New school resources explore the history of Black women on P.E.I.

Students in Prince Edward Island will soon have more resources to learn about the history of the Black community in the province.

New videos have been produced as part of the Black Women's History Project, covering the history of women in P.E.I. from enslavement to the present day. 

"This is a history that people weren't interested in, and it wasn't documented and it wasn't kept.  So, we lost a lot of that," said Debbie Langston, a diversity consultant with the Department of Education, who's been working on the project for two years.

A few years ago while working as a service worker in Island schools, Langston noticed there was a lack of resources to teach students about Black history, especially the history of Black women.

"I think there are many people on P.E.I. that have descended from some of these enslaved people and have no idea about it," Langston said. 

"I think it's part of the history we need to acknowledge and part of the history we need to celebrate because these people were integral to creating the society we currently live in."

The resources will be made available to Grade 7 social studies teachers in October, accompanied by the educational videos shot at the Black Cultural Society of P.E.I.

There will be components dealing with slavery, the life of an enslaved woman, and a former neighbourhood of Charlottetown known as The Bog. At its peak, The Bog was home to as many as 200 members of the Island's Black community in Charlottetown's west end.

Each lesson will be accompanied by a video that gives greater context to the story. 

The video production project was itself a celebration of culture. Those filming, directing and in many cases acting are members of the Island's Black community.

"We're trying to collect stories in Prince Edward Island that centre Black women's voices throughout history," said Aaron Sardinha, an education and policy coordinator at the Black Cultural Society, who is directing the videos.

"We're trying to tell these stories in ways that haven't been told before — through narratives, through fiction, through poems — and really trying to embody what it means to be a Black community member on Prince Edward Island."

Tamara Steele, executive director of the Black Cultural Society, is featured in one of the videos.

"I'm really excited about it. It's not something we have seen in P.E.I. and it's really needed... Black women on P.E.I. is a really amazing place to start because we hear a lot about Black history on P.E.I. but oftentimes it's in terms of what men have done," she said.

Steele said teaching and learning about Black history needs to be expanded beyond Black History Month, which begins Wednesday, and put into school curriculum.

"If it's part of the curriculum, then we are teaching children that other people exist, other cultures exist and other cultures have existed here on P.E.I.," Steele said.

It's nice to see the Black community "vibrant" and engaged with the project, she said.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of.