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The Space of Africville: Creating, Regulating and Remembering the Urban ‘Slum’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2014

Jennifer J. Nelson
Jennifer J. Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Equity Studies, OISE / University of Toronto, 8 Havelock Street, Toronto, Ontario M6H 3B4,jnelson@oise.utoronto.ca
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Abstract

The black community of Africville, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was forcibly dismantled in the 1960s under a program of ‘urban renewal’. Residents had long fought to have their claims to this space legally recognized, as well as to improve the community with minimal services and safety measures, such as water lines, sewage and police protection. This article examines how the space of Africville was denied these services, constituted as a ‘slum’, and in turn how this status was seen to justify its removal. The land on which Africville stood, now a public park, remains a site of contestation and commemoration. As yet, the city of Halifax has declined demands for compensation and has legally maneuvered to silence resistance. This essay's central aim is to demonstrate not only how the law, through the City of Halifax, functioned as a regulatory measure to ensure a series of evictions, but also the way in which these practices and consequences can be remembered. In particular, it argues for a contextualized legal consideration of Africville's story which recognizes the complex interplay of histories of poverty and racism with narratives of justice.

Résumé

La communauté noire d'Africville, à Halifax en Nouvelle-Écosse, a été démantelée par la force durant les années 1960 en vertu d'un programme de «rénovation urbaine». Cela faisait longtemps que les gens de cet endroit demandaient une reconnaissance juridique de leur collectivité et de meilleurs services communautaires et services de sécurité, comme des canalisations d'eau et d'égout, et une protection policière. Cet article examine de quelle façon la localité d'Africville a été privée des services en question et est devenue un bidonville, et aussi comment on s'est servi d'une telle situation pour justifier son élimination. La localité qui était autrefois Africville a été transformée en un parc public, mais elle reste un sujet de contestation et de commémoration. La ville de Halifax a toujours rejeté les demandes d'indemnisations et a utilisé des manœuvres juridiques pour faire taire la résistance. Ce texte cherche à montrer de quelle façon la ville de Halifax a utilisé son pouvoir de réglementation pour déloger des gens. Il montre aussi comment nous pouvons nous souvenir de ces pratiques et de leurs conséquences. Il fait surtout valoir le besoin de contextualiser juridiquement l'histoire d'Africville, compte tenu de l'interaction complexe entre la pauvreté, le racisme, et les narrations sur la justice.

Type
Law, Race and Space/Droit, espaces et racialisation
Information
Canadian Journal of Law and Society / La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , August 2000 , pp. 163 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Law and Society Association 2000

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