BLACK: Black Loyalist Academic Conference of Knowledge
August 7-9, 2025
Black Loyalist Heritage Centre
Birchtown, Nova Scotia
Questions? Register to attend? Please email: blackloyalistconference@gmail.com
About:
This conference features academic papers, community panels, a film screening, an archives scan-a-thon, and a Black history tour of Shelburne. Events are held mainly at the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre in Birchtown, Nova Scotia, with a keynote panel and the film screening taking place at the Osprey Arts Centre in Shelburne. Join us this summer to learn more about Black Loyalist history. All welcome!
For local accommodation and food info see below.
Registration:
We hope to see you at the conference! This conference is generously funded by the Black Loyalist Heritage Society, with a portion of costs covered by the University of Ottawa. Registration is free for community members and students. We recognize that travel and accommodation costs when travelling to the South Shore region can be steep. Most of all, we want to make it possible for everyone to attend. We are suggesting a sliding scale fee of $250 mainly for full-time academics with plenty of institutional support (receipts will be provided). Any remaining funds will be offered to attendees without support to offset their travel costs (please keep your receipts!) Fees can be sent via e-transfer to: blackloyalistconference@gmail.com Presenters are automatically registered.
*For the film screening at the Osprey Arts Centre there is no need to register: you can just show up. Bring some friends for a fun Friday night. For the Birchtown events it would be great to know if you are coming (so we can know how much food to order for lunch!) But also feel free to just show up.
Program:
Scroll down for full program or download it here.
Conference Program
Thursday, August 7: Community Archiving Event, Black Loyalist Heritage Centre
10am-1pm Scan-A-Thon: (Drop-in Event for Community Members)
1pm-2pm Lunch
2:30pm-4pm Shelburne Black History Walk: Graham Nickerson and Lyndsey Beutin *Meet at the picnic table outside the Tourist Information Centre at 43 Dock St.
In 1923, the Loyalist landing at Shelburne (in 1783) was designated as a Historical Event by the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Since then, the waterfront has largely preserved the story of white Loyalists and shipbuilders and emphasized British colonial nostalgia. Join us for an interactive walking tour that reinterprets several sites on Dock St. to emphasize the Black presence in these spaces, the centrality of the transatlantic slave trade to the maritime economy, and the politics of public memory.
Friday, August 8: Black Loyalist Heritage Centre
10:30am Slavery and Freedom
Chair: Lyndsey Beutin (McMaster)
Graham Nickerson, Department of History, University of New Brunswick, “The View From Birchtown”
Erin Isaac, Department of History, Western University, “Contextualizing the Book of Negroes”
Isaac Maclean, Department of History, Dalhousie University, “The Black Loyalists, 1792-1812: The Black Experience Following the Exodus”
12pm-1pm Lunch
1:00-3:00pm The Still Here Initiative
Graham Nickerson: Introduction
Thandiwe McCarthy (Spoken Word Artist)
Gary Weekes (Photographer)
4:00pm Keynote Talk: Osprey Arts Centre, Shelburne
Graham Nickerson: Introduction
Harvey Amani Whitfield, Centennial Carnegie Chair in the History of Slavery in Canada, Dalhousie University
“Enslaved Black Biographies”
5:45 pm Conference Dinner, The Emerald Light (151 Water Street, Shelburne)
8:00pm Film Screening, Osprey Arts Centre, Shelburne
Black Liberators, WWII (YAP films, 2021)
Saturday, August 9 (All Panels Today in Birchtown)
Community Breakfast (Birchtown Community Hall, open from 8-11 am)
11:00-12:30 Community Memory Panel (Black Loyalist Heritage Centre)
Chair: Andrea Davis, Director, Black Loyalist Heritage Centre
Lyndsey Beutin, Communication Studies and Media Arts, McMaster University, “Place, Land, and Memory: Interpreting Slavery and Freedom in Shelburne and Birchtown”
Sara Donovan, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, “Access as an Ancestor: Black Histories, Archives, and Educational Responsibility”
Bonnie Huskins, St. Thomas University and University of New Brunswick, “Amongst the Earliest Known Representations of Black Nova Scotians: Unpacking the Black Woodcutter and Figures on a Horsedrawn Sled in Nova Scotia, 1788”
12:30-1:30pm Lunch
1:30-3:00pm Keynote Panel: The Black Atlantic Then and Now
Chair: Isaac MacLean (Dalhousie)
Isaac Saney, Coordinator, Black and African Diaspora Studies Program, Dalhousie University, “Margins of Empire: Racial Capitalism and the Struggles of Black Communities in Atlantic Canada”
Cindy Brown, Director of the Gregg Centre, University of New Brunswick “Black Soldiers in the Canadian Expeditionary Force”
3:15-4:45pm Archaeology of Birchtown
Chair: Jennifer Blair
Gabriel Jones, Manager, Programs and Development, Black Loyalist Heritage Centre, “An Investigation of Birchtown’s Archaeological Archives”
Jonathan Fowler, Department of Anthropology, St. Mary’s University “Landscape Archaeological Investigations of Two Historic Black Communities in Nova Scotia: Can We Find More?”
Andrea Richardson, Cape Sable Historical Society, “Archaeology, Climate Change and You: Sites, Stewardship and Identifying Climate Threats in Birchtown and Beyond”
Closing Remarks: Graham Nickerson
5:30pm Shelburne Black History Walk: Graham Nickerson and Lyndsey Beutin *Meet at the picnic table outside the Tourist Information Centre at 43 Dock St.
In 1923, the Loyalist landing at Shelburne (in 1783) was designated as a Historical Event by the Historical Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Since then, the waterfront has largely preserved the story of white Loyalists and shipbuilders and emphasized British colonial nostalgia. Join us for an interactive walking tour that reinterprets several sites on Dock St. to emphasize the Black presence in these spaces, the centrality of the transatlantic slave trade to the maritime economy, and the politics of public memory.
Where to stay & eat
Shelburne is a historic town with excellent accommodations and dining options. Check out the following:
The Cooper’s Inn
www.thecoopersinn.com 1-800-688-2011
Boulder Cove Cottages
www.bouldercove.com 902-875-1542
Shelburne Harbourside Cottages
www.shelburneharboursidecottages.com 902-875-4555
Roseway River Cottages
www.rosewayrivercottages.ca 902-875-3812
MacKenzie’s Motel Cottages & Luxury Suites
1-866-875-0740
The Loyalist Inn
https://theloyalistinnshelburne.com/ 1-(902)-875-1887
For Dining:
| The Emerald Light 151 Water St., Shelburne 902-875-4583 | Charlotte Lane 13 Charlotte Ln., Shelburne 902-875-3314 |
| Boxing Rock Taproom 218 Water St., Shelburne 902-875-2282 | Ship’s Galley 156 Water St., Shelburne 902-875-3260 |
| Scotia Lunch 64 King St., Shelburne 902-875-2876 | Mr. Fish 104 King St., Shelburne 902-875-3474 |
| The Beandock Coffee & Collectibles 10 John St., Shelburne 902-875-1302 | Luong’s Chinese Restaurant 165 Water St., Shelburne 902-875-1300 |
| A-1 Pizza 31 King St., Shelburne 902-875-1222 | Moe’s Shake Shack 138 King St., Shelburne 902-875-2785 (cash only) |
BLACK Conference 