Africville National Historic Site of Canada

Africville was designated a national historic site of Canada because:

• prior to its relocation in the 1960s, this community was representative of Black settlement in Nova Scotia in its social organization and in its geographical and metaphorical position on the periphery of white society;
• with the emergence of a more politically conscious and confrontational spirit in Black culture, the clearance of Africville in the name of urban renewal became an enduring symbol to Black Canadians of the need for vigilance in defense of their institutions.

Africville was initially settled by African Canadians seeking employment in Halifax during in the 1830s and 1840s. The community grew during the 19th century with its own school and church, the Seaview African United Baptist Church. Over the years, the City of Halifax consistently denied the community municipal services and, during the urban renewal movement of the 1960s, undertook the clearance of the area. Despite protests, the community was dismantled and its members were relocated elsewhere in the city. A campaign for redress eventually emerged and Africville took on a symbolic identity, one which has persisted as representative of the need for pride and vigilant defense of Black institutions and traditions. As such it has served as a source of inspiration to other African Canadian communities and nurtured leaders of its own, including members of the Carvery family and the well-known defender of human rights, Burnley ''Rocky'' Jones. The city has developed the land into the Seaview municipal park (now named Africville Park) which has become an annual place of pilgrimage for the Africville Genealogical Society, an organization of former residents and their descendents.