Yesterday a young Black woman posted on Facebook about a violent arrest by Halifax police officers after she was falsely accused of shoplifting at the Mumford Road Walmart. There is a rally in her support on Friday January 16, at 5 PM.
The tiny but mighty Nova Scotia Advocate turns four today.
The Nova Scotia Federation of Labour (NSFL) is donating $5,000 in support of the Alton Gas water protectors. The donated money will be used to deal with legal costs associated with a court case asserting treaty rights.
Since 1989 child poverty in Nova Scotia decreased by less than one percent. One in four kids lives in poverty, for kids younger than 2 years, that is one in three! Let that sink in. And numbers for African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaw kids are much higher again.
“To the likes of Justin Trudeau and Chrystia Freeland the relationship with a tyrannical white supremacist president is more important than human rights and democracy. US officials are saying they just took out the world’s number one bad guy, but let me tell you, that guy is sitting right there in the White House.”
A well attended meeting in downtown Halifax called for an end to US (and Canadian) war efforts in the middle East.
Documenting the histories of local activism is of vital importance, and Before the Parade, a wonderful new book by Rebecca Rose on the history of Halifax’s gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in the seventies and early eighties is a very welcome addition.
There is a severe housing crisis in Halifax and many other Nova Scotia towns. As in most any crisis, it’s painful for everybody, but the very poor, and especially also the racialized poor, are bearing the brunt. However, when you listen to Housing Nova Scotia senior bureaucrats at yesterday’s Community Services Standing Committee you do not get a sense of urgency.
In the aftermath of the Northern Pulp decision there are a lot of racist social media comments directed at the people of Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN). To see racist comments on Facebook is of course not unusual, but this is getting out of hand. If we don’t push back it will continue to get worse.
Racist street checks may have stopped, but overbearing police interactions with Black Haligonians continue.
This weekend’s weekend video features Toronto activist and singer Faith Nolan, with a rousing song about Viola Desmond. I found out about Faith’s connections with Nova Scotia while reading Before the Parade, a great book by Rebecca Rose about LGBTQ activism in Halifax in the seventies and early eighties. Watch the video and buy the book!