Last week, we reported that the Heritage Minute was set to return. This week, the Historica-Dominion Institute finally released the much anticipated new minute. 

The new Heritage Minute tells the story of Richard Pierpoint. In brief, Pierpoint was born in 1744 in Bondu (roughly current day Senegal). When he was sixteen, Pierpoint was captured by slavers and taken to North America. And it was in North America that he recieved his last name after being purchased by a British office named Pierpoint. During the American Revolution, the former Pierpoint served as a solider on the British side, and like many British Loyalists, emigrated to Canada after the war. When the War of 1812 broke out, Pierpoint, then sixty-years-old, tried to organize a “Corps of Men of Colour.” Despite being initially rebuked, Pierpoint and many other African-Canadians went on to fight in the war. Many so called Black Loyalists went on to serve with distinction throughout the war. 

The new minute lacks some of the gravitas of its predecessors. Still, it’s a good (re)start, and here’s hoping to many more of these minutes gracing our television sets soon. 

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Igor Bonifacic is a writer working for the Toronto Standard. You can follow him on twitter at @igorbonifacic. 

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