William Beal

Sources

Barrow, Robert and Leigh Hambly. Billy: The Life and Photographs of William S.A. Beal. Winnipeg: Vig. Corps Press, 1988. – This is quite literally the book on William Beal, in the sense that it is the only one written specifically about him. Robert Barrow and Leigh Hambly have done an incredible thing here by collecting oral histories from Beal’s friends and neighbours.

Knowles, Valerie. Strangers At Our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540-2006. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2007. – This is a great place to start if you want to learn more about Canadian immigration policy overall.

Shwinghammer, Steve. “The Colour Bar at the Canadian Border: Black American Farmers.” Pier 21.

Vernon, Karina. “The Black Prairies: History, Subjectivity, Writing.” PhD Dissertation, University of Victoria, 2008. – This thesis is where I first learned about Beal, and where I pulled the wonderful quote imagining his library.

Vernon, Karina, editor. The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2020. – This anthology contains Beal’s autobiography in full.

Winks, Robert. The Blacks in Canada: A History. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1971. – Contains some dated terminology, but this book remains the only historical survey of its breadth covering black history in Canada.

The Winnipeg Tribune, via U of M Digital Archives

When homesteaders were coming to Canada by the tens of thousands in the late 19th century, William Beal was one of a small number of black pioneers who staked his claim in Manitoba. Though by all accounts he was never much of a farmer, Beal made his mark as a booklover and eccentric autodidact in the community at Swan River Valley.

In this episode, we explore the life of William Beal as well as the history of black immigration to Canada, and the racist tactics used by white Canadians and the Laurier government to prevent African-Americans from crossing the border.

Listen to the full episode :