Black History Month kickoff features local contributions

Amherstburg Freedom Museum co-presents Windsor-Essex County joint kickoff event

Teajai Travis plays the drums as part of the Windsor-Essex County Joint Annual Black History Month kickoff last Friday night.

Black History Month is underway and a local museum had a hand in kicking it off in the region.

The Amherstburg Freedom Museum joined the Essex County Black Historical Research Society (ECBHRS) and the Windsor-Essex Caribbean Association (WECA) in a Black History Month launch last Friday night. The event, held at the Caribbean Centre in Windsor, is the home of the WECA.

Irene Moore-Davis, president of the ECBHRS and assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, noted there are over 20 Black History Month events and activities planned for Windsor-Essex County alone. 

The Black History Month theme across Canada in 2026 is “30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations from Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries.”

The kickoff event and many of this month’s events and activities are free thanks to donors and sponsors. There are other events that do carry a charge. A full list is at www.amherstburgfreedom.org/bhm.

“This year in Canada, it is the 30th year of Black History Month,” said Moore-Davis.

Moore-Davis noted Dr. Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected to Canada’s Parliament, introduced the 1995 motion to recognize February as Black History Month. Following her motion, Canada officially celebrated its first Black History Month in February 1996 to honour the lasting contributions of Black Canadians to the nation’s history and development.

It was also pointed out by Moore-Davis that it has been 100 years since the launch of Negro History Week in the United States, founded in 1926 by historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson. 

“What began as a single week of recognition has since grown into what we now observe as Black History Month across borders,” she said.

Amherstburg Freedom Museum board chair Monty Logan addresses the crowd as part of the event.

In the face of challenges, “progress is possible,” Moore-Davis said.

Amherstburg Freedom Museum board chair Monty Logan also noted the background of Black History Month and listed some of the events happening in the region in February.

“We have to fight for our history. Our history is not given to us,” Logan told the crowd at the Jan. 30 kickoff. “This country was born and built on our backs. We have just as much right to be here as anyone else.”

Shantelle Browning-Morgan welcomed the public and said the event was to celebrate Black History Month, enjoy performances and spread fellowship. She said the Black community has made a lasting impact on the world in various professions. Browning-Morgan added the legacies of those who came before them are carried with them going forward.

Peter Thompson, president of WECA, added the organization went through a name change for a number of reasons and this was the first Black History Month event under its new name. The organization spent significant time trying to change the name from the Windsor West Indian Association, he added.

Thompson added it is one of the last Black-owned organizations in southern Ontario, noting they own their own building.

Harold Goldin outlined the Jackson Park Project, which is to have the bandshell in Jackson Park restored. 

He noted the original bandshell was built in 1945 but burned down in 1957, with it being replaced in 1958. The bandshell was mothballed in 1989.

The bandshell was the site of Emancipation Day events in Windsor and was the site of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the late 1950s. More information on the project can be found at www.jacksonparkproject.ca. 

Performances included poetry, drumming and song and featured artists Mangwa Premier, Teajai Travis, Nadine Manroe-Wakerell, Erik E-Tomic Johnson, Empress States, Paulina O’Kieffe, and Paula McPherson, with DJ Lamar Nelson and emcee Crystal Bryan.

“Black history is not just one month, it’s all year round,” said Bryan. “It is living history. It’s every day.”

Sponsors of the kickoff included the University of Windsor Black Scholars Institute, Arbor Memorial, Women’s Enterprise Skills Training, Inc., Black Women of Forward Action, and private donors.

Black History Month kickoff features local contributions

By Ron Giofu