Shelley Hamilton is a singer/entertainer based in Toronto, and one we have gotten to know very well over the years at Crestwood.  Shelley is a woman of many talents, whose diverse portfolio can be seen at her website at http://www.shelleyhamilton.ca/.  She has done supply teaching here and has been involved in many Black History Month initiatives at Crestwood.  These have included vocal workshops, historical studies of the Harlem Renaissance, and performances of her one woman play “A New Hope”, based on the historical accounts of John Clarkson’s mission to America in 1791 to improve the conditions of the Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia and to promote the colonization of Sierra Leone in Africa. The storyteller, through the voices of those who made the journey to Nova Scotia, tells of their hardships and hopes for a better life in this new land. The show has received widespread acclaim, and we were proud to host it at Crestwood.

This year Ms. Hamilton visited Crestwood with John T. Davis and Shaun Boothe, whose interviews are also posted on this webpage.  The three together delivered a Black History Month presentation on music and the generations, showing how music creates an important thread in the African-Canadian community.