a fully volunteer effort toward the Zion Freetown 230 initiative.

Help with mental health- https://www.massgeneral.org/psychiatry/guide-to-mental-health-resources/for-bipoc-mental-health; https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Black-African-American; https://ilpa.org.uk/members-area/working-groups/well-being-new/well-being-resource-hub/mental-health-resources-for-black-people-and-poc/