Christian Mbanza Christian Mbanza

PHOTO: MOREEN MUGERWA/CBC

Bringing Black History into Prairie Classrooms

The legacy of early Black settlers is absent from many Prairie curricula. Some educators and advocates are trying to change that.

 April 25, 2021

Bringing Black History into Prairie Classrooms

The legacy of early Black settlers is absent from many Prairie curricula. Some educators and advocates are trying to change that.
By Omayra Issa
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Christian Mbanza is on a mission to teach his students about the rich history of Black people on the Prairies and across Canada.

Black history is Canadian history, he said.

His efforts make him stand out in the Prairie education system.

Mbanza has been teaching for five years. By all accounts, he is a popular teacher. At 9 a.m. in his Grade 7 classroom at cole St-Marys in wintry Regina, the students are visibly engaged. They relish his history class, particularly the parts about Black Canadian history.

Christian Mbanza teaches Grade 7
Christian Mbanza teaches Grade 7 at cole St-Marys in Regina. (Moreen Mugerwa/CBC)

They learn notably about Mathieu da Costa, the first Black man known to have arrived in Canada, early 20th century B.C. politician Mifflin Gibbs, the Black settlement of Amber Valley in Alberta, and pre-colonial Africa.

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