HALIFAX -- Black Heritage Month was officially launched today at the Nova Scotia legislature with the unveiling of a poster honouring the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
The military unit formed during the First World War was the only predominantly African-Canadian battalion since Confederation.
The segregated battalion allowed black men who had previously been turned away by recruiters to enlist in the military.
Formed on July 5, 1916 in Pictou, N.S., the more than 600-strong unit was mostly comprised of men from Nova Scotia, although volunteers also came from other parts of Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
The battalion served in various support roles along the Western Front in Europe digging trenches, building railroads, repairing roads and laying barbed wire.
The theme of Nova Scotia's month-long celebration is "Legacy of Commitment -- They Fought to Fight."
