Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians: Inspiring Stories of Courage and Achievement

Amazing Atlantic Canadians

by Lindsay Ruck, James Bentley (Illustrator)

This fascinating, full-colour illustrated book features over 50 amazing Black people from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, sharing their incredible stories and accomplishments, past and present.

Among these amazing Black Atlantic Canadians are people who saved lives, set sports records (Delmore William "Buddy" Daye), achieved international superstardom (Measha Brueggergosman), made change in their own neighbourhoods (Quentrel Provo), overcame injustice (Viola Desmond), and enacted many other inspiring deeds of courage and perseverance. With dozens of profiles on both historical and contemporary Black people from Atlantic Canada, Lindsay Ruck celebrates the accomplishments and recognizes the hardships of some of our region's least-known amazing heroes.

Featuring informative sidebars, an index, and 20 colour illustrations from artist James Bentley.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

Published January 31, 2021

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians is a really solid introduction to the history of Black people in the Atlantic provinces in general as well as having many introductory biographies of significant individuals in this history. Some of it is fairly well known (the Black Loyalists, Viola Desmond, Willie O'Ree, etc) while other aspects are less known (I don't think I knew anything about Black history in Newfoundland or Prince Edward Island). It's interesting and creates a beautiful portrait of Black history in the Atlantic provinces. The illustrations are gorgeous, although I do wish they had used some photographs of the more recent people or copies of artworks made by some of them (like paintings or film stills, etc). It also could have used a little bit more eye towards typing errors (specifically something that happened in the 1790s was twice said to have happened in the 1970s). Overall though, this is a solid and enjoyable introduction to a history that doesn't have enough eyes on it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title is nominated for the 2023 Hackmatack Award in the English non-fiction category. I like that it introduces the reader to a variety of Black people from Atlantic Canada who have made achievements all across the board, from athletics to politics & human rights. As always, I'm a fan of a book with glossary, index, etc. While the illustrations were well done, I would have liked to have seen more photographs, at least for the people featured who are more recent.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys trivia and learning more about the Atlantic Provinces.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this book is for children but I think there could have been longer biographies and more about the racism that each person in the book had to endure.