Preserving and Promoting: Black Cultural Heritage in Canada

Appendices

A. List of Participants

Officials

B. Panellists

Biographical Notes 

Shannon Prince is the Curator of the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum. She is also a storyteller who brings the history of Buxton and the Underground Railroad to life to many groups both here and further afield. She is a descendant of the early fugitive families that came to Canada for freedom and opportunity. As such, she brings an insight and respect and a love for this chapter in our heritage.

She is a member of Tourism Ontario’s Underground Railroad Alliance and of the Ontario Museums Association, and she sits on the steering committee for the National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario and on the advisory boards for the Chatham-Kent Economic Development Department’s Tourist Bureau and the Capitol Theatre where African-Canadian programming will take place. She was recently appointed to the Trillium Grant Review Team.

Ms. Prince is involved in joint Underground Railroad projects with York University, Toronto, the Underground Railroad Freedom Centre in Cincinnati, and Millersville University and several historical organizations in Pennsylvania.

She still actively farms with her husband Bryan and their four children. When she is not at the museum or on the tractor, she can be found in the kitchen cooking. She also enjoys reading and playing baseball.

Dr. Henry Bishop was born in Weymouth Falls, Digby County, Nova Scotia, and graduated from Weymouth Consolidated High School in 1970. He studied Visual Communications, Photography, Child Psychology and Art Education at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was the first African Nova Scotian male to graduate from NSCAD in 1975.

After graduation, Dr. Bishop was employed as Communications Officer for the Black United Front (BUF) of Nova Scotia. He left BUF to pursue a private practice in Graphic Design and Photography, which led to his association with the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia. After being hired as a curator trainee in 1982, Dr. Bishop became actively involved with numerous organizations, social issues and the importance of promoting awareness of black culture. He studied African Music, African History and Culture at Dalhousie University in Halifax and also developed his curatorial training while working with the Nova Scotia Museum Complex. He studied Museology at Mount St. Vincent University in Nova Scotia. As an ongoing task, Dr. Bishop continues to utilize his talents in various fields to upgrade and improve museum standards of the Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia. His ultimate goal is to create understanding and respect for all people with the use of positive cultural experience.

Dr. Bishop is also active in developing educational programs for schools and social agencies. He has been featured on numerous television and radio programs and was recently featured on Japan Radio. His outstanding accomplishments have included cocurating the national exhibition “Africville, a Spirit That Lives On” in 1985 and recently copublished two children’s books with Robert French, Out of the Past and Into the Future (1994) and In Our Time (1996). These important works detailed the lives of prominent African-Canadians from the past to the present. They are used as resource social studies textbooks for elementary school students: “I want black children to know that they can be a part of history and that they can make a difference,” says Dr. Bishop.

Dr. Bishop considers education a life-long process and is developing plans to implement innovative ways of teaching in a holistic way. In February 1996, he presented an original illustration to Ambassador Raymond Chrétien titled “Freedom Train to Canada” at the Washington, D.C.-based embassy, then in February 2000 presented another copy to the Governor General of Canada, Her Excellency Ms. Adrienne Clarkson.

Dr. Bishop is currently Chief Curator and Director of the Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia, and he serves on many committees. He is an avid reader and historian, and a cultural musician specializing in African drumming.

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from NSCAD in December 2000, the first black person in Nova Scotia to receive this recognition.

Elizabeth Goger is Vice-President, Human Resources and Volunteer Services, at the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation (CMCC), which she joined in May 1999. Her role is to provide overall strategic direction and leadership for all activities pertaining to the management of human resources at the Corporation, which includes the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum. As Chief Negotiator for the Corporation, she is responsible for the collective bargaining mandate for both the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

As a key member of the executive team, Ms. Goger participates in all decision-making processes for the Corporation and uses her 25 years of experience in human resources management to counsel, coach and mentor employees at all levels of the organization, including senior management. She is a firm believer in training and development and succession planning initiatives, and invests time to develop her own staff.

Prior to coming to the CMCC, Ms. Goger held the position of Manager, Corporate Human Resources, at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation where she was responsible for the management of human resources at the head office in Ottawa, Radio-Canada International in Montreal and Corporate Engineering Services in Toronto.

In addition to her qualifications and solid experience, Ms. Goger’s studies include Organizational Behaviour, Organizational Development, Change Management, Negotiations, Job Evaluation (Classification), Pension and Benefits, Performance Management and Conflict Resolution, as well as other areas in human resources management.

Some of her professional development activities include participating in the Executive Leadership Development Program at the Niagara Institute, and attending various national and international conferences and seminars on trends and best practices in the areas of human resources management and volunteer services. She is an active member of a number of human resources committees and has moderated two workshops at the Canadian Museum Association Conference, one in Toronto, Ontario, on dealing with sensitive labour relations matters in the workplace, and the other in Victoria, B.C., on succession planning.

