CBC Digital Archives

Buxton's black scholars

February is Black History Month. In Canada, it's a time to celebrate the achievements of black Canadians and reflect on their experiences throughout our past. CBC Digital Archives has pulled together a selection of radio and TV clips that honour black history — some of which exemplify the racism blacks have had to endure and overcome, both in Canada and around the world, while others highlight the remarkable accomplishments of extraordinary people.

In this third in a 1979 four-part CBC Radio series on Black History in Ontario, Prof. Daniel Hill describes the high level of education in the 19th-century black settlement at Buxton and the professional heights reached by its students, some of whom became doctors, lawyers and even American congressmen.
  Hill points out that in spite of Buxton and the Underground Railway, Ontario was "no Shangri-La" for blacks, where discrimination was certainly part of daily life. Hill also addresses the question of racism as it relates to the telling of Canada's history, where the black role is notably absent.

• The Elgin Settlement (also known as Buxton) was founded near Chatham, Ontario by Presbyterian minister William King in the late 1840s. It was set up as a black community, primarily agricultural, with its own grist mill, saw mill, lumber factory, schools, and church. King valued education and pride of ownership as some of the necessary building blocks of a successful community.
  The rules for living in Buxton were strict. According to the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum website:

• No liquor was allowed on the settlement.
• Land could only be sold to blacks and had to remain in their hands for 10 years.
• Land had to be purchased, not leased.
• Each house had to be built at least 24x18x12 feet (7.3x5.5x3.6 metres) with a porch across the front
• Each house had to be built 33 feet (10.1 metres) from the road, with a picket fence and flower garden in front.

Medium: Radio
Program: Voice of the Pioneer
Broadcast Date: April 15, 1979
Guest(s): Daniel Hill
Host: Bill McNeil
Duration: 8:52

Last updated: January 31, 2013

Page consulted on March 26, 2013

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