''Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper'' was the first newspaper in Canada written by and about Black women. Founded in 1986 by the Black Women's Collective, ''Our Lives'' sought to represent the lives, achievements, and struggles of Black women in Canada.
Background
The Black press and anti-Black racism in print
Black activism in print in Canada began with anti-enslavement publications such as ''
The Provincial Freeman'' that sought to counter the anti-Black racism prevalent in the Canadian press. ''Our Lives'' cultivated this history by “create
nga free space, a place where
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
can talk as sisters”, and analyze their experiences with institutional racism, gendered racism, and anti-Black violence.
This dedication to Black women representation was part of a broader movement in the 1980s that centered "Black women's experiences, writings, and cultural production...to validate the lives of these women...and ...make them visible to the wider public".
Racial uplift and Black consciousness
''Our Lives'' was situated in a period of heightened racial unrest that produced actions like the
Sir George Williams and
Yonge Street uprisings.
They spoke, and contributed, to this moment by celebrating Black womanhood and by honouring Black women revolutionaries such as
Marie Joseph Angelique,
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...
, and
Anne Cools
Anne Clare Cools (born August 12, 1943) is a Canadian retired senator and the longest serving member of the Senate of Canada. As a social worker, Cools was a pioneer in the protection of women from domestic violence, running one of the first dome ...
.
See also
*
Black Canadians
Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...
References
{{reflist
External links
''Our Lives'' archives Rise Up! Feminist Archive
Black feminism
Newspapers published in Toronto
Black Canadian newspapers
Newspapers established in 1986
Publications disestablished in 1989
Black Canadian culture in Toronto