Lisa Leblanc (M.A., York University) has graduate training in art history, with a specialization in museology, and has worked in commercial, private and public cultural institutions for over 13 years. Ms. Leblanc was an assistant with the Photographs Collection at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, then Acting Head of Publishing, and later Interpretive Planner at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. As Senior Interpretive Planner at the Canadian War Museum, she has been responsible for message development and interpretation, the visitor experience, and thematic communication for all aspects of the museum’s permanent and special exhibitions. Ms. Leblanc is currently responsible for the planning, conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of all school and public programs, interpretation and related products for the museum. She is also responsible for the training of front-line staff, and the development and delivery of the Volunteer Interpreter Program.

Hélène Samson is Curator of the Notman Photographic Archives at the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal. She has curated the exhibitions on McGill College Avenue Configurations (2007), Inspirations (2008) and the June 2009 exhibition, 1 image 2 yeux/eyes 3D. Ms. Samson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and an MA in Psychology from Ottawa University, as well as a PhD in Art History from Montreal University. She specialized in the history of photography, and her thesis pertained to contemporary photographic portraits.

Ms. Samson has taught Psychology, Art History and Photography at both the CEGEP and university levels. She has published Resemblance and Identification: The Paradox of Gary Schneider’s Genetic Self-Portrait, in “Precarious Visualities” (edited by O. Asselin, J. Lamoureux and C. Ross), McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008; Photogénique, in “Dictionnaire sur l^e corps” (edited by Michela Marzano), Paris, PUF, January 2007; and Autour du portrait d’identité : visage, empreinte digitale et ADN, Intermédialités, no 8, “Envisager,” 2006.

C. Agenda

Thursday, February 5, 2009

8:00 a.m.

• Coffee

8:30 a.m.

• Welcome by Facilitator Dominique Dennery
• Opening Remarks by Andrew Griffith
  Director General, Citizenship and Multiculturalism

9:15 a.m.

• Legacy Panel
  Black Canadian Historical Museums: Past, Present and Future
• Panellists
  • Dr. Henry Bishop, Chief Curator and Director of the Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia
  • Shannon Prince, Curator of the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum

10:30 a.m.

• Break

10:45 a.m.

• Infomercial on Available Tools: Tools You Can Access
• Canadian Heritage Information Network, Department of Canadian Heritage
  • Jennifer Baird, Project Leader, Virtual Museum of Canada Investment Program
  • Ern Bieman, Heritage Information Analyst
    Professional Development and Digital Resource Management

11:15 a.m.

• Panel on Emerging Practices
• Passing the Torch: Successful Models in Intergenerational Transfer of Knowledge
• Panellists
  • Elizabeth Goger, Vice-President, Human Resources and Volunteer Services, Canadian Museum of Civilization
  • Lisa Leblanc, Manager, Programs and Interpretation, Canadian War Museum
  • Hélène Samson, Curator, Notman Photographic Archives, McCord Museum

12:15 p.m.

• LUNCH
• Networking and dialogue

1:15 p.m.

• Dialogue on Desired Future

1:45 p.m.

• Knowledge Café
• Succession Planning Solutions
• Themes for Exploration
  • The Missing Link
  • The Succession Pool
  • Youth Engagement

3:00 p.m.

• Break

3:15 p.m.

• Follow-Up Action

5:00 p.m.

• END

D. Actions to Date

• A networking group, the “African Canadian Unity Coalition,” was initiated by Lynne Teather, Museum Studies Program, University of Toronto, to keep participants apprised of developments of interest to black museums.
• The Buxton National Historic Site and Museum was successful in its 2009 application to Young Canada Works for summer students.
• The Buxton National Historic Site and Museum is now a member of the Canadian Heritage Information Network, with a presence on the Virtual Museum of Canada website.
• An Underground Railroad round table of all the historic sites and museums in central and southwestern Ontario was held in London, Ontario, in June 2009. A key topic on the agenda was “Succession Planning,” using information gathered at the meeting in February.
• Black museums, such as the North American Black Historical Museum in Amherstburg, and the Sheffield Park Black History and Cultural Museum, have begun to share newsletters with participants from across the country, and to visit schools to promote greater awareness of black history. It is hoped that the school visits would stimulate an interest in the schools to host workshops on black history.
• The Board of Directors of the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia has approved the recommendation of Dr. Henry Bishop to initiate the formation of a “Black Heritage Coalition for Nova Scotia” to promote greater collaboration and networking among black heritage societies in Nova Scotia.
• The Board of Directors of the Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia has also agreed to accelerate its efforts to establish a Black Youth Initiative to engage black youth in the schools in the province so that they may learn more about their history and feel empowered.
• The Black Cultural Society of Nova Scotia has begun the process of lobbying arts groups in the province for youth internships and scholarships.
• The National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario will be hosting a conference in Ottawa in October 2009 entitled, “Shifting Foundations.” The objective of the meeting is to look at attracting new audiences for historic sites—an issue that was also raised at the succession planning summit in February. Again, one of the issues to be discussed will be succession planning.

E. Vision Boards

Participants in the one-day succession planning summit and their 2020 Vision Boards.

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