For 30 years now, Canadians have officially recognized the many ways that Black people have contributed to the country. With Black History Month – celebrated every February – winding down, the dedicated volunteers at the Military Museum in Kingsville continue to strive to recognize our many Black veterans.
Jackie Barraco and her team at the Kingsville Military Museum have conducted extensive research with regard to the many ways that local Black soldiers have assisted and fought in the country’s past conflicts.
“There was such a multitude of people that served and we need to give thanks to them,” said Barraco.
The museum houses volumes of binders, displays and photographs of Black soldiers including the No. 2 Construction Battalion from WWI, Curley Christian who served as an inspiration for the development of The War Amps, and Kingsville born Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Barnell Jacobs of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Generations of Black soldiers are on display, including the Binga family, at the museum. Details about Black peacekeepers from recent times can be found there and one can find interesting information about local cemeteries where some of the Black soldiers are buried.
The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 am to 1 pm, and Saturdays from 9 am to noon, for those that would like an up close and personal view of the legacy left behind by Canada’s Black members of the military.
In the above photo are members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion from WWI. Researcher Jackie Barraco of the Military Museum reflected on the photo, saying, “If we didn’t have these men building a bridge or a trench, where would we be?”
