A00080 - The Ukrainian Connection (October 26, 2022)

 The Ukrainian Connection

My name is Everett Jenkins and I have had an interesting African American life. One of the highlights of my interesting African American life has been my discovery of my Canadian heritage.  Indeed, one of the most startling life changing discoveries of my life came in 1990 when I attended my first family reunion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and became aware of my unique family history.  As I learned during that reunion, my great great grandfather was one of the founders of an all Black farming community located about 90 miles northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  The farming community became known as Amber Valley and, in 2021, the Canadian government honored the Black pioneers of Amber Valley by issuing a stamp in their honor for Black History month. As the stamp booklet explains:

"Many Black Americans immigrated to Canada during the 19th and early 20th centuries to escape racism and build a better life, only to face a harsh landscape, poverty and further discrimination.  In 1815, Black refugees from the War of 1812 founded what became Willow Grove, near Saint John, New Brunswick.  Almost a century later, Black settlers established Amber Valley, north of Edmonton, Alberta.  Although Willow Grove and Amber Valley no longer exist as all Black communities -- as residents left for better economic opportunities -- the influence of their descendants lives on."

With regards to the more detailed explanation for Amber Valley, the stamp booklet explains:

"Around 1910, a group of Black Americans made a bold journey to northern Alberta to create a better life.  They were a larger number fleeing the escalating racist violence and oppressive Jim Crow laws in the United States.  In the isolated area of Pine Creek (later renamed Amber Valley), the 30 pioneering families, many from Oklahoma, carved farms from the dense bush and muskeg, enduring hardship and unforgiving winters.  They did not escape discrimination:  Black American immigration to western Canada sparked a backlash, prompting the federal government to implement measures that prevented other Black settlers from following.  Still, the community thrived.  A church and school were established early.  A general store and post office opened.  Midwives criss-crossed farmland on horseback as the population boomed, and the Amber Valley baseball team was famous throughout the province.  In the wake of the Second World War,

many residents moved to cities for better economic opportunities.  Although the community dwindled in numbers, the influence of its descendants grew.  Many prominent teachers, lawyers, musicians, engineers and other Blacks from all walks of life trace their success to the hopes and hard work of the pioneers of Amber Valley and nearby communities."

In 2009, I returned to Canada to attend another family reunion, and to attend the Centennial Celebration for the founding of Amber Valley.  However, unlike the family reunions I had attended in 1990 and 1999, this time the Centennial Celebration included other Amber Valley families and other Amber Valley neighbors. Indeed, one of the startling revelations was that the celebration was not just attended by the Black descendants of the founding fathers of the town, but also by many White folks from the surrounding farmland areas.  It was a rather pleasant surprise for me to be attending a purely country and western hoedown on Saturday night only to be followed by a down home gospel gathering on Sunday morning.   It was fully apparent that the Black and White farmers in the area surrounding Amber Valley had grown comfortable with each other and had grown comfortable with each other's cultures.

I was curious as to why this should be and I was informed that many of the neighboring farmers were Ukrainian immigrants who arrived in the area around the same time as the Amber Valley folks and who were escaping persecutions of their own.  Like the Black Americans, the Ukrainians had traveled to Canada because of the lure of cheap land ... and a fresh start. Unlike the American Whites who grew up in the environment of racism that existed in the United States, these Ukrainian immigrants harbored few prejudices or preconceived notions about the Black farmers who also struggled to farm the land.  Indeed, in their similar struggles to survive, these neighbors often had to rely on each other ... and this reliance created a bond of community that obviously would span one hundred years.

During the reunion, I listened to the stories about the struggles encountered by the Black settlers of Amber Valley and their encounters with other Whites who were not as neighborly as the Ukrainians.  I heard tales where the Ukrainian neighbors would sometimes warn the Black settlers about trouble coming their way or tell the Black settlers which Whites might be inclined to cause them harm.

We do not pay much attention to the history of our neighbors to the north.  However, it is helpful to know that the third largest concentration of Ukrainians in the world resides in Canada, and that a significant (double digit) percentage of the population of the province of Alberta is comprised of people of Ukrainian descent. Indeed, the most famous Canadian of Ukrainian descent happens to be "The Great One", Hockey Hall of Famer, Wayne Gretzky.

I know it may not be much, but I too follow with interest what is occurring now in Ukraine.  And just as my forefathers relied upon their Ukrainian neighbors to care about their Black neighbors and to help them improve and keep their lands, so now do I, a descendant of their Black neighbors, support the Ukrainian people in their efforts to keep and restore their land, and, as an American, I continue to support our government's efforts to keep Ukraine whole and free.

Peace,

Everett Jenkins

Fairfield, California

October 26, 2022