Africville Heritage Trust taking applications for Scholarship Awards Program

Funds are available to applicants for post-secondary education at an accredited Canadian university or college

CITYnews halifax \ Michael Lightstone

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The Africville Museum may be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but audio-visual material and other content remain accessible online – as are applications for financial help for eligible students under a scholarship awards program.

Funds are available to applicants for post-secondary education at an accredited Canadian university or college.

The program provides “up to five individual scholarships totalling $5,000 annually to students in any field” of study, the museum’s website says.

Candidates must be Canadian citizens and a former Africville resident or descendant of a former resident.

However, a five-member committee that reviews requests for scholarships “may also consider applications from applicants who do not meet this requirement but have … demonstrated an effort to … keep alive the memory and spirit of the community of Africville,” the website says.

Applications and supporting materials need to be filed by June 30. Funds will be disbursed on or before Aug. 31. Go here for more information.

The scholarship program was established by the Africville Heritage Trust and Waterbury Newton, the Annapolis Valley law firm that represented the Africville Genealogy Society in its long fight with Halifax city hall regarding compensation.

“The (education) fund is a portion of legal fees received” in a settlement, the museum’s website says. Waterbury Newton donated $100,000 in seed money to the program, it says.

Last year, there were five scholarship recipients. In 2020, there were four.

“Scholarships may be awarded conditionally, subject to the scholarship committee’s receipt of a student’s final transcript,” the museum’s website says.

A national historic site in north-end Halifax, Africville was the Black community founded in the 1800s on the shores of the Bedford Basin. The former City of Halifax demolished the area in the 1960s in the name of urban renewal, and to make way for the building of the MacKay Bridge.

Displaced residents were relocated. A sundial monument in Africville pays tribute to the community’s original families.

Former residents and descendants received a public apology from the municipality 12 years ago this month.

It was part of the negotiated settlement, which included a $3-million contribution from city hall.

No personal compensation was distributed.

The Africville Museum is currently shut down for on-site visits. To learn more about the museum and community, click here.

February is African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia.

Michael Lightstone is a freelance writer living in Dartmouth