page_title: Black Power movement in Montreal
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Black Power movement in Montreal / Background
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Union United Church is a congregation with open hearts and hands in the heart of downtown Montreal, 3007 Delisle Street, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
context_page_description: The Black Power Movement in Montreal in the 1960s was a period of rediscovering black identity through a process of invoking cultural, economic, and political thought amongst blacks. The eruption of political activism during Montreal's Quiet Revolution as well as the reformation of immigration policies which discriminated against non-white immigrants allowed black communities to publicly express and bring awareness to their struggles with racism. The movement was an integral component of the emerging global challenges to imperialism during the 1960s, stemming from various movements including Garveyism, pan-Africanism, the Harlem Renaissance, Rastafari, and others. Montreal's Black Power movement culminated in the aftermath of the Sir George Williams Affair—a student occupation that resulted in an estimated $2 million worth of damages and 97 arrests—which raised concerns of racism worldwide.
context_section_description: During the early 20th century, Montreal blacks primarily lived in the Saint Antoine district, where they were socially excluded and evicted to facilitate urban development, forcing them to disperse to other regions of Montreal. Structural racism was prevalent during the turn of the century and prevented Montreal blacks from obtaining respectable work or adequate housing.
caption: The Union United Church, Montreal's Black communities oldest religious institution.[1]
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