By Jennifer Weymark, Archivist
There is a saying that “history is written by the victor” and this is certainly true when it comes to Canadian history. So much of our history, on a local, provincial and national level, is written from the perspective of European colonial settlers. This narrow focus has greatly impacted how museum and archival collections have been developed and has created an historical narrative that is not entirely accurate.
Throughout Canada, museums and archives are working to find ways to move beyond the colonial settler focus of our collections and develop collections that more accurately showcase our history. The Oshawa Museum is working to fill the gaps in our historical narrative, to include more voices and become more inclusive by telling the untold and under researched stories of our community. In Oshawa, our local history tends to be told through a lens of focusing on the impact of the wealthy industrialists and the companies they ran. This is certainly an important part of our local history, but it is a very narrow focus and leaves out so many other fascinating stories.
One of the ways we are changing the historical narrative is through our research into early Black history in Oshawa. Oshawa has had a small Black population since at least 1850, and that population has continued to grow and flourish. The research has focused on the experiences of one family, the Andrews/Dunbar/Pankhurst family, and examines how their experiences fit into the larger context of the history of Black Canadians. Research like this widen the lens through which we look at our history and works to tell a local history that better reflects what the community actually looked like in the past.
Throughout the month of February, the Museum has been celebrating Black History Month by reaching out to the community to talk about our research. In fact, over the past month, we have spoken to over 400 members of our community about this research. It has been truly rewarding to share this research with so many people and help bring focus to the rich and diverse history of Oshawa.
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