Cultivating Narratives of Race, Faith, and Community: The Dawn of Tomorrow, 1923–1971

Abstract

In 1923, an African Canadian newspaper entitled The Dawn of Tomorrow began publication in London, Ontario, billing itself as “Devoted to the Interests of the Darker Races.” The Dawn wrote about collective racial uplift, Canada’s black church, and about African Canadian “firsts,” whether in the fields of entertainment or nursing, in the Boy Scouts, or in the integration of segregated workplaces — triumphs that Canada’s white newspapers generally ignored. Challenging the notion that African Canadians did not have a black press comparable to the African American press in the United States, this article examines the editorial content, photographic journalism, and advertisements in The Dawn from its foundation to 1971, when it ceased publication. I argue that through its editorials, The Dawn played an instrumental role in cultivating a sense of community among blacks in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. This article also provides critiques of de facto Jim Crow laws in Canada, while highlighting the specific ways the black press combated pervasive racism with editorials about racial uplift, community advancement, civic engagement, and black entrepreneurship.