jackie robinson: "i owe more to canadians than they’ll ever know."
Let me set the scene. The year is 1946. The United States is deeply segregated. The birth of the civil rights movement that would begin as African-American soldiers returned home…
history
Stub History
I’ve been getting rid of some accumulated paper. I found a receipt for a full year of university tuition in 1978-79: $740. I also found a paystub for my minimum…
Reflections on reading a book about Richard the Lionheart
Whenever I read a book, I try to spend a bit of time reflecting on it. I try to choose the most important details of it to retell to myself,…
Searching for Justice and Equality in Ancient Times
One of the classes I’m teaching these days is a secular Bible study class. I treat the Bible like a work of literature. We discuss the different historical periods and…
Our Collective Memory Lasts Thousands of Years
When European explorers made first contact with peoples around the world both cultures changed. Unfortunately for those being contacted they were changed by a lot of diseases and exploitation (sadly…
first nations public library week
Yesterday was Orange Shirt Day. October 1 through 7 is First Nations Public Library Week in Canada. I’ll write more about this soon. For now, a book review from a…
Bolsheviki by David Fennario
Read this play last night – brilliant, classic Fennario. Having grown up in the Verdun/Point area his characters tend to send shivers down my spine in their uncanny familiarity and…
welcome to the allan and laura new york city history reading club
The theme of this year’s TD Summer Reading Club — a national program (developed by Toronto Public Library) that more than 2,000 Canadian libraries participate in — is Feed Your…
A Community-Driven Map of Pre-Colonized Land
If you’ve ever wondered about the history of the land you’re on then this website (and app) is for you! The website Native-Land collects historical data from around the world…
How Trent University Preserves Canadian Architecture
Like other art forms styles come and go in architecture; and when styles go in architecture it can result in demolition of buildings (and thus history). In Canada university and…
what i’m reading: short reviews of fiction by margaret atwood, madeleine thien, frances itani, elizabeth kostova
I’ve gathered some thoughts about several novels I read but neglected to write about. I enjoyed them all to varying degrees; all are worth reading if you enjoy the type.…
I honestly thought Donald Trump would have…
In 1787, the American Constitutional Convention came to be. George Washington was elected to be its chairman and he sat in a very beautiful chair. On the back of the…
Queen Survived New Zealand Assasin
This is a wild tale of a misguided 17 year old kid who later killed himself after being in and out of jail.
2 Quotes, 1 Motto and a Photograph
I think that the act of reading poetry nowadays is already an archaic, cultural activity. When we read a poem, it is tantamount to going to pioneer village in order…
Charles Moore – Civil Rights Photographer
Charles Lee Moore (March 9, 1931 – March 11, 2010) was an American photographer most famous for his photographs documenting the Civil Rights Movement. Perhaps the most famous of his…
Nellie McClung and the challenge of history
Up until a few weeks ago, if I was asked my impression of Nellie McClung I probably would have said “oh, she was that suffragette, right? The one people say…
On Fildebrandt: I nominate Fildebrandt for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation 2018 Teddy Awards
For over two decades, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has described what their vision of good public policy should be. One of the best symbols, descriptors, of their view has been…
Policy over Partisanship
Two decades ago, I was involved with a student newspaper. It was called the Calumetro and it was published by the Calumet College Student Government. It was one of many…
Election Selfie
On November 5th Montreal elected its first woman mayor, Valerie Plante. I was volunteering that day and spent a couple of hours in the De l’Eglise Metro handing out voting…
Maxime Bernier should walk in other people’s shoes before he accuses anyone of racism
In the 1970s, Lincoln Alexander fought the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Alexander fought them because as a Black man, he wanted to support anti-hate speech legislation. His…