Global recognition: No.2 Construction Battalion recognized by UNESCO

The No.2 Construction Battalion- Canada’s first and only all-Black battalion- is added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.

“It’s a very interesting story,” says Yves-Gerard Nehou-Loko, the secretary general for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO.

At the beginning of the First World War, hundreds of black men were turned away from enlisting. They were told it was a white man’s war. But they didn’t give up, after two years of protests the Canadian military approved the creation of the No.2 Construction Battalion.

“It’s a huge part of the Canadian history and of course it’s also highlights our past and the past of discrimination,” Nehou-Loko says.

“Can you imagine that about 100 years ago some young Canadians that wanted to fight for the freedom of their country, but couldn’t fight the freedom of their country because of their race.”

That dedication is now being acknowledged by UNESCO which added the battalion's story to the Canada Memory of the World Programme.

“The Library and Archives Canada was our partner in this inscription. It has close to 30,000 pages of documentation related to the No.2 Battalion, so therefore it will be, everything has been digitalized, so it can be more accessible for public to have access to the information, to learn about it and also to promote it,” says Nehou-Loko.

“I think it’s monumental,” adds author, Lindsay Ruck.

“My connection would be through my grandfather. He was a historian, he was a human rights activist, he was an author and his book was called ‘The Black Battalion, Canada‘s Best Kept Military Secret.’”

The battalion has previously been honoured for its commitment with a stamp, a monument and an official apology from Justin Trudeau.

Ruck says the UNESCO inscription is another step forward.

“Putting them on this stage is huge. It validates their story and it tells their descendants that what they did wasn’t in vain,” says Ruck.

“I think it helps in the mending of that hurt and that shame that their loved ones felt and it brings that pride for them back into the story.”