What is Black History Month?
“What is Black History Month?” When tackled with this question, we often answer by saying that it is the month when we remember famous black Canadians for their achievements and helping blacks around the world attain freedom. This is a reasonable answer but is this all there is to black history month? What we all tend to miss is that they not only fought for blacks but also for every other minor race. They made changes, impacts to Canada that also benefited all other races; it helped Canada become better as a whole country.
As an immigrant I could never be grateful enough for their hard work on making Canada such a diverse yet welcoming place. Living in a city; Toronto, known for its multiculturalism has a very positive impact on my life. Those impacts are much more significant than just having freedom, its about the opportunities that are given. As a student who is fond of education, I would like to recognize very important black female, Mary Ann Shadd Cary who played a significant role in Canada’s education. I would also like to put Anne Cools on the spotlight for being the face of gender equality. These two females specifically have been role models for young students because of the type of work they did for them and the rest of Canada.
Mary Anne Shadd Cary grew up with 12 siblings in Delaware with her free parents. Although being born in America she moved to Canada in search of freedom. After moving she distinguished that Canada is a great country and therefore wrote booklets for fellow blacks in America to tell them the advantages of this free country. Educated as she was and being the first black female publisher she cared for the young generation’s education.
Therefore she set up a school in Windsor for all type of races. She showed the importance of education by doing such an exponential cause, which helped many people achieve their dreams. While everyone else was fighting for rights she still cared for education and carried the custom of education so it doesn’t get lost in the struggles of freedom. Her behavior upon education has given all immigrants as me a chance to pursue our dreams through education, which might not be possible back in my home country dues to financial matters. So I’m truly grateful of her for caring for the young generations and putting importance on education so we don’t get side tracked.
Anne Cools was born in Barbados and came to Canada when she was fourteen. She lived in Montreal and graduated from McGill University. She is the first Black Canadian to be appointed to Canada’s upper house, and is currently the longest serving senator. She was against racism since early years when she participated in a racism protest at her school. She is a strong believer in equality of people and gender.
She started supporting women by creating the first women’s shelter in Toronto. She is a role model for women and shows boldness by keeping a stand for what is right. There is a saying “always chose what’s right not who’s right” and I truly live by that statement every day and Anne Cools could be titled to this statement. She has always supported women and gave them a voice in the federal government but in recent years when introduced to a new law she supported men because it was the right action to take. It did make many women unhappy with her but it illustrates how fair she is and supports the greater good.
In conclusion the impact is overwhelming that is done by all the Black Canadians and specifically Mary Anne Shadd Cary and Anne Cools. They helped Canada become a better place that is today and still help Canada carry on its title as a friendly country around the globe. Their legacy is deeply engraved in this diverse culture and lots of immigrants like me are benefited from their actions. Mary Anne helped showing the importance of education and gave the younger generations a chance to learn.
Also she wrote about the greatness of Canada and help reach Canada a new height of freedom. Anne cools is my personal role model because I came to this country when I was twelve and I can connect in a way that she is something due to her hard work. It gives me motivation that even if I came late to this country and learned proper English after coming here I still could be what I want to be just like her. She is at high position in the federal government although being immigrant once. Therefore due to all these reasons I gratefully celebrate the Black History Month!