Visible+Minorities+in+the+1920's

Asian Communities

By the 1920s, B.C. already had a large Chinese population. Many workers who came to Canada in the 1880s as railway labourers settled in B.C. Smaller groups of Japanese and Sikhs settled around Vancouver and Victoria.

All three groups faced discrimination. For example, many employers refused to hire Asian workers, or paid them lower wages. In response, many Asian Canadians set up their own small businesses, such as restaurants or laundries. Others fished or farmed. All three Asian cultures lived in close-knit communities, largely shut out from the rest of society but determined to build their lives here.

Black Communities

Most Blacks in Canada in the 1920s had come from the United States. Some were descended from 2500 Black Loyalists who migrated to Nova Scotia in 1783. Others were descended from escaped slaves.

Unlike many visible minority groups, Blacks gained the right to vote at Confederation. However, they were not treated as equals. For example, both Ontario and Nova Scotia set up separate schools for Black students, but did not fund them properly. This meant that most Black students got an inferior education and had fewer job prospects.

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Figure 4-8 The great jazz pianist Oscar Peterson (right) was born in the 1920s in Montreal. His father Daniel (left) worked as a railway porter. This was one of the few jobs open to black men at the time. (Read more about Oscar in Chapter 14.) BEGIN PRODUCER'S NOTE: Photo: omitted. END PRODUCER'S NOTE. END PHOTO CAPTION.