New documentary reveals how Black migrants faced roadblocks and made extraordinary gains in Canada
‘Migrations’ looks at the arrival of Black people in Canada starting in the 1950s
Lois Patterson wanted to go back home to Jamaica after she arrived in Winnipeg in 1962 via Canada's West Indian Domestic Scheme.
"I got here, and it was like a nightmare for me," Patterson said in "Migrations," the fourth episode of the CBC docuseries Black Life: Untold Stories. "The year was so long, I wanted to walk back home."
An intimate portrait of Black migration to Canada
The episode examines the arrival of thousands of Caribbean people to Canada beginning in the 1950s, through work initiatives like the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program and the West Indian Domestic Scheme, and it explores the challenges facing the more recent waves of Somali and Haitian migrants.
Migrations unearths the roadblocks Black migrants have faced and continue to face on Canadian soil, as well as the extraordinary gains they have made in search of a better life.
WATCH | Associate professor Karen Flynn discusses what led to Canada's West Indian Domestic Scheme of 1955:
Interviewees in Migrations include:
- Gabriel Allahdua.
- Abdi Duale.
- Mahir Duale.
- Karen Flynn.
- Georgia Graham.
- Habiba Mohamud.
- Adaoma Patterson.
- Lois Patterson.
- Chris Ramsaroop.
- Alain Saint-Victor.
- Christopher Stuart Taylor.
- Marjorie Villefranche.
- Pierre Wagner.
Director: Nadia Louis-Desmarchais
Afro-feminist director Nadia Louis-Desmarchais shines a light on voices that are not often heard. She directed the short documentaries Raconte-moi mon corps (Tell Me All About My Body), Urban and the controversial Rated X. Her most recent fiction short, Nid d'oiseau (Bird's Nest), earned a special mention from the jury for best Canadian short film at the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie (FICFA), and the Prix André-Melançon at the Carrousel international du film de Rimouski in Quebec.
Louis-Desmarchais is developing her first fiction web series, Les Météorites (The Meteorites), for Ici Tou.tv. Her documentary, Black and White, is currently in production.
"Migrations" is streaming now on CBC Gem. You can also watch it on CBC-TV on Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. NT).
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
