Each February, Halifax Humanities 101 opens up our classroom to the public for a lecture to celebrate African Heritage Month. This free public lecture is followed by a Q&A with the speaker and a reception.
The 2026 Annual African Heritage Month Lecture
On February 26, 2026, Dr. Isaac Saney will present Halifax Humanities’ African Heritage Month lecture at the North Memorial Public Library. From 1:00-3:00pm in the Terry Symonds auditorium, come hear Dr. Saney speak on the “Revolutionary Roots” of African Nova Scotia’s connections to global Pan-African and Black Power movements from the 1930s through the 1980s.
This talk traces how international currents of Black resistance—Pan-Africanism, anti-colonial struggles, Black Power, and socialist internationalism—have profoundly shaped African Nova Scotian political consciousness, organizing, and cultural life. The lecture situates African Nova Scotia within the wider Black Atlantic and Global South, highlighting the circulation of ideas, people, and movements that connected local struggles for dignity and justice to global liberation projects.
About the Speaker
Dr. Saney is Professor in the Department of History and Coordinator of the Black and African Diaspora Studies program at Dalhousie University. He holds a PhD in history from the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London. His teaching, research and scholarship encompass Cuba, Africa, the Caribbean, Black Canadian history, the global Black liberation struggle, and reparations. A major area of his research is Cuba’s relationship with Africa. Isaac was also the Director of Dalhousie University’s Transition Year Program, the ground-breaking program founded in 1970 to redress the educational barriers and injustices that confront the Mi’kmaq Nation, other Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the African Nova Scotian community. Isaac is a long-time community activist and participant in the anti-war movement and the anti-racist struggle and passionately believes in the collective power of the people to transform the world in ways that bring forth equity, justice, and human dignity. His roots lie in the African Nova Scotia community and the Caribbean. His most recent book is Cuba, Africa, and Apartheid’s End: Africa’s Children Return! (Lexington Books, 2023).