Afro-Canadian Activism in the 1960s

Afro-Canadian activism became increasingly militant in the 1960s. The rise in militancy in the Afro-American leadership of the 1960s was one factor contributing to the new era of Black politics in Canada. Increased immigration from the West Indies also encouraged the proliferation of Afro-Canadian organizations dedicated to challenging racial discrimination. The author argues that Afro-Canadian activism developed in a substantially different manner than Black politics in the United States. On the whole, most Afro-Canadian organizations and leaders were considerably less militant in their tactics and strategies than their counterparts in the United States. Internecine divisions over ancestral origin were also more pronounced in Canada where the Black population was ethnically heterogeneous when compared to the Afro-American community. The Black community's first politically-motivated act of violence in the twentieth century was the Sir George Williams University riot in February 1969, an event that the author argues polarized Afro-Canadian leadership and sparked debate on the issue of militancy.

Master's Thesis

Concordia University

Montreal

1994

viii-128p.

en