Must Preston Die?

From 1981, a Deep Reprint looking at how a stigmatized Nova Scotia community faced down the pressures that threatened to erase it from the map.

The community of Preston has long stood as a resilient symbol of African Nova Scotian heritage.

In 1981, the tension between urban expansion and historical preservation reached a boiling point. Developers viewed the land with an acquisitive eye, while the residents saw a legacy worth protecting.

This article revisits the battle for the survival of East and North Preston—a tale of institutional bias, grassroots organizing, and the enduring strength of a marginalized community refusing to be erased.