About Us
Our Mission
Our mission is learning, uncovering and promoting Canadian Black History towards a progressive inclusive future through annual events.
Those events includin the Halton Freedom Festival: the Emancipation Art Exhibition, a HBHAS Gospel presentation, and HBHAS Presents:.
HBHAS Presents does speaking engagements to the public, elementary, secondary, university and college students; businesses; youth mentoring; community groups; and, historical, genealogical and heritage organizations.
"At this moment, we all face a choice. We can choose to press forward with a better model of cooperation and integration, or we can retreat in a world sharply divided and ultimately in conflict." – President Obama, United Nations General Assembly Conference
About Halton
“Halton is the fastest growing visible minority region in Canada growing 78% within a five-year span with Milton growing 176% in visible minority growth within the same time frame.” – Canada Census 2016.
“Burlington is the first city in the world to acclaim August as Emancipation Month” – 2018 Halton Freedom Celebration Festival – Dwight Lee III
“The Emancipation process started in the Burlington/Branford/Hamilton area, where two parliamentarians seeing a Joseph Brant slave screaming at her bounty hunter abductor, due to the Fugitive Slave Act in the U.S., took this incident back to Parliament initiating the lieutenant-governor in legislating the 1793 Act against Slavery which abolished new slaves being brought into what is now Canada.; This promoted the, August 1st, 1834 British Abolition against slavery in most of the Commonwealth.”
About the HBHAS logo
The Halton Black History Awareness Society (HBHAS) logo is a bird called, "Sankofa" from the Ghanaian language.
Sankofa translates into "Reach back and get it (and bring it forward)".
This is what the HBHAS is doing with Canadian black history...
Learning - Uncovering – Promoting towards a progressive future.
The Halton Black History Awareness Society (HBHAS) is an evolution of the 10 year old Burlington Black History Awareness Committee who have been involved in a number of activities and events including:
- Ballet Creole "Tapestry" & Black history month launch
- Broadway Musicals “Bubbling Brown Sugar”, “Once on this Island” and “Aint Misbehavin”, a Fats Waller Musical Revue by Director Gordon Davis; “The Real McCoy” by playwright Andrew Moodie;
- Variety Shows of storytelling, dancing and poetry reading by students directed by Gordon Davis
- Burlington Art Centre Community Gallery Black History Art Exhibit - Professional and Student Art Exhibits
- Burlington Heritage Month Community Fair
- Poetry Slam dedicated to Black History;
- Cultural Musical Showcases and Literary readings
- Plays including "One Noble Journey" and "The Spirit of Harriet Tubman"
- The Black History Awareness Race
- Screening of the documentary “A Linc in Time”
- Brunch honoring Ferguson Jenkins, Canada’s Baseball Hall of Famer on the launch of Canada Post commemorative stamp
- Unveiling of the Black History Legacy poster by artist Robert Small
- A week of teaching students by Njacko Backo at schools from the Halton District and Halton Catholic District School Boards (HDCSB/HDSB) culminating with a concert for students, parents and the public and
- Student led events on Black History in the educational system and educational/self esteem development
- We have had the honour of collaborating with community organizations including Burlington Central Library, Joseph Brant Museum, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Brant Hills Library, Burlington City Hall, Burlington Mall, Museums of Burlington, HDCSB, HDSB and numerous schools and heritage/cultural organizations and venues.
We welcome your participation in celebrating Halton's Inclusive Community.
It is our vision to celebrate Halton's Black "Community, Roots & Culture" as a model to like organizations, educators, contributors and historians.
Incorporated in affiliation with the Ontario Historical Society
Please ... help fund this worthy project with a donation!