Honouring African Nova Scotian Rural Legacies: Land, Water, and Community for Generations

Across rural Nova Scotia, African Nova Scotian communities are reclaiming land and water as an act of memory, resistance, and future-building. A new 2-million-dollar investment from the McConnell Foundation is supporting four Black-led Community Land Trusts (CLTs) in Truro, North End Halifax, Upper Hammonds Plains, and Weymouth Falls, strengthening long-term community control over land, housing, and culture. 

These CLTs are more than legal entities; they are vessels for legacy. In Truro, Down the Marsh Community Land Trust is rooted in one of the province’s oldest African Nova Scotian settlements and focuses on cultural preservation, land stewardship, and community regeneration for descendants of Black Loyalists and refugees. In Upper Hammonds Plains and other communities, land trusts are advancing affordable housing while protecting historic African Nova Scotian rural communities from further dispossession. 

The principles of Nguzo Saba offer a powerful lens for understanding this work. Umoja (Unity) lives in communities coming together across generations to plan for shared land and water futures. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) is expressed when Black communities define and govern their own land use, rather than having it imposed from outside. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) and Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) are at the heart of CLTs: volunteer boards, shared decision-making, and community-owned assets that generate benefit for everyone, not just private investors. 

Nia (Purpose) grounds this movement in a clear commitment to restore African Nova Scotian communities to their historic strength as rural stewards, farmers, fishers, builders, and cultural leaders. Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith) show up in innovative models like CLTs, community hubs, and intergenerational gatherings that imagine more beautiful, just relationships with land and water—even after centuries of systemic exclusion. 

All of this work costs money, time, and skills. If you value African Nova Scotian rural legacies and want to see Black communities continue to lead in land and water stewardship, support these CLTs directly. Donate if you can, and just as importantly, volunteer your expertise, labour, or storytelling in service of African Nova Scotian Community Land Trusts across the province. 

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