The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the racial segregation of blacks and whites in public places and institutions. The term Jim Crow refers to the segregation laws, rules, and customs enacted in the southern American states from 1876 and in effect up to the passage of the American Civil Rights Act of 1964. Jim Crow was an exaggerated and highly stereotypical black character first performed on stage by ‘actor’ Thomas Dartmouth Rice at the Park Theatre in New York in 1828. Rice was one of the first White performers to wear blackface makeup. He darkened his skin with burnt cork for stage performances. Incredibly, his Jim Crow song and dance routine was an astounding success and by 1832 Rice had toured all over the United States. He even performed to “great acclaim” in London and Dublin. Jim Crow soon became a stock character in most minstrel shows and even spawned equally offensive but successful imitators. By 1838, the term “Jim Crow” was being used as a collective racial slur for Blacks and by the beginning of the 20th century the phrase Jim Crow was being used to describe laws and customs that oppressed black people.
Quick Facts A 1907 by-law in St. Croix, Nova Scotia read “Not any Negro nor any Indian shall be buried in St. Croix Cemetery.” — The Chronicle Herald, 12 Oct 1968
People of African descent have had to fight the ugly legacy of slavery since their arrival to Nova Scotia. Whether petitioning for land grants that were unjustly denied them or organizing to establish schools in their communities, African Nova Scotians have had to continuously fight discrimination and constantly advocate for basic equal rights. During the War of 1812, thousands of slaves fled their owners in an effort to reach British territory and gain their freedom. Among the runaways who escaped and were brought to Halifax by the Royal Navy were the relatives of a slave from Virginia named Richard. Richard was said to be a tall, light-skinned man with an imposing, almost regal bearing. His fine manner of speaking had been honed as a slave preacher. After the War, Richard somehow gained his freedom and set out for British North America to find his mother. His first stop was Nova Scotia. He had almost given up hope of ever seeing her again when, at the largest settlement of Black Refugees in British North America, in a township fifteen kilometers outside Halifax, Richard finally found his mother. He was so grateful that he took the name of the township as his own. So began the life of Richard Preston in Nova Scotia. Preston probably began his work in the community working with other black leaders and elders like Septimus Clarke, petitioning the government for their promised lots of land and setting up the first schools. Eventually he was taken under the wing of Reverend John Burton, a white Baptist minister. Burton and other community leaders raised the money to send Richard to England where he studied for the ministry and was ordained. He returned in 1831, and the following year the First African Baptist Church, led by Reverend Richard Preston, was organized at Halifax. Branches of the Church were opened in Dartmouth, Preston, Beech Hill and Hammonds Plains. The Church quickly formed
Sepia Beauty Products By
VIOLA DESMOND Special Attention To Veterans. 167 Gottingen St. Halifax, N.S. Sur Gro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35c., 65c Gloss Wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35c., 65c Press Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35c and 65c Sepomade (for men) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65c Face Powder (nut Brown) . . . . . .box 65c Perfume (No. 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55c Lipsticks (Black-Red) . . . . . . . . . . . . 65c Nets (triangle) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35c Hair Dye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00 Page—Boys, Braids, Straightening Combs. Curlers.
MAIL ORDERS PROMPTLY FILLED!
This picture of Viola Desmond was used on promotional calendars, packaging and advertising for her own line of beauty products.
HALIFAX MAGAZINE
“One wonders if the manager of the theatre who laid the complaint was so zealous because of a bona fide belief that there had been an attempt to defraud the province of Nova Scotia of the sum of one cent, or was it a surreptitious endeavor to enforce a Jim Crow rule by misuse of a public statute.” “Had the matter reached the court by some other method…there might have been an opportunity to right the wrong done this unfortunate woman.” — Mr. Justice W.L. Hall upon dismissing Viola Desmond’s appeal.
of African Nova Scotians
A New Era of Race Consciousness
George Dixon, from Africville (left), was the first black World Boxing Champion in any weight class. He held three separate titles, paperweight, featherweight and bantamweight. Sam Langford, from Weymouth Falls, aroused so much fear in opponents that many boxers refused to fight him. He is the only boxer inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame not to have won an official title.
the vanguard in the fight for equal rights in Nova Scotia. An ardent abolitionist, Preston founded the African Abolitionist Society (AAS) in 1846. The Society celebrated the abolition of slavery in the British Empire and dedicated itself to the eradication of slavery everywhere. In 1854, at Granville Mountain, Annapolis County, Reverend Preston met with Black Ministers and community leaders from Digby, Weymouth, Bear River and other parishes to form the African Baptist Association (ABA). As the organization grew, it came to be known as the African United Baptist Association (AUBA) and by 1945 its membership included congregations from Tracadie to Granville Ferry.
Viola Desmond was a successful entrepreneur whose business foreshadowed today’s franchise model. Viola was inspired by the success of Madam C.J. Walker, North America’s first woman self-made millionaire and sought to emulate her success in Nova Scotia. She identified a market niche and worked tirelessly to serve her clients. She imported specialty products, developed and packaged her own products and trained others to use her products. Like most successful business people, Viola was passionate about her business and worked hard, often putting in 12 and 14 hour days, six days a week.
What career options or business opportunities were available to African Nova Scotians in 1946? What career options and business opportunities exist today?
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ARCHIVES © MARY BELLIS
Who Was Jim Crow?
PRIVATE COLLECTION
The Times
The top 5 occupations listed in the 1871 Census for males were Labourer, Servant, Seaman, Farmer, Cooper.
6
The beginning of the 20th century ushered in a new era of race consciousness in North America. In Nova Scotia, black sports clubs, philanthropic associations and social action groups, both religious and secular, had started to organize in communities throughout the province. The Colored Hockey League had teams in Yarmouth, Halifax, Dartmouth, Amherst, Truro and Sydney. Teams like the Africville Sea Sides, Amherst Royals, Truro Victorias and Halifax Eurekas would routinely draw more than 500 spectators and the caliber of hockey played was equal to or better than any played in Canada. Black baseball teams like the Halifax Monarchs were so good that they became farm teams for the professional