Abstract
Nova Scotia is home to Canada's largest indigenous Black population, whose roots reach back to 1750. From early settlers followed by Black Loyalists, slaves, Maroons, and Black Refugees, life for Black people was marked by abject poverty, marginalization, and systemic and systematic racism. Yet African Nova Scotians refused to be beaten. Some communities remain, some were destroyed by forced removal of their residents, and others suffered from dispersal of their residents over time in search of better opportunities. Such was the case of a small, African Nova Scotian community with no official name and no local institutions, unofficially known as “The Avenue.” This commentary underscores the complexities that work historically to deny a people full and equitable citizenship. It is a story that reinforces the strength of community beyond geographical boundaries.
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