Black History Month: Black Legacy and Leadership
Black History Month gives us the opportunity to celebrate Black individuals and communities and their amazing contributions to Canadian life and society. This year's theme is Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations. We're excited to bring you a curated book list to highlight the resilient Black leaders and unique Black communities of Canada that have broken down barriers and paved the way forwards, leaving a legacy of hope for an inclusive future for new generations of Black Canadians.
They Call Me George
Smartly dressed and smiling, Canada’s black train porters were a familiar sight to the average passenger—yet their minority status rendered them politically invisible, second-class in the social imagination that determined who was and who was not considered Canadian. Subjected to grueling shifts and unreasonable standards—a passenger missing his stop was a dismissible offense—the so-called Pullmen of the country’s rail lines were denied secure positions and prohibited from bringing their families to Canada, and it was their struggle against the racist Dominion that laid the groundwork for the multicultural nation we know today.
Black Women as Leaders
This book examines how black women have identified challenges in major social institutions across history and demonstrated adaptive leadership in mobilizing people to tackle those challenges facing black communities. Most studies about black women and social justice issues focus on the responses of black women to racism within the context of the feminist movement and/or the responses of black women to sexism in black liberation movements. Such discussions often fail to explore the ways in which black women's commitment to negotiating their racial, gender, and class identities, while engaged in the practice of leadership, is discouraged and ignored.
"Go to School, You're a Little Black Boy": the Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander: a Memoir
The inspiring story of Lincoln Alexander. Born in Toronto in 1922, the son of a maid and a railway porter, Alexander embarked on an exemplary life path that has involved military service for his country, a successful political career, a thriving law career, and vocal advocacy on subjects ranging from antiracism to the importance of education. From facing down racism to challenging the postwar Ontario establishment, becoming Canada’s first black member of Parliament, entertaining royalty as Ontario’s lieutenant-governor, and serving as chancellor of one of Canada’s leading universities, Alexander’s is the ultimate, uplifting Canadian success story, the embodiment of what defines Canada.
High Rider
Born a slave on a rice plantation in South Carolina, John Ware (1845–1905) became one of the most successful independent ranchers in southern Alberta through the sheer force of his will and through his incredible skill at the cowboy trade. This fascinating historical novel details his adventures, as well as his trials and tribulations, on the long road that took him from South Carolina to Texas to Montana and finally north to Canada. High Rider is the compelling story of a truly great, yet unsung, Canadian hero.
Schooling the System
In post–World War II Canada, black women’s positions within the teaching profession served as sites of struggle and conflict as the nation worked to address the needs of its diversifying population. From their entry into teachers’ college through their careers in the classroom and administration, black women educators encountered systemic racism and gender barriers at every step. So they worked to change the system. Using oral narratives to tell the story of black access and education in Ontario between the 1940s and the 1980s, this book provides textured insight into how issues of race, gender, class, geographic origin, and training shaped women’s distinct experiences within the profession.
Black Excellence
Black Excellence: 20 Stories about Rising from Ordinary to Extraordinary will inspire you to expand and broaden the range of phenomenal goals you want to achieve in life. This book will challenge readers who think that money is synonymous with happiness or success and dare them to ask more from themselves. Black Excellence includes compelling stories from a variety of influential figures exploring the intersection of purpose, race, and excellence. It also showcases helpful tips on practicing excellence in your daily life, discussion topics and self-reflection exercises at the end of each chapter. This is a book for those who want to up their game, realize their goals and achieve the unachievable!
James Robinson Johnston
James Robinson Johnston, known as "Lawyer Johnston," to many, is an important figure in Nova Scotian history: not only was he the first Black graduate of Dalhousie University, he was the first Black graduate of Dalhousie Law School as well. This biography deals with Johnston's personal and professional life, his role as a brilliant lawyer, community man and husband. It also deals with the sensitive issue of his death at the hands of his brother-in-law, Harry Allen, which caused a scandal when it occurred in March 1915. Author and descendant Justin Johnston looks at the associated impact the death and the killer's trial had on Nova Scotia's Black community, both past and present.
Viola Desmond: Her Life and Times
In 1946, Desmond was arrested for refusing to give up her seat in a whites-only section of a movie theatre in Nova Scotia. Her singular act of courage was a catalyst in the struggle for racial equality that eventually ended segregation in Nova Scotia. This book details not only her act of courage, but also her extraordinary achievement as a pioneer African Canadian businesswoman. In spite of the widespread racial barriers that existed in Canada during most of the twentieth century, Viola Desmond became the pre-eminent Black beauty culturist in Canada, establishing the first Black beauty studio in Halifax and the Desmond School of Beauty Culture, with her own line of beauty products.
Breaking the Ice
Black hockey players from Grant Fuhr to Jarome Iginla speak candidly for the first time about their experiences in the NHL. Since 1958, thirty-seven black men have played in the National Hockey League. Out of the 600 players active today, fourteen are black. Breaking the Ice: The Black Experience in Professional Hockey is the first book to tell the unique stories of black hockey players -- how they overcame or succumbed to racial and cultural prejudices to play Canada's favourite pastime.
Unsettling the Great White North
A volume of leading scholarship in the field of Black Canadian history, this book highlights the diverse experiences of persons of African descent within the chronicles of Canada’s past. The book considers histories and theoretical framings within the disciplines of history, sociology, law, and cultural and gender studies to chart the mechanisms of exclusion and marginalization in "multicultural" Canada and to situate Black Canadians as speakers and agents of their own lives. Working to interrupt the myth of benign whiteness that has been deeply implanted into the country’s imagination, Unsettling the Great White North uncovers new narratives of Black life in Canada.
Take a Lesson: Black Achievers
A fascinating set of Black perspectives on what it takes to succeed today. Caroline Clarke compels a dynamic list of Black business heroes and role models to openly share their own goals, hits, and misses, exploring what they overcame and what they’re still working to overcome, not just for themselves, but for their peers and would be peers, who the equity odds are still against. Perfect for Black students and early-career professionals looking for proven ways to navigate the unique challenges they’ll face.
Updates
📖 Celebrate Your Freedom to Read
Feb. 23 – March 1 is Freedom to Read Week, an annual campaign that raises awareness about censorship and access to books and magazines, and encourages Canadians to become champions of intellectual freedom. This is a great time to stand up for Canadians rights to be able to read whatever they choose to read, and maybe get caught reading a banned book.
Here’s some of our popular classic books that people didn't want you to read and the reasons why!
🎈 Now open: Individual study booth
We're excited to reveal that our new Individual Study Booth is now open and available for bookings!
The new booth is for one student, and it’s intended for activities such as undistracted individual study, taking an online exam, or participating in a virtual interview. It’s on Level 1 of the library, in front of the windows and close to the Fiction area.
The booth has some cool features:
- automatic door opener
- height-adjustable worksurface
- dimmable lighting
- power outlets and ports for your devices
- sound reducing materials to minimize noise within the booth
And, some more features are coming soon:
- monitor for you to hook up your device to
- ergonomic task chair
The booth is a BYOD (bring your own device) space, but you can borrow a laptop from the library’s Information Desk, if needed. You can book the Individual Study Booth for up to 3 hours per week.
Featured e-resource
Engineering Workbench
Need to access digital standards and codes for your program? Recent changes to our library subscriptions mean that you won't have access to Techstreet as of February 13, 2025.
You will, however, be able to find the standards and codes you need via our newly acquired subscription to Engineering Workbench (EWB). Our current library subscription to EWB includes access to:
- all ASME standards and BVPC codes
- select API standards
- select ISO standards
- the Alberta Building Code
- the National Building Code of Canada, including the Fire and Plumbing Codes of Canada.
Engineering Workbench has some useful features:
- a personalizable workspace that you can return to every time you log in
- an "intelligent search box" so you can easily find standards by document number or by keyword
- easy navigation, with the ability to jump to specific pages, and search within documents
- ability to annotate and bookmark documents
- and the ability to create projects or create watch lists to share.
Engineering Workbench can be accessed via the library’s A-Z List of e-Resources. You’ll need to enter your SAIT email address whenever you access the platform.
Access Engineering WorkbenchReg Erhardt Library
Oki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello.
SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta.