SYDNEY, N.S. — An examination of how Caribbean migrants made their way to Whitney Pier in the early 20th century will be the focus of a virtual lecture to be hosted at Cape Breton University.
Claudine Bonner, an associate professor with Acadia University’s sociology department and scholar of African Canadian history and education, is set to present “A Pier for the Pierless: Caribbean Immigration to Atlantic Canada, 1900-1930” as part of this year’s J.B. McLachlan Memorial Lecture.
Bonner’s talk will look at “Canadian immigration policy between 1900 and 1930 and will explore the ways in which Maritime ports served as barriers to the entry of mostly Caribbean people into Canada,” a CBU news release said.
“Her analysis of Caribbean immigration of the Maritimes — with an emphasis on Whitney Pier — provides important historical context for current debates about race, identity, and inclusion,” Andy Parnaby, CBU’s dean of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, added in the release.
The one-hour event starts at noon Thursday via Zoom. Details on registration can be found at cbu.ca/mclachlan.
The yearly lecture series honours labour leader J.B. McLachlan, a Scottish immigrant and coal miner who arrived in Cape Breton in 1902 and later helped helm United Mine Workers of America District 26 until his death in 1937.