News
History Comes Alive! #1792Project - Proclamation
- Published: April 26, 2022
Whereas January 15, 2022, is the 230th anniversary of 15 ships departing the harbour of Halifax in 1792, and the conditions and causes that led to the exodus of 1,196 self-liberated Black Loyalists were conditions of abject institutionalized racism and that this departure took place at the height of the transatlantic chattel slave trade one of the cruellest chapters in the history of humanity.
Whereas the Town of Oxford recognizes that people of African descent have been a part of Canadian society since the early 1600s and that their enslavement occurred on this land for centuries and that the Black Loyalists' departure is linked to the failure of institutional, political, and societal will to fulfill the promises that were made to the communities that left for Sierra Leone.
Whereas the Town of Oxford is committed to promoting histories such as the 15 Ships to Sierra Leone that often have been left in a vacuum of erasure. The resources provided for well-known monumentation have historically been funded at the expense of those erasures.
Whereas the Town of Oxford continues to recognize the ongoing significance of the UN Decade of African Descent and the importance of recognizing the history of Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia and how all communities in Nova Scotia continue to be affected by the historic rift of the Black community.
Whereas we recognize that secure housing and land were promised to these early settlers and very few received what was owed. Despite petitions (by Thomas Peters) the promised land and supplies were not provided. For many Black Loyalists, shared Mi'kmaq knowledge was key to survival in the first winters. Reparations for injustice is the path forward.
Thereby be it resolved that I, Mayor Gregory Henley declare January 15, 2022, the Day of Black Loyalist Exodus: 15 Ships to Sierra Leone #1792Project and that we mark this year as the 230th anniversary of the 15 Ships to Sierra Leone #1792Project.
Dated at Oxford, Nova ScotiaThis 19th day of April 2022
Gregory Henley Mayor, Town of Oxford
ghenley@oxfordns.ca