2016 marks the twentieth anniversary year for Canada's Black History Month. One can read about the significance of this month at
For me, this month is a time that compels me to reflect on the extraordinary lives and legacy of my Canadian Cousins As is documented in the following, my Canadian Cousins are the embodiment of Canada's black history and their stories are part of the fabric of the Canada's nationhood
My grandmother was a Saunders (Sanders in this country) and the family connection to Canada's black history can be read at
Reading these stories and having had a chance to meet and talk with many of those mentioned in the articles has been quite a blessing for me. From listening to stories about the pioneer days of farming in the often frigid Alberta hinterlands, to being told about the travails associated with being the first blacks to live in Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, to hearing about and seeing the "Field of Dreams" that was constructed in the woods to enable the fabled Amber Valley Baseball Team to thrive, I am simply in awe of what my Canadian Cousins did.
However, what has equally intrigued me is the legacy that they have left behind in the form of their children. The legacy of the Saunders children who have begun to find their place in modern day Canada is extraordinary not just in its history but in its diversity. When I first met my Canadian Cousins at the 1990 Calgary reunion, I was amazed to see the rainbow of ethnic groups that have become part of the Saunders Family. It seems that after the second generation, virtually all of the Amber Valley folks would have been related to each other. As such, it was incumbent to diversify the gene pool and that is what happened. These immigrant people from Oklahoma began to intermarry with immigrant people from other countries that found themselves in Alberta. Thus, many Saunders descendants came to marry people of European heritage and today, after three generations of such intermarriage, it is not uncommon to see some Saunders with blond hair and fair skin...Saunders descendants who are indistinguishable from the majority population of Canada. However, there are also some who married others. Some Saunders married other black immigrants from the United States and the Caribbean that found their way to Alberta. Some married the native peoples of Alberta and the Yukon. Others married immigrants from India. And in one notable instance, one even married the son of an immigrant from China.
Indeed, posted on my bulletin board in my office is a photo that one of my Canadian cousins sent me last year. The photo is a happy photo showing the reunion of a family. In the photo is Cousin Maxine and her ex-husband Tommy. Tommy is the son of a Chinese man who immigrated to Canada in the 1920s. The Chinese man became a truck driver and somewhere along his journey he met and fell in love with a Scot-Irish waitress. From this union came, Tommy. Tommy grew up to be a bit of a rebel. He dropped out of high school and attempted to pursue a musical career. Along the way, he gravitated towards rhythm and blues and formed a band with a number of black musicians. He also met and fell in love with Cousin Maxine. They married in 1960 and had two beautiful daughters, but they divorced in 1970.
What makes the photo such a precious one for me is that the photo shows Cousin Maxine and Tommy having dinner some forty-five years later with their two daughters in what appears to be a happy family reunion. In that happy family reunion, one can clearly see part of the legacy of those Amber Valley pioneers in the pride emanating from Maxine and Tommy and the smiles being seen on the faces Maxine and Tommy's daughters. You see Cousin Maxine, the descendant of black immigrants from Oklahoma, married Tommy Chong, the son of a Chinese immigrant. Tommy Chong eventually left his musical career to gain fame as part of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, and the beautiful daughters of Maxine and Tommy happen to be the actresses Rae Dawn and Robbie Chong.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Class of 1975
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