MONTREAL—A Quebec cemetery where black slaves are believed to be buried should be formally recognized as a historical site, say a black rights group and some Montreal city councillors. Several loyalist families leaving the United States brought slaves with them when they settled near Saint-Armand in about 1784, according to the Black Coalition of Quebec. The site near the Vermont border is a rocky outcropping known as “N----r Rock” — and Philip says he is in favour of keeping the controversial name, despite the Quebec government deciding in 2015 to strip the N-word from all place names in the province. “Changing the name won’t change its history,” Philip said. “I’m uncomfortable when people say that word, but we have to position ourselves vis-à-vis history as it was.”

Source: thestar October 02, 2016 01:18 UTC