Segregation in Establishments
Despite the relative freedom African Americans found in Canada there were still many hurdles, mainly segregation and “acceptable” discrimination. This post explores segregation in buildings and institutions in Canada.
Theatres
Many theatres reserved the best seats for their white customers. Black seating was often limited to the gallery or balcony (also know as a “Crow’s nest” in reference to Jim Crow segregation laws and practices). In Montreal segregated seating in the upper balcony of the opera house was referred to as a “Monkey cage”–“monkey” being a common slur for black people.
One of the most famous instances of this was Viola Desmond in 1946 in Nova Scotia who was arrested for sitting in the wrong space. In 2010 she was given a formal apology and pardon for the incidence. Her profile was also featured on the Canadian five dollar bill.
Barbershops
White barbers were known to refuse to cut Black men’s hair. For example in Dresden, Ontario, all five barbershops and the sole hair salon would not serve Black men and women.
Restaurants and Inns
It was common for restaurants across Canada to deny service to Black people. This was because even though slavery wasn’t an issue racial discrimination was not against the law in Canada. In fact, in 1939 the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the case of two Black gentlemen arguing that private businesses were able to discriminate based on race of their choosing.
Certain Canadian establishments (up until 1967) made it into the American-published Green Book which was the travelling guide for Black motorists that identified places that welcomed Black patrons because there were many in certain areas that did not.
Recreational Facilities
Black Canadians could not historically access many public recreational facilities. City swimming pools and skating rinks were off limits for Black people.
Sometimes even public parks couldn’t be used. On a holiday weekend in 1930, 300 members from Black churches in Chatham, Ontario visited a park in Leamington, Ontario. The mayor and two city councillors ordered them to leave due to a local convention “which prevents coloured people from making a rendezvous of the town or township or holidaying at the Park, especially on a public holiday.”
Cemeteries
Even in death Black people experienced racial segregation At the Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia had a “coloured section” where veterans of the No.2 Construction Battalion were buried.
The policy of the St. Croix Cemetery near Windsor, Nova Scotia stated that “Not any negro or coloured person shall be buried in the St. Croix Cemetery.”