Carrie Best
*Carrie Best was born on this date in 1903. She was a Black Canadian writer, publisher, and activist.
In the 1920s, she graduated from high school in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and married her husband, Albert Best. Together, they had three children: a son, Calbert, and two girls, Sharyn and Berma. Best was extremely involved in the community, raising awareness about human rights issues.
Carrie Best became a publisher in Nova Scotia when she and her son created the Clarion, the first Black newspaper in Nova Scotia. She researched all her articles, many about discrimination in public places such as restaurants, hotels, and theatres. She also incorporated environmental and labor issues into her articles. The paper stopped running in 1956 but did not stop Best from writing. She continued to submit articles to the Nova Scotia Gleaner, the Halifax Herald, and the Pictou Advocate, where she had a regular column. She also had a successful radio show called "The Quiet Corner" on five radio stations across the province for twelve years. She produced and narrated the show, in which she read novels and poems.
Eventually, she wrote her autobiography, That Lonesome Road, which was published by her own publishing company. Best became the promoter of the "Kay Livingstone Visible Minority Women's Society of Nova Scotia" shortly after the untimely death of its founder, Kay Livingstone. She was also the provincial coordinator for this organization. She then decided to revive the Clarion, which was republished in 1992.
Best's list of accomplishments and contributions to the betterment of society is long. Her determination began as a child, and she was encouraged by great role models like her mother. She became a role model, a voice for those who could not speak for themselves. In September 2001, at 98, Carrie Best died in her hometown of New Glasgow.
To be a Writer
To Become an Editor
To Become a Desktop Publisher
