A recent survey conducted by TD Canada Financial Group revealed a disturbing fact about Canada’s national consciousness.  When respondents were given a list of yearly events, and asked to choose which ones take place in February, most were able to place Valentine’s Day and Groundhog Day among the correct answers.  But there was one event that was notably absent from most responses.  Of the 1,020 people surveyed across Canada, more than two thirds were unaware that Black History Month takes place in February.
It’s not as if it is a new tradition.  Black History Month has been a February custom since 1979, when Toronto became the first municipality in Canada to officially observe it.  The rest of the country followed suit in 1995, when a motion was unanimously passed by the House of Commons to make Black History Month a nationally recognized event. Since then the tradition has grown in scope and scale, but for many it continues to go by unnoticed.  It would seem that, although most people are aware that there is a Black History Month, a startling number will pass through these coming weeks without ever knowing it was here.
It appears as though young Canadians are increasingly losing sight of the enormous contributions and sacrifices that were made by African-Canadians throughout the development of this country.  Contributions like that of Mifflin Gibbs, who broke down racial barriers by becoming Canada’s first black politician in 1866.  Sacrifices like those made by the thousands of black soldiers who fought and died defending Canada in the War of 1812.  These are just a few examples of how black Canadians helped shape the country we call home, but whose stories are rarely shared today.
That is what makes Black History Month such a significant time of year.  It gives us all the opportunity to recognize the importance of a group of people who, despite being marginalized for hundreds of years, were able to make a positive and significant impact on the development of our nation.  It is something that needs to be recognized by every Canadian, regardless of colour.