'You've got a history here, too': Military Museums hosting Black History Month exhibit

In the atrium of The Military Museums, the Black History Month display showcases the roles and sacrifices of Black Canadian soldiers from before the First World War through present day.

Allan Ross and his wife, Indra, are volunteer researchers who have gathered data for Black History Month since 2018.

They curated the exhibit.

"It's a matter of just having an interest in it," he said.

"Mostly, it's a lot of online research, newspapers, websites like Ancestry and coming to places like military museums, where you can access their archives and find additional information."

Ross likes to include pictures and artifacts to personalize the soldiers' stories.

"One story that's really interesting is John Gilbert, who was in Vimy Ridge," Ross said.

"During the Canadian charge of Vimy Ridge, he raced across the battlefield just with a pair of pliers and his revolver and a couple of hand grenades.

"He went into a tunnel, he captured 24 German soldiers and the commanding officer and – this is one of the most interesting stories, I find – so impressed was the German officer, (he) took his own Iron Cross off and put it on Gilbert. He couldn't believe how brave this individual was."

Ross says the location of the month-long exhibit couldn't be better.

"It's not to take away from all the other soldiers that have served and there's been some great contributions from all the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces," he said.

"But it's interesting to say, OK, well, I never knew about this guy, or this guy came from Sierra Leone, or this guy, he came up from the U.S.A., escaped from the Civil War and eventually ended up in the Canadian Forces, or all these men that came from the Caribbean to serve as well, we didn't know that."

Also on display at The Military Museums is artwork created by young Calgary artists whose pieces pay tribute to Black Canadian military history and educate Calgarians about their contributions in the past, today and into the future.

Catherine Carruthers is 24 years old and has a piece at the museums featuring a number of Black soldiers.

"I had to think about it for a while. What does war look like to me? What does it mean to me?" she said.

"So I went with chaos, the unknown, and so I went with a multimedia (style) because I thought that'd be the best way to present what I have."

Carruthers grew up in Calgary and graduated from the Visual Collage of Art and Design in 2021.

She says it's important to remember all the groups that sacrificed for their country.

"Groups like the Africans and Caribbeans, as well as the Asians," she said.

"Personally, it helped me learn a bit more about my history and I hope it helps other people learn a bit more about their history as well, so I'm very proud."

Okbazdhi Welde grew up in Sudan and always liked to draw.

The 20-year-old moved to Calgary just over three years ago and says it's a big opportunity for him to showcase his art.

One of his portraits is of Gerry Bell, who was Canada's first Black airman.

"While I was drawing, I was learning about Black History Month," he said.

"There's a theme behind my art. It's people that did something really good and opened a lot of doors for us."

Ross is hoping many from Calgary's Black community will come see the exhibit to learn about the history of Black Canadian soldiers.

"You've got a history here, too. Don't forget that," he said.

"Your parents, your grandparents have been a part of this country and they've also served as all Canadians of other races and ethnicities have. We're all together. We're all part of a group."

The museum's Black History Month exhibition runs throughout February 2024.

You can learn more about it at https://themilitarymuseums.ca/visit/events-and-exhibits.