Black Loyalists in New Brunswick by Stephen Davidson
Among the Loyalists who were transported to the shores of New Brunswick by the British after their defeat by revolutionary Americans were several hundred African Americans.
Gutter Child by Jael Richardson
Jael Richardson’s debut novel, Gutter Child (2021, HarperCollins Canada)* is a forceful one that shines a spotlight on racism, colonization and the struggle to get out from under an imposed debt that only death will bring freedom from. It is … Continue reading
Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robyn Maynard
Policing Black Lives is the work of Montreal-based Black feminist activist and educator, Robyn Maynard. Maynard brings her considerable expertise to this book, which is packed with information about the history and continued oppression of Black people in Canada.
The Hermit of Africville by Jon Tattrie (New Edition)
Jon Tattrie paints a bleak picture of the destruction of Africville through the eyes of a lifelong protestor, Eddie Carvery. Carvery grew up in Africville, a black community in the northern section of Halifax.
Pearleen Oliver: Canada’s Black Crusader for Civil Rights, Edited by Ronald Caplan
As the Black Lives Matter movement advances, there have been many, many new books released focussing on the history of slavery, segregation and outright racism that existed and still exists in Canada. This is particularly true in Atlantic Canada where … Continue reading
The Talking Drum by Lisa Braxton
It is 1971. The fictional city of Bellport, Massachusetts, is in decline with an urban redevelopment project on the horizon expected to transform this dying factory town into a thriving economic center. This planned transformation has a profound effect on the residents who live in Bellport as their own personal transformations take place.
Afraid of the Dark by Guyleigh Johnson
Through prose and poetry, Guyleigh Johnson tells the story of sixteen-year-old Kahlua Thomas. An absent father and an alcoholic mother leave Kahlua feeling neglected, but her real pain stems from being black.
Finding Fortune: Documenting and Imagining the Life of Rose Fortune (1774-1864) by Brenda J. Thompson
A daughter of runaway slaves, a Black Loyalist, the first Black police officer, a businesswoman and a friend of T.C. Haliburton; as a follow-up to her best-selling A Wholesome Horror, Brenda Thompson tells Rose Fortune’s story for the first time.
The Lost Sister by Andrea Gunraj
Andrea Gunraj is the author of The Sudden Disappearance of Seetha (2009, Knopf Canada), her first novel. The Lost Sister (2019, Vagrant Press) is two stories (or really two separate novels) which Ms. Gunraj has cleverly interleaved and zipped up into one considerable read, so that we have two stories, both with a "lost sister."
Exile Blues by Douglas Gary Freeman
Exile Blues could be one of the most important Black History novels to appear in recent years, and Douglas Gary Freeman is a writer worthy of consideration.
Black Cop: My 36 years in police work, and my career ending experiences with official racism by Calvin Lawrence, With Miles Howe
The title and subtitle pretty much sum up what this book is about: being black and facing systemic racism in two police organizations in a 36-year career. Calvin Lawrence was born in 1949 in Yarmouth and raised in Halifax. His … Continue reading
Daughters of Silence by Rebecca Fisseha
Rebecca Fisseha’s debut novel Daughters of Silence was recently featured on CBC Books’ 34 Works of Canadian Fiction to Watch for this Fall, which is no small feat, particularly for a first novel. (Incidentally, her publisher, New Brunswick’s Goose Lane … Continue reading
Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta (Guest Post)
Note: For the past three summers, Naomi of the Consumed by Ink book review blog and I have been swapping a book review. This year I reviewed The Afrikaner by Arianna Dagnino for her site, and she has written a … Continue reading
Precept by Matthew de Lacey Davidson
Self-published Nova Scotian author Matthew de Lacy Davidson has released his first novel Precept, and it is firmly in the historical fiction genre. I particularly enjoy these types of novels, for one learns something, if not of the actual … Continue reading
Black Beach by Glynis Guevara
Sixteen-year-old Tamera lives in La Cresta, a rural fishing community on a Caribbean island. Despite having the support of relatives, including her dad, Earl, her elder sister, Mary and her best friend and first cousin, Jan, she struggles to deal with her mom’s mental health issues and the absence of her boyfriend, Dalton who moves out of the village to work.