Black Islanders Copperative - History

The Black Islanders Cooperative is the result of several conversations and meetings of individuals who are descendants of the original Black Islanders, those Black Islanders who came to PEI as slaves, and other Blacks who made PEI their home. What we have in common is a Black Heritage, a desire to celebrate the heritage & culture and a motivation to develop our history.

Jim Hornby’s book Black Islanders was the first official recognition that Blacks had lived in PEI for hundreds of years. Unfortunately we have never previously been recognized as a bonafide community. There are many descendants of Black Islanders who would like their their community recognized as part of the history of PEI. We worry that if we do not record it now it may be lost for ever.

The launching of the book Black Islanders was probably the first time in a generation or two that a number of our members called themselves Black Islanders and identified as a group. We discussed things we would like to do but it wasn’t until several years later that we came together to do them.

We incorporated as a non-profit organization called The Black Islanders Cooperative in order to:

- celebrate the contributions of Black Islanders to PEI
- to raise public awareness of all aspects of Black Culture.

We are proud of our ancestors, & think, in spite of everything, they were survivors. We believe their existence should be acknowledge as part of the history of PEI.

Our colour is an issue for us. Once upon a time, a drop of Black blood made you Black. Now people question this heritage --- You are not Black, why would you say you are! Because it is our heritage, like you may celebrate your Irish ancestry.

Not everyone has a sense of self as a Black person, a sense of identity as Black --- it was something rarely discussed, let alone celebrated. Now people of this ancestry are interested in exploring it, learning more and celebrating it.