Earlier this week we watched a documentary in class
called "Speakers for the Dead".
The documentary takes place in Priceville Ontario (not
too far from Owen Sound) and it deals with the hidden history of Blacks in
Canada by means of a local cemetery. Below is a synopsis of the documentary from
the NFB website (http://www.nfb.ca/film/speakers-for-the-dead/):
“This documentary reveals some of the hidden history of
Blacks in Canada. In the 1930s in rural Ontario, a farmer buried the tombstones
of a Black cemetery to make way for a potato patch. In the 1980s, descendants
of the original settlers, Black and White, came together to restore the
cemetery, but there were hidden truths no one wanted to discuss. Deep racial
wounds were opened. Scenes of the cemetery excavation, interviews with
residents and re-enactments--including one of a baseball game where a broken
headstone is used for home plate--add to the film's emotional intensity.”
Cover of the
documentary - http://media6.nfb.ca/medias/nfb_tube/jackets/speakers-for-the-dead.jpg
Within the documentary a side comment was made about a
group of school kids who used a headstone from the cemetery that had the name
Maggie on it (hence the name of this blog post). They used the headstone as the
home plate. When I heard this, a knot formed in my stomach. The only thought
that came to my mind was of how disrespectful they were. We didn’t hear how the
children felt about using the headstone as home plate but I wonder if they felt
bad or if they just didn’t care or didn’t know. It’s odd that I feel this way because
monument isn’t human remains, ‘only’ documentation. Overall this documentary resonated
with me more than I initially thought it would. I think it’s because most of my
family is currently from Southern Ontario, that this documentary resonated with me.
Below is a link to youtube where you can watch
"Speakers for the Dead" in its entirety for yourself.
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