Jennifer Rosanne States
Jennifer Rosanne States was a black Canadian child who died at age three in September 1968 and made national headlines when she was refused burial in an all-white cemetery.
States had been very ill from soon after birth. Her parents, with six other young children, were unable to care for her and sent her to a white foster family in Windsor, Nova Scotia. When she died this family tried to have her buried in the St. Croix Cemetery. However, the managing board cited a 1907 bylaw banning blacks and natives from the cemetery. States was instead buried in a traditionally black cemetery nearby. The incident came to the attention of the national media and caused a general outcry. The cemetery board quickly backed down and deleted the offending bylaw.
See also
References
- "N.S. Cemetery Cites 1907 Bylaw, Refuses Burial for Negro Child, 3." The Globe and Mail. October 11, 1968. pg. A1.
- "Cemetery Deletes Bylaw Banning Negro Burial." The Globe and Mail. October 12, 1968. pg. A1.
- We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up. By Peggy Bristow, Dionne Brand, Linda Carty, Afua Cooper, Sylvia Hamilton. Footnote, page 38
- The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, N.S.), October 12, 1968, page 1.