The year 1997 is when Mike Savage first tried—and failed—to enter politics. It’s also the year his father, John Savage, resigned as premier. The mayor joins us in studio to talk about both events and his family’s history in Dartmouth of yore. University of King’s College professor Susan Dodd is also here to discuss the […]
History
Posted inNews + Opinion
Rocky and Joan: A history of sacrifice
How far have we really come concerning race relations and equity in Nova Scotia since the desegregation policies of the ’50s and the civil rights movement of the ’60s? So close, but yet so far, sums it up. We have made many inroads as people of African descent in regard to building capacity and infrastructure […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
25 for 25: episode 1996
If you haven’t heard prolific writer, former Pride co-chair and all-around lovely person Jane Kansas spin some yarns about the mid-’90s LGBTQ+ scene, you’re in for a treat. Then, film professor and local actor Glenn Walton is here to share stories from the set of Titanic—his special relationship with James Cameron, the film’s champagne budget and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
25 for 25: episode 1995
This week on the podcast, Tara and Jacob try to clean up the mess that was the G7 summit, stroll down to the waterfront hoping to hit the jackpot at Halifax’s newly opened casino and find out what Bon Jovi got up to after the band’s Natal Day concert. The Carleton owner Mike Campbell also […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The last ship to transport Africans to slavery was helmed by a Nova Scotian
As HRM officials lament the recent Halifax Transit “suck me, boy” racism that, along with a slew of other offences, has earned this town the moniker “Halissippi,” I’m mindful that the Clotilda—the last ship to transport Africans to bondage—was helmed by a Nova Scotian. His name? Captain William Foster. Famed for her novel Their Eyes […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The 25 for 25 podcast: 1994
Welcome to episode two of The Coast’s 25th-anniversary podcast. This week arts editor Tara Thorne and city editor Jacob Boon talk about Friends and Rita and Friends. We look back at Shakespeare by the Sea, watch as the city makes its first failed effort to make amends for Africville and discuss the practicalities of racing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Coast 25: Scenes from a time
My first assignment for The Coast was in 1995. I had recently graduated from university and was feeling totally lost about what to do with my life career-wise—and it was after my first assignment for The Coast that the stars aligned and I realized I wanted to be a photographer. From 1995, I was a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Relying on a statue in a park to tell our history is lazy
Thousands of tourists will visit Halifax this summer and return home without learning an inkling of its history, all because a statue is locked in storage in Burnside. I kid, of course. If you’re a tour guide or historian who needs a statue to accurately and comprehensively share the story of Halifax, you need to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How Halifax welcomed the Maroons
In late July 1796, on a “glorious day of warmth and sunshine,” three large transports brought 549 Trelawney Town Maroons to the harbour of Halifax. Some Maroons left valuable land and well-furnished home in Jamaica while others carrier their property—slaves—with them. The Maroons came with two white superintendents and 25,000 pounds of Jamaican currency as […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Smudge for sale
I learned to pick my medicines from my white, Acadian stepmother. I was around 14 years old when we walked out to the salty marsh grass with a handful of tobacco. As we walked to the spot near her home where sweetgrass still grows, she explained to me the concept of respecting Mother Earth; how […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Cornwallis Street Baptist Church is now New Horizons
The former Cornwallis Street Baptist Church will now be known as New Horizons Baptist Church. Members voted on the new designation, which still needs to be approved by the Registry of Joint Stocks, after service this past Sunday. “The intent of the name change is to identify ourselves by a name that better reflects the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Being a Jamaican man in Nova Scotia
Last week, Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin gave me my “told-you-so” moment of the month when she shared her concerns that legalizing marijuana could make Nova Scotians lazy like Jamaicans. Smith-McCrossin said in a subsequent apology post on Facebook—since deleted—that her comments “were criticized as racist and insensitive.” Of course, they were. Many quickly came […]
