A special time to Celebrate; a special time for Solidarity
Please join us as we recognise and celebrate BLACK HISTORY MONTH now in its 30th year of recognition by the federal government, of celebrating Black Canadians’ contributions to the nation’s history. In Alberta this recognition came eight years ago. We continue to advocate that Black History is Canadian History – integral to Canada’s identity.
Our initial Black communities have been here for over 100 years, fleeing North from the Deep South with its practice of entrenched racial segregation. ALHi has been recording stories of descendants of this Black community, of people initially excluded from living in our cities, with many decades of firsthand experience about racial exclusion – people like Gwen Hooks, Irma Belton, and Mojo Williams.
We didn’t stop there. We moved into the trenches with Nurses of Colour; Black health care workers; people barred from work for equal wages; those working in meatpacking plants; people building oil plants and infrastructure, facing constant racial challenges, discussing their living conditions and experiences, of building economies, and building solidarity in workplaces and communities. We continue to be a valuable source of recorded struggles from our Black community. We continue to advocate for Black History to be included in our public school curriculum and have created the tools to make this happen.
During Black History Month 2026, many of our recorded interviews will be featured in special events at Canada Place, public libraries, at the Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton’s City Hall, the Citadel Theatre, and classrooms around the city.
Please note this special event: Caribbean Oil Workers and Alberta’s Economy at the Royal Alberta Museum Theatre, February 7, 2026 at 2 p.m. Please join us.
– Donna Coombs-Montrose