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Title: Remember Africville Reference: Director, Shelagh Mackenzie; Producers,
Daryl Gray (CBC) and Shelagh Mackenzie (NFB). Abstract: Africville, a small black community, lay within the city limits of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the 1960s, the families who lived there were uprooted and their homes demolished in the name of urban renewal and integration. Library of Congress subjects: Sociology subjects: Reviews and Numerical Ratings (3) This is a fine documentary that is highly recommended for any sociology course where issues of race and racism are treated. The video provides invaluable historical insight into the plight of the Africville community as well as, more generally, Black Canadian history. In detailing the deterioration and ultimate destruction of the settlement at the hands of the city, it also offers considerable sociological insight by delving into such phenomena as structural racism and the way racist ideology becomes embedded in particular spaces. In addition, through its portrayal of the clash between the residents of Africville and the city, the film offers considerable insight into grassroots community activism. The video does not explicitly employ sociological language, but this can be viewed as advantageous as it would force students to think about how the concepts they are learning in the course might apply to the film. Kevin Gosine (3) This is a good historical look at the destruction of Africville. It has a clear agenda to portray the event as a tragedy, and is very well put-together and quite moving. Combines coverage of a public forum from the 1980s with historical footage of the community before and just after the decision to destroy it. Includes the actors speaking in their own voices. Very good material for discussing current and/or past race relations in Canada. Brian Fuller (4) This video sensitively & critically examines the re-location of over 400 people living in Africville, Halifax in 1964. It is a predictable NFB documentary that provides a mixture of talking heads & archival footage. Useful for race & space, urban renewal, & commemoration & human rights. A doctoral thesis by Jennifer Nelson (U of T, 2002) is a good complement to this video. Doreen Fumia (2) The documentary at hand examines a historical event in which members of Africville where dispossessed of their land and culture and were subsequently relocated into the ghettos of Halifax. The documentary succeeds in demonstrating that despite aversive conditions such as the absence of sewers, no pavements, and no running water, the people of Africville procured many infrastructural achievements including: built houses, schools, and religious institutions. The previous events compel the viewer to infer that the people of Africville had, to some extent, obtained independence. However, the geopolitical climate at the time (1960-1970's civil rights movements) placed significant pressure on local politicians at the time to address the inadequate living conditions of the Africville people. It follows that the Africville people were dispossessed of their land and culture were relocated and were disenfranchised. The setback, in terms of the quality of the documentary, is that the premise that social exclusion and racist discourse were implicit in the politics of this event could have been further developed. Carlos Torres (undergraduate) (3.5) Astonishing testimonies by relocated residents
& some of those responsible for the relocation decision, many of
whom we also see in old footage. A moving & informative video that
takes up well the question of why no effective protest occurred at the
time. Kathy Bischoping
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