LE3 .A278 2015

2015

Bonner, Claudine

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Sociology

Sociology

The focus of this paper will be the treatment and care given to African Nova Scotian Children in the period immediately after the Halifax Explosion from 1917 to 1921. As well, it will focus on the programs and services developed solely for African Nova Scotian children. Providing an analysis of how African Nova Scotian children were processed after a disaster such as this is important because it contributes to an understanding of a part of our Canadian history of which we know very little. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, this research has collected data through historical document analysis. This paper aims to create a landscape of child welfare that has yet to be established by addressing the lack of and gap in data and analyzing why this gap exists. This research provides a deeper understanding of the social and racial stigma present within the child welfare system at the time of the Halifax Explosion. This paper will prove there is insufficient data on the child welfare of African Nova Scotian children, in primarily government documents. These documents provide no details or follow-ups to the little detail present about African Nova Scotian children. What was present provided evidence of systemic racism present and voiced racist attitudes, in this post-Explosion era.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:1201