Amber Valley Documentary

Amber Valley, Alberta

“One of the Black settlements created through the persistence of the Oklahoma African-Americans remains to this day. Amber Valley was settled by Black farmers who had been denied the same rights as others and who found the laws in Oklahoma to be more restrictive regarding Black rights. At the same time, the Canadian West was opening up, and settlers were actively being sought from the American Midwest.
Beginning in 1910 with a few individuals, then in 1911 about 200 were prepared to face the stiff border crossing questions. Successful under the leadership of Jefferson Edwards, it was decided to move to an area some distance away from Edmonton to form their own community. At its height, there were about 300 residents and they eventually had their own all-Black baseball team representing Amber Valley. More would have migrated had there been supportive measures by the Canadian government to allow family and former neighbours to join them from Oklahoma. Now only a few families remain.”  [source: http://www.blackhistorycanada.ca/topic.php?id=127&themeid=2]

A new documentary details the history of Alberta’s Amber Valley, north of Edmonton, settled by black immigrants. Historian and playwright Cheryl Foggo is part of a Calgary-made documentary, “Secret Alberta: The Former Life of Amber Valley.”

Listen to an interview with author and playwright Cheryl Foggo on The Homestretch show

Read about the documentary in the Calgary Herald: http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/new-documentary-examines-forgotten-alberta-history

National Post: The black people in the Middle of Nowhere: The lost community of Amber Valley, AB

Library and Archives Canada: About Amber Valley

Wikipedia: Amber Valley, Alberta, Canada