A Farmer from Amber Valley - J.D. Edwards
These excerpts from director David Adkin's documentary A Farmer From Amber Valleyis the story of Jefferson
Davis Edwards, a black American in search of a freer life and full
citizenship. Edwards was one of the black Oklahomans
who came to Canada in their struggle with the "Jim Crow"
segregation laws of the southern United States. Besides
settling and raising his family at
Amber
Valley, Edwards also
started the Amber Valley baseball team, an important part of the
baseball lore of Western Canada.
A Farmer from Amber Valley is one of the A Scattering of Seeds film
series by White Pine
Pictures. The series celebrates the
grit and character of unsung immigrants who staked their families
and futures on a second chance in Canada. These personal
portraits celebrate the diversity of the first families who
arrived in Canada to build a nation.
Clarence "Big" Miller Clarence Horