Black History Month

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month to honour the achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and persons of Black, Caribbean or African heritage. Black communities have always been key contributors to the cultural landscape of the province. 

As part of our ongoing commitment at the University of Lethbridge to shape the future, engage communities, challenge boundaries and inspire curiosity, and be a place where people aspire to learn, work and contribute, we are continuing our work to eliminate anti-Black racism and advance Black inclusion in higher education. Our theme for Black History Month 2026 is Shaping our Community: Celebrating Black Resiliency and Solidarity.

During Black History Month, we recognize that Black history is more than stories of struggle. It includes stories of flourishing and solidarity that Black communities have shown to other diverse groups beyond their own. Black Albertans have led to a better and stronger Alberta; they’re visionaries, community builders and they build bridges for the greater good. Both Canada’s first Black female lawyer (Violet King) and the country’s first Black cowboy and highly respected rancher (John Ware) were from Alberta. This year marks 30 years of Black History Month in Canada – in 1995, Jean Augustine, the first Black woman elected to the House of Commons, introduced the motion to officially recognize February as Black History Month in Canada.

At ULethbridge, we have a myriad of staff, students, scholars, creatives, advocates and activists who are doing great work as a university campus community. In 2025, four ULethbridge scholars received funding from the Digital Research Alliance (DRI) of Canada to advance accessibility, diversity, inclusion and equity in digital research infrastructure. Equity Scholar Dr. Sandra Dixon is an award-winning psychologist in the Faculty of Education whose work addresses racial trauma, anti-black racism, faith, immigration and multi-cultural counselling. And the University of Lethbridge Black Students’ Association (ULBSA) is an active student club whose work continues to empower black students with events, community building and more. These are just a few recent examples of Black excellence on our campus. 

For Black History Month, there will be various events across campus and in the community all throughout February so visit the webpage for more information. Join us on Feb. 10 in Science Commons Atrium for a Black History Month kickoff event with special guest Dr. Karina Vernon from the University of Toronto (Scarborough). She will be doing a keynote titled From Alberta to Africa: Unearthing Black Cowboy’s Hidden Archive of Song hosted by the Centre for Feminist Research and the Accessibility, Belonging and Community (ABC) Office. (We will be taking a group photo before the presentation at 1:15 p.m. so please wear your Black History Month T-shirt if you have one.)

At ULethbridge, we recognize that Black history is not a separate chapter of our shared story — it’s essential to understanding who we are as an institution and society. Black History Month is a time to celebrate that collective spirit for resiliency, flourishing, and community, but it’s important to recognize the ongoing struggles against systemic racism and inequality, especially during times of polarization and misinformation. 
 

As educational institutions, we must be relentless in our pursuit of knowledge, inquiry and discovery to create avenues to share with our communities who may not have access to it. So, for this month and beyond, our challenge is to engage, reflect and support by listening, learning and recommitting ourselves to equity, justice and inclusion, not just for one month alone, but every day and for everyone. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Justice for one is justice for all.”

Ikkayiinnii (Fast Buffalo) Dr. Digvir Jayas
President and Vice-Chancellor 

Aka-isam-o’too (Arrived a Long Time Ago) Martha Mathurin Moe
Vice-Provost, Accessibility, Belonging and Community

Roots & Rhythm Fashion Walk Show

1 p.m. | ULSU Office to UHall Atrium 

University of Lethbridge Students Union (ULSU) and University of Lethbridge Black Students Association (ULBSA) present this event.

Starting at 1 p.m. at the ULSU office, a fashion walk show will continue through the tunnel to UHall Atrium where Global Drums will have a dance circle break for attendees to eat and chat at 1:30 p.m.

We encourage everyone to dress in cultural attire, show their best colours and join the fashion show.

Dance Class with Benny 

6 to 8 p.m. | ULSU Ballroom

This Afrobeats dance class is open to all to come and learn a dance style or refine their dance movements. 

1:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Science Commons Atrium 

In commemoration of Black History Month in February, we ask you to wear your BHM T-shirt on Tuesday Feb. 10 and join us for an institutional photo in Science Commons before our Kickoff Keynote presentation with Dr. Karina Vernon, University of Toronto Scarborough.

*The Bookstore will be donating 15 per cent of Black History Month product sales to the ULethbridge Black Students Association on campus. There are BHM T-shirts, lanyards and caps available for purchase.

From Alberta to Africa: Unearthing Black Cowboy’s Hidden Archive of Song

1:30-3:30pm | Science Commons Atrium 

Our kickoff keynote will feature a keynote presentation by Karina Vernon, University of Toronto Scarborough hosted by the Centre for Feminist Research and the Accessibility, Belonging and Community (ABC) Office.  

In her talk From Alberta to Africa: Unearthing Black Cowboy’s Hidden Archive of Song, Vernon will piece together the story of the Black cowboys of the western Canadian 19th century by following the traces of memory preserved in cowboy songs. This alternate archive of songs turns our understandings of the cowboy figure upside down.  

Despite what Hollywood westerns would have us believe, many of the cowboys working on the ranching operations of Texas and Alberta were Black. They contributed their knowledge and musical aesthetics to the repertoire of cowboy songs, which we can hear today. Audiences will have a chance to learn about the surprising origin of cowboy music, their hidden connection to Alberta and hear how songs are a vehicle for remembering the fascinating but forgotten global history of the cowboy.

We will be taking a campus group photo before the presentation at 1:15 p.m. so please wear your Black History Month T-shirt if you have one. There is a networking reception immediately following the Q&A.  

About the Speaker 

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Karina Vernon is an Associate Professor and Chair of English at the University of Toronto Scarborough where she researches and teaches in the areas of Canadian and Black Canadian literature, archives, critical pedagogy and Black-Indigenous relations. She is the editor of The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology (WLUP 2020) and a companion volume, Critical Readings in the Black Prairie Archives, which is in revisions. With Winfried Siemerling (UWaterloo), she co-edited Call and Response-ability: Black Canadian Works of Art and the Politics of Relation (forthcoming McGill-Queens 2026), which offers a Black Canadian theory of reception and relation. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

Her current research draws from musicology, agrarian studies, and ecological and genomic science to theorize the musical ecology of the prairies created by Black voyageurs, cowboys, singers, and musicians. She reads seeds and songs as “alternative archives” that preserve the histories of cultural and genetic exchange between the Canadian prairies, the southern United States, the Caribbean and 16th century Senegambia.

3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. | UHall A832

The Centre for Feminist Research will host a reading group on bell hooks’s Salvation: Black People and Love. They will read the Intro, Ch 1, 2, 5, and 11.

Email cfr@uleth.ca for more details.

4 to 8 p.m. | Multicultural Centre 

The University of Lethbridge Black Students Association proudly presents the 4th annual Black Excellence Gala. This is an eventing to celebrate Black Excellence, leadership, culture and community. 

For more information, visit this link.

4 p.m. to 9 p.m. | Galt Museum

The ULethbridge Accessibility, Belonging and Community Office is proud to sponsor the BIPOC Foundation’s Pitch Competition during the Black History Month Showcase. 

The flagship event brings together cultural performance, entrepreneurship and community celebration into a single integrated experience.

The Pitch Competition is open to BIPOC applicants, with priority for Black participants and focus areas include creative industries, business, social enterprise, and innovation.  

For more information, visit this link.

The presence, history and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities have not always been acknowledged or celebrated in all parts of Canada. Therefore, it is crucial to dedicate specific efforts to not only recognize but to learn about the contributions Black Canadians made in establishing the country and society we all know today.

There are several background events to the Black History Month celebration. However, it was not until February 2008 when Senator Donald Oliver, the first Black man appointed to the Canadian Senate, introduced the Motion to Recognize Contributions of Black Canadians and February as Black History Month that it became a nation-wide celebration. Although Black History Month is celebrated in February, it is important to honour the contributions of Black Canadians and Black communities throughout the year.

Celebrating Black History Month is another step forward towards advancing equity, diversity and Black inclusion at the University of Lethbridge. On November 18, 2021, ULethbridge joined more than 40 universities and colleges from across Canada in signing the Scarborough Charter, a commitment to eliminating anti-Black racism and advancing Black inclusion in Canadian higher education.

“The Scarborough Charter represents one of the ongoing commitments and a call to action from Canadian higher education institutions to do the hard work ahead to repair and reconcile their role in historically excluding marginalized groups,” said Dr. Mike Mahon, president and vice-chancellor. “By signing the Charter, the University is committed to doing our ethical part in addressing these social injustices and to creating safe, inclusive spaces for all.”

Black History Month is about taking the time to not only honour and celebrate but to acknowledge, to remember, to listen and to create brave spaces for the voices of Black students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members to be heard. The events of 2020 were an important catalyst propelling anti-blackness into the social discourse. We cannot stop the conversations – they must continue.

It is important that we ensure that a full story of the Black community experience is shared. The Black community has been present in Alberta for generations and is a key contributor to the cultural landscape of the province.

Becoming an ally is a lifelong process, primarily a learning process! The first step we can take is to be curious and inform ourselves about the realities faced by Black Canadians and their communities, as well as their contributions to Canada. An ally does not remain silent when witnessing racism, discrimination, or oppression. As allies, we can also act in solidarity with individuals, groups and organizations actively engaged in anti-racism and anti-discrimination work, through volunteer work, donations or simply attending their events or helping propagate their message.