Cariwest: The Caribbean Community’s Gift to Edmonton
CARIWEST – Caribbean Arts Festival was introduced to Edmonton in 1984. It was created by Western Carnival Development Association (WCDA)…
Stories tagged: immigration
Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher
My journey towards becoming an educator started in my childhood with time spent under a mango tree at my home…
Edmonton’s Caribbean Journey
The flights touched down at a Canadian International Airport bringing scores of eager Caribbean nationals, their suitcases packed with their…
Vivacious Caribbean Teachers
During the 1960s, school jurisdictions in Alberta advertised for teachers in leading newspapers and at teacher training colleges in the…
The Last Best West: Hattie’s Place, Part 3
Disclaimer: Please note that this piece references anti-Black violence, brutality, and white supremacy. A reference to a specific act of…
The Tamale & Pupusa – A Culinary Journey To Canada
I remember the first time I met Elba, mother of my close friend Yazmin (or Yaz as friends and family…
Committed to Community: Hilwie Hamdon and The Muslim Ladies’ Association of Edmonton
Edmontonian Hilwie Hamdon (née Taha Johma, 1905-1988) was a community leader and founding member of the historic Al Rashid Mosque, the…
The Porter: Building a Better Canada for All
The Canadian National Railway Pullman train bustled through the Rocky Mountains on the way from Vancouver headed for a stop…
The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 1
Advertisements promoting the “Last Best West”—a frontier open to all pioneers—have become an ingrained part of the Canadian national mythology. Like…
The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 2
Read The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 1. As we noted in Part 1, early…
Jake Superstein: A Man for All Faiths
During one of the most tumultuous times in European history, Jake Superstein was born in Pinsk, Poland, into an Orthodox Jewish…
A Brief History of the Edmonton Jewish Community
Edmonton, Alberta was first incorporated as a town in 1892. At that time, there were about 700 permanent residents. Founded…