Military museums host Black History Month exhibit

A Black History Month display in the military museums' atrium highlights the roles and sacrifices of black Canadian soldiers from before World War I to today.

Allan Ross and his wife, Indra, have been volunteer researchers collecting data for Black History Month since 2018.

They organized the exhibition.

“It's just an interest,” he said.

“Basically, it's a lot of online research, newspapers, websites like Ancestry, and places like military museums where you can go and go into their archives and find more information.”

Ross likes to add pictures and artifacts to personalize the soldiers' stories.

“One of the really interesting stories was John Gilbert, who was at Vimy Ridge,” Ross said.

“During the Canadian offensive at Vimy Ridge, he ran across the battlefield with only a pair of pliers and a revolver and a few hand grenades.

“He went into the tunnel and captured 24 German soldiers and a commander and – this is one of the most interesting stories, I think the German officer was so impressed, (he) took off his Iron Cross and put it on. Gilbert. He couldn't believe how brave this man was.

According to Ross, the venue for the month-long exhibition could not have been better.

“This is not to exclude all the other soldiers who have served and all the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces have made huge contributions,” he said.

“But the funny thing is, I never knew about this guy, or this guy came from Sierra Leone, or this guy, he came from the United States, escaped the Civil War and ended up in the Canadian Forces. , or all these men who came to serve from the Caribbean, we didn't know that.”

Also at Military Museums, works by young Calgary artists pay homage to black Canadian military history and educate Calgarians about their past, present and future contributions.

Kathryn Carruthers is 24 years old and has artwork featuring black soldiers in museums.

“I had to think about it for a while. What does war look like to me? What does it mean to me?” he said.

“So I let the chaos go, the unknown, so I went for a multimedia (style) because I thought that was the best way to present what I had.”

Carruthers grew up in Calgary and graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts and Design Visual Collage.

He says it is important to remember all the groups that sacrificed for their country.

“Groups like Africans and Caribbeans, as well as Asians,” he said.

“Personally, it helped me learn more about my story, and I hope it helps other people learn more about theirs, so I'm very proud.”

Okbadhi Welde grew up in Sudan and always loved to draw.

The 20-year-old moved to Calgary more than three years ago and says this is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talent.

One of his portraits is of Jerry Bell, Canada's first black pilot.

“When I was painting, I learned about Black History Month,” she said.

“There is a theme behind my art. These people have done a really good thing and opened a lot of doors for us.”

Ross hopes more of Calgary's black community will come see the exhibit to learn about the history of black Canadian soldiers.

“You have a history here too, don't forget that,” he said.

“Your parents, your grandparents were part of this country and they served, as did all Canadians of other races and ethnicities. We are all in this together. We are all members of the same group.”

The museum's Black History Month exhibition will be held in February 2024.

Learn more at https://themilitarymuseums.ca/visit/events-and-exhibits.