Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper
| Founder(s) |
|
|---|---|
| Publisher | Black Women's Collective |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Political alignment | Black feminist, left |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Canada |
| Free online archives | Rise Up! Feminist Archive |
Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper was the first newspaper in Canada written by and about Black women.[1] Founded in 1986 by the Black Women's Collective, Our Lives sought to represent the lives, achievements, and struggles of Black women in Canada.[2]
Background[edit]
The Black press and anti-Black racism in print[edit]
Black activism in print in Canada began with anti-enslavement publications such as The Provincial Freeman that sought to counter the anti-Black racism prevalent in the Canadian press.[3] Our Lives cultivated this history by “create[ing] a free space, a place where [they] can talk as sisters”, and analyze their experiences with institutional racism, gendered racism, and anti-Black violence.[4] This dedication to Black women representation was part of a broader movement in the 1980s that centered "Black women's experiences, writings, and cultural production...to validate the lives of these women...and ...make them visible to the wider public".[5]
Racial uplift and Black consciousness[edit]
Our Lives was situated in a period of heightened racial unrest that produced actions like the Sir George Williams and Yonge Street uprisings.[6] They spoke, and contributed, to this moment by celebrating Black womanhood and by honouring Black women revolutionaries such as Marie Joseph Angelique, Harriet Tubman, and Anne Cools.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Our Lives: Canada's First Black Women's Newspaper – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ Lobo, Rachel (2019). "Archive as Prefigurative Space: Our Lives and Black Feminism in Canada". Archivaria. 87: 68–86. ProQuest 2518871875 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Silverman, Jason; Bellavance, Marcel; Rudin, Ronald (1984-12-01). ""'We Shall Be Heard!"; The Development of the Fugitive Slave Press in Canada". Canadian Historical Review. 65 (4): 54–63. doi:10.3138/chr-065-notes – via Project Muse.
- ^ a b "Our Lives – Vol. 2, Issue 1 – March/April 1987 – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
- ^ Wallace, Belinda Deneen (December 2020). "Our Lives: Scribal Activism, Intimacy, and Black Lesbian Visibility in 1980s Canada". Journal of Canadian Studies. 54 (2–3): 334–359. doi:10.3138/jcs-2019-0035. S2CID 234545699.
- ^ Brand, Dionne (1998). "Notes for Looking Thru Race". Bread out of Stone. Toronto: Vintage Canada.[page needed]
External links[edit]
- Our Lives archives, Rise Up! Feminist Archive