William Hall Scholarship aims to keep young African Nova Scotians at home

By Kirk Starratt

NovaNewsNow.com

There will be something extra to celebrate this year when the Valley African Nova Scotian Development Association (VANSDA) hosts its annual African Heritage Month celebration in February.

As part of the “Celebration in Song” event, to take place at Acadia University’s Festival Theatre in Wolfville on Saturday evening, Feb. 16, the new William Hall Heritage Scholarship will be unveiled. VANSDA has partnered with Acadia, Michelin Tire and TD Bank to make the scholarship a reality. The scholarship will be awarded to two qualified African Nova Scotian students residing in the Valley and entering Acadia University immediately following graduation from high school.

“This takes the African Heritage Celebration to another level,” said VANSDA executive director Robert Ffrench. One reason they’ve undertaken the initiative is that they’ve recognized a “brain drain” of African Nova Scotian youth out of our region. This impacts the African Canadian population, decreasing numbers locally. He said, for the most part, these youths are not coming back.

He sees the scholarship as an opportunity for some students to stay close to home, get a post secondary education and enter the workforce locally, benefiting the local economy. Ffrench said the scholarship wouldn’t have come about without the support and interest of current Acadia University president Dr. Gail Dinter Gottlieb.

The process to establish the scholarship began about two-and-a-half years ago with a meeting among about 30 stakeholders, including Gottlieb, other university officials, Ffrench, African Canadian graduates and other supporters of the African Canadian and Acadia communities. Ffrench said it was the first time the group sat down to discuss the issue. He said Gottlieb threw out a challenge to find a way to help change the trend toward out migration of African Nova Scotian youth.

“This is a tangible result of that initial meeting a couple years ago,” Ffrench said about the scholarship. Michelin and the TD Bank jumped in to offer support, recognizing the potential for long-term impact. Ffrench said he has nothing but the utmost gratitude for the partnerships. “For the corporate community, it was a very rapid turnaround, less than 60 days. That says to us there is real merit in this.”

Ffrench said VANSDA has evolved into a much more integrated organization over the last five years and they have a mandate to build bridges and partnerships for broad-based impact.

Acadia University communications director Scott Roberts said, since the community has stepped up to address the challenge of Gottlieb, it’s now the turn of the university to step up. He said the other partners involved are equally invested in western Nova Scotia and Ffrench did a great job convincing them of the merits of the scholarship program.

Roberts said Acadia is looking to build new bridges and Gottlieb is a big supporter of engaging the institution in the community and vice versa.

The so-called “brain drain” of youth is particularly acute for the African Nova Scotian community.

“For Acadia, it’s important to play whatever role it can to reverse this for the Valley and the province as a whole,” Roberts said.

The “Celebration in Song”, which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., will feature Jordan Croucher, Chelsea Nisbett, Neveah, Shoulder to Shoulder and The Deep River Boys. Ffrench said the Lieutenant Governor would be in attendance, along with other dignitaries and politicians. The event will feature the unveiling of the W.P. Oliver panel for the Mathieu da Costa Heritage Trail. There is a profound link with Acadia, as Oliver was one of the first African Canadians to attend the university. Senator Donald Oliver will unveil the panel.

Roberts said the interpretive panel would help visitors who come to the Valley because of the trail understand the linkage between Acadia and the African Nova Scotian community.

“If young people don’t feel connected or have a strong attachment, they’ll be less likely to stay,” Roberts said, pointing out that it’s important to know about where we come from. There are about 55 nationalities represented in the Acadia community.

Tickets to the event, being held in support of the scholarship fund, cost $20 and are available at the Acadia box office in Wolfville or the VANSDA offices in Kentville.

For more information, phone (902) 678-7410 or visit www.vansda.ca.

About William Hall

William Hall was born at Horton Bluff on April 28, 1827 and was the first Black person, the first Nova Scotian and only the third Canadian-born recipient of the Victorian Cross. He was the son of a freed slave. At age 17, he joined the merchant navy as a seaman. In February 1852, he volunteered for the Royal Navy at Liverpool, England.

When the Indian Mutiny broke out in May 1857, Hall was on HMS Shannon en route to China when it was ordered to Calcutta. A Shannon Brigade was formed of several gunners and sailors. With the ship towed over 600 miles up the Ganges River to Allahabad, the force then travelled across the country to take part in the relief of Lucknow.

On Nov. 16, 1857, at Lucknow, India, naval guns were brought to bear on the Shah Nujeff Mosque. The gun crews kept up a steady fire in an attempt to breach the walls while a hail of musket balls and grenades from the mutineers inside the mosque caused heavy casualties. Of his battery, only Hall and Lieutenant Thomas James Young, battery commander, survived. Between them, they loaded and serviced the last gun, which eventually breached the walls.

Hall remained with the Navy, rising to the ranking of Quartermaster Petty Officer on the HMS Peterel before he retired in 1876.

Hall died at Avonport on August 25, 1904. He was buried in an unmarked grave without military honours.