Two Girls Named Blanche: Race, Gender, and Education in Turn of the 20th Century Halifax
Wed., December 8, 2021, 7:00 pm (Atlantic)
Judith Fingard
Abstract: The contribution to the black community in Halifax of two girls named Blanche was recognized in the April 1915 issue of the short-lived Atlantic Advocate. Blanche Roache was identified as “the first coloured young lady to enter the Conservatory of Music” and, the reporter noted, by “a singular coincidence, Miss Roache’s mother…was the first coloured lady to enter the Halifax Academy,” the city’s public high school. This paper explores some features of these ‘firsts.’