Africville Family Reunion organizers look to form safety committee

The board of the Africville Genealogy Society is seeking partners within the African Nova Scotian community and other groups to form a committee to look at safety in Africville Park after five people were shot  during the community's 41st annual reunion.

Reporters were not allowed inside the society's meeting at the Halifax North Memorial Public Library on Tuesday night, but society president Irvine Carvery told CBC News the focus was on safety for next year's reunion of former Africville residents and their families.

"We're hoping to bring together a group of concerned people, not just Africville people, not just the society," Carvery said after the meeting ended. "The society will be inviting people in to sit down and as a whole community try and come up with what our next steps are."

Carvery said once the committee is formed, he would recommend a safety audit of Africville Park, the site of the community that was demolished by the City of Halifax in the 1960s to make way for the A. Murray MacKay Bridge. He said the reunion is unique because people stay at the park overnight. 

Carvery said he's encouraged by the amount of support being shown to the community. He said acting police chief Don MacLean reached out, as did the mayor's office and provincial officials, immediately following the July 27 shooting, when two men exchanged gunfire and the bullets went into the crowd.

MacLean, who has just been hired to officially lead Halifax Regional Police, used to serve on the board of the Africville Heritage Trust. He said last month's shooting hit close to home for him.

"It was devastating for me personally, and the community," he said.

He said the Africville Genealogy Society has his full support in its efforts to set up a safety committee.

"And I want to be clear, I don't think that event is reflective of the Africville experience or the reunion that's gone on for 40-plus years, and we all have a role to play and we certainly will step up and take ours."

No charges have been laid in the shooting. MacLean says the investigation is continuing.

Carvery said a lot of people are still shaken up by the shooting and the Association of Black Social Workers has offered help.

The non-profit charitable organization is offering support and resources to community members who call its support line (1-855-732-1253, ex. 1 or 2). The association is also working with a community mobilization team to organize events providing a space for people to "debrief and process" the shooting. The first was held Aug. 1 and another is planned for Aug. 14.

"I encourage anyone who's feeling any kind of trauma or whatsoever to please use that number," Carvery said.

'We are resilient'

In a statement to CBC News on Friday, the association said the incident is a "stark reminder of the devastating impact that gun violence has on the Black community locally and abroad."

"Such violence threatens one's physical, emotional and psychological health and safety, leaving lasting scars on individuals and the community at large," the statement read.

"We recognize the deep complex trauma that events like this can cause and the necessity for culturally responsive care in addressing these wounds. When incidents of this nature occur, they echo through the entire Black community, affecting everyone in some way."

The board of the genealogy society will meet at the library again next Tuesday.

"We are resilient," Carvery said. "We will find solutions to the issues that we face and hopefully we can use this opportunity — and I see it as an opportunity — to build bridges with other community groups, with other agencies within HRM to bring us all together."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.