Have you heard of the No. 2 Construction Battalion?

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It is never too late to learn about No. 2 Construction Battalion, also known as the Black Battalion. In the First World War, when so many brave young people enlisted to fight, there were many Black men who wanted to join, but many were denied because of racism of commanding officers. Instead, the Black Battalion was created. It was primarily a labour unit that supported the war effort by cutting the lumber, milling the logs and maintaining infrastructure.

These men were still soldiers, and they served Canada proudly. We Remember The Black Battalion is a free verse poem about Black Canadian soldiers that introduces topics like racism and discrimination, in a format suitable for young readers. A glossary and reflection questions section help educators engage with students on the issues raised in the book.

More online resources about the Black Battalion

To complement the book, virkbooks.com was created, a website offering year-long, cross-curricular lesson activities for teachers. The lesson activities are designed for primary and junior grades. By connecting history to multiple subjects, VirkBooks empowers educators to teach about the Black Battalion while meeting curriculum goals in Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, French and Technology.

In addition to the book and lesson activities, educators are encouraged to use the No. 2 Construction Battalion website (no2constructionbattalion.ca) as a research tool. This resource provides historical insights into the member profiles, battalion’s myths and a video gallery. Teachers can guide students in exploring archival materials, photographs, and stories to build a deeper understanding of the soldiers’ experiences.

For example, students might use the website to research where individual battalion members lived and map their journeys to enlistment. This activity can be tied to the curriculum and fosters critical thinking about the social and geographic diversity of Canada’s Black communities during the early 20th century.

The website also includes lesson plans for teachers that can accompany the stories, videos, and other resources about the Black Battalion.

Teachers may also be interested in visiting blackcanadianveterans.com to read more stories about members of the Black Battalion as well as other contributions of Black Canadians in the military.