Stories about Black Atlantic Canadians inspire young readers

Mark Leger · CBC News

· Posted: May 04, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

Lindsay Ruck comes from a household steeped successful the past of the contributions of Black Atlantic Canadians and she wants to walk on those stories successful a signifier accessible to children.

Her begetter Douglas was the valedictorian of his graduating people astatine the University of King's College successful Halifax and went connected to survey instrumentality astatine Dalhousie University. He founded his ain instrumentality steadfast and became the archetypal Black ombudsman of Nova Scotia.

Ruck's grandfather, Calvin, was a societal idiosyncratic and societal activistic who pressed for adjacent rights for Black residents successful the Halifax area. When a barber refused to chopped his son's hairsbreadth due to the fact that helium was black, Calvin fought backmost and ensured that nary 1 successful the metropolis could beryllium refused a haircut based connected the colour of their skin. Residents tried to halt him from moving into their mostly achromatic neighbourhood — helium ended up surviving determination for 50 years. 

Ruck said her begetter and gramps did a batch of enactment "with societal activism and lasting up for quality rights for their antithetic achromatic communities." 

She tells their stories, and the stories of different Black heroes, successful her children's book, Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians, and she's presently connected a circuit of the portion during Canadian Children's Book Week.

Originally, Ruck planned connected penning a children's publication astir an all-Black portion during the First World War. Her grandfather, Calvin, had already written a publication for adults called The Black Battalion and Ruck wanted to constitute an illustrated mentation for kids. 

She approached a steadfast and they said, "Great idea, but however astir you bash 50 profiles connected astonishing Atlantic Canadians?"

The resulting book, published successful 2021, is simply a compendium of stories, with artwork by James Bentley, astir much than 50 Black athletes, artists, societal activists, subject heroes and ground-breaking rights advocates.

Stories astir Black N.B. artists, athletes

They are from astir the Atlantic portion and see New Brunswickers similar Chris Skinner, a Saint Johner who played successful the CFL, Fredericton's Willie O'Ree, the archetypal Black subordinate successful the NHL, world-renowned Fredericton opera vocalist Measha Brueggergosman and Saint Andrews-born 19th-century creator Edward Mitchell Bannister. 

Ruck said she hopes kids are inspired by these important humanities figures.

"I person 2 young children and erstwhile I stock immoderate of these stories with them, I'm ever funny to spot the accusation that they instrumentality away," she said. "But the biggest happening is [these Black leaders] lived successful the aforesaid portion [the kids] lived in, which is truly breathtaking for them."

"They were [also] conscionable radical who had a passionateness astir thing … an creator oregon an jock oregon an activistic who conscionable decided to bash the close thing."

Ruck wrote the publication arsenic a mode of teaching young radical astir Black history, but she hopes radical of each ages are inspired by these stories of courageous radical who accomplished large things successful the look of absorption and racism. 

"I anticipation radical are inspired by that and recognize that these are inactive things we tin bash today," she said. "Standing up for what is close oregon pursuing your dreams. These are each things that young and aged tin inactive pursue."