Africville’s 40th community reunion kicks off this week

This week, former Africville residents and their descendants will gather to honor and celebrate the past during the 40th Africville Reunion.

Africville was settled in 1800s as a home for African-Nova Scotians in the north end of Halifax and grew to become a tightknit community before residents were evicted and it was demolished by the city in the 1960s.

The Africville Genealogy Society helps to keep protect and promote the history of the former community. It was founded by three childhood friends, Deborah Dixon, Linda Mantley and Brenda Steed-Ross, all from Africville, in 1982 and the first reunion was held the following year.

Irvine Carvery, the society’s current president, says a genealogy course will be taking place at the Africville Museum as part of this year’s reunion.

“We partnered with the Halifax Municipal Archives to come to Africville, so people can bring their most precious documents and pictures and have them digitized,” he says. “That’s all a part of our mandate.”

Many other events are planned throughout the week, including an opening ceremony, a gospel concert, a harbour cruise and seniors tea event.

“We’re going to be celebrating our elders in Africville, and that’s going to be really exciting,” says Carvery. “And throughout the week -- it’s a weeklong celebration -- for young people, for children, we’ll have activities for them … and coming out and meeting their cousins that they have never met before.”

Carvery regularly gets invited to speak at schools about Africville and says people are often just hearing about it for the first time.

“It’s surprising because, especially at university, you have students from across Canada who have never heard about it – never -- so it’s always a pleasure to be able to bring that history to them,” he says.

Carvery also says he’s been receiving calls across Canada and the United States from people wanting to come to the reunion.

“And of course, we’re welcoming everybody, so we want them to come and enjoy what Africville was about because that’s the sprit of Africville … our doors we’re always open to everyone.”