HomeMy Public PortalAbout2022-01-13_Proclamation_#1792 Project
PROCLAMATION
DAY OF BLACK LOYALIST EXODUS:
15 Ships to Sierra Leone
January 15, 2022
WHEREAS January 15, 2022 is the 230th anniversary of 15 ships
departing the harbour of Halifax in 1792, and that 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 cruelest chapters in the history of
humanity; and
WHEREAS people of African descent have been a part of Canadian
society since the early 1600s and that their enslavement occurred
on this land or 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; and
WHEREAS we are committed to promote 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;
and
WHEREAS we continue 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; and
WHEREAS we recognize that secure housing and land was
promised to these early settlers and very few received what was
owed. No one received the promised 100 acres of land for each
head of household despite petitions (by Thomas Peters). For
many Black Loyalists, shared Mi’kmaq knowledge was key to
survival in the first winters.
THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED that January 15, 2022 be
declared as the Day of Black Loyalist Exodus: 15 Ships to
Sierra Leone in the Municipality of the District of Chester.
January 13, 2022
Allen Webber, Warden Date