The African Canadian Legal Odyssey: Historical Essays (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)

The African Canadian Legal Odyssey Explores The History Of African Canadians And The Law From The Era Of Slavery Until The Early Twenty-first Century. ;this Collection Demonstrates That The Social History Of Blacks In Canada Has Always Been Inextricably Bound To Questi52.99ons Of Law, And That The Role Of The Law In Shaping Black Life Was Often Ambiguous And Shifted Over Time. Comprised Of Eleven Engaging Chapters, Organized Both Thematically And Chronologically, It Includes A Substantive Introduction That Provides A Synthesis And Overview Of This Complex History. This Outstanding Collection Will Appeal To Both Advanced Specialists And Undergraduate Students And Makes An Important Contribution To An Emerging Field Of Scholarly Inquiry.--pub. Desc. Introduction : From A Property Right To Citizenship Rights : The African Canadian Legal Odyssey / Barrington Walker -- Ethelbert Lionel Cross : Toronto's First Black Lawyer / Susan Lewthwaite -- Constructing An Imperial Pan-africanist : Henry Sylvester Williams As A University Law Student In Canada / J. Barry Cahill -- Bitterly Disappointed At The Spread Of Colour-bar Tactics : Viola Desmond's Challenge To Racial Segregation, Nova Scotia, 1946 / Constance Backhouse -- Creating The Myth Of 'raceless' Justice In The Murder Trial Of R. V. Richardson, Sandwich, 1903 / Susan Mckelvey -- Maniacal Murderer Or Death Dealing Car : The Case Of Daniel Perry Sampson, 1933-1935 / David Steeves -- The Law's Confirmation Of Racial Inferiority : Christie V York / James W. St. G. Walker -- Errors Of Fact And Law : Race, Space And Hockey In Christie V. York / Eric M. Adams -- Slavery And Slave Law In The Maritimes / D.g. Bell, J. Barry Cahill, And Harvey Amani Whitfield -- The Burden Of History : Race, Culture, African Canadian Subjectivity, And Canadian Law In R V. Hamilton / David Sealy -- A Black Day In Court : Race And Judging In R. V. R.d.s. / James W. St. G. Walker. Edited By Barrington Walker. Includes Bibliographical References. Contents 7 Foreword 9 Acknowledgments 11 1. Introduction: From a Property Right to Citizenship Rights – The African Canadian Legal Odyssey 13 Part One. Legal Pioneers 61 2. Ethelbert Lionel Cross: Toronto’s First Black Lawyer 61 3. Constructing an “Imperial Pan- Africanist”: Henry Sylvester Williams as a University Law Student in Canada 96 Part Two. Formal Legal Equality and Anti-Black Discrimination: Case Studies 113 4. “Bitterly Disappointed” at the Spread of “Colour-Bar Tactics”: Viola Desmond’s Challenge to Racial Segregation, Nova Scotia, 1946 113 5. Creating the Myth of “Raceless” Justice in the Murder Trial of R. v. Richardson, Sandwich, 1903 179 6. Maniacal Murderer or Death Dealing Car: The Case of Daniel Perry Sampson, 1933–1935 213 7. The Law’s Confirmation of Racial Inferiority: Christie v. York 255 8. Errors of Fact and Law: Race, Space, and Hockey in Christie v. York 336 Part Three. Slavery, Race, and the Burden of History 375 9. Slavery and Slave Law in the Maritimes 375 10. The Burden of History: Race, Culture, African-Canadian Subjectivity, and Canadian Law in R. v. Hamilton 433 11. A Black Day in Court: “Race” and Judging in R. v. R.D.S. 449 Contributors 493

The African Canadian Legal Odyssey explores the history of African Canadians and the law from the era of slavery until the early twenty-first century. ;This collection demonstrates that the social history of Blacks in Canada has always been inextricably bound to questi52.99ons of law, and that the role of the law in shaping Black life was often ambiguous and shifted over time.

Comprised of eleven engaging chapters, organized both thematically and chronologically, it includes a substantive introduction that provides a synthesis and overview of this complex history. This outstanding collection will appeal to both advanced specialists and undergraduate students and makes an important contribution to an emerging field of scholarly inquiry.