Landmark New Brunswick Black history book back in print

A long out-of-print history of New Brunswick's Black community is available once again.

The Blacks in New Brunswick was written by historian W.A. Spray and first published in 1972

The reprint of the book is published by St. Thomas University in Fredericton ,and proceeds from sales of the book will fund bursaries for Black students.

Poet Thandiwe McCarthy was a driving force behind the republishing.

He said he was first exposed to it when he asked his mother for books about Black history in New Brunswick.

"I was shocked that there was only one book," said McCarthy. 

"I have to say that I went through it in about an evening, not very long. Just every page amazed me at the very particular context of racism in New Brunswick and how the history of the Black Loyalists is such a very prominent history that I had no idea about."

The new edition of the book features a foreword by McCarthy and a preface by Funké Aladejebi, a history professor at the University of Toronto.

Aladejebi said the book is a significant piece of literary history not only because it tells the story of the Black community, but does so by going beyond the community's arrival in New Brunswick and the narrative of slavery.

"He talks about, you know, thriving African communities before the process of enslavement," said Aladejebi.

"He talks about the complexity of Black communities in New Brunswick. He talks about free and enslaved populations. He talks about loyalist populations. So there is a clear understanding here that persons of African descent were not a monolith"

Aladejebi said she first became aware of the book when she was a history professor at the University of New Brunswick.

She describes her time in the province as wonderful but complicated.

"I think part of the things that I really enjoyed about New Brunswick are the very conversations we're having now … the richness and openness of people to have conversations, to think through the ideas of difference and identity in ways that I think were incredibly unique," said Aladejebi. 

"But I can't pretend that I wasn't struck by the absence of Black history in New Brunswick by the yearning of community members and particularly black students to understand themselves and the history of this place."

McCarthy said reading the book was personal for him, as he was trying to find his identity as a Black man in New Brunswick, and the book helped.

"It just helped me feel more comfortable and welcomed here in New Brunswick and I know that this will happen for other people of the culture," said McCarthy. 

"I think even people outside the Black community will just feel enriched by the information in this book."

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.