SYLVIA D. HAMILTON AWARD – TOTAL VALUE: $8,080

The Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards, named in honour of the recently retired King’s journalism professor. A noted writer, poet, filmmaker and visual artist, in addition to educator, Hamilton has devoted her career to the places, people and voices that make up the Nova Scotia Black experience, an experience Hamilton has traced back to her own ancestors coming to Nova Scotia in the years following the War of 1812.

Five Sylvia D. Hamilton Awards are awarded annually. The award is open to African Canadian students, with a focus on African Nova Scotians, and will be open to all degree streams at King’s with a preference for students in journalism and the King’s/Dalhousie MFA in Creative Non-Fiction. The five awards are renewable over the usual length of each degree, each valued at $2,020 per year, in honour of Hamilton’s retirement year.