Judy Haiven takes a close look at the human rights tribunal that found Halifax police discriminated against a Black man who was ticketed for jaywalking on Gottingen Street. “We cannot treat the police force in Halifax as though it has a few bad apples. We cannot assume that racism within the police — or any institution — is the exception,” she writes.
This documentary puts a face to the rapid changes gentrification has brought to the Halifax North End. We meet some of the older residents who reminisce about life in their old neighborhood, one that actually deserved to be called vibrant.
Walking Gottingen is an immersive sound walk that uses storytelling, natural sound, and diverse voices to transport listeners through a portal of lived experiences in the neighbourhood. Listeners will hear moving, intimate descriptions of an area that has been the home of African Nova Scotians, members of the LGBTQ2+ community and the Mi’kmaq First Nations community.
The most recent pedestrian fatality, at Gottingen Street, the fourth of this year, involves once again unforgiving infrastructure for those on foot which should have been mitigated during recent efforts to remodel it, writes Martyn Williams.
Gottingen Street, one of Halifax main thoroughfares, used to extend into the far North End. But in 1981 Halifax Council voted that the northern segment of Gottingen Street, beyond the Young Street intersection, now be called Novalea Drive. The reasons behind that decision were tainted by racism and prejudice, and a survey of residents’ opinions conducted by the City purposely excluded most residents who lived along the street. Maybe it’s time to make things right again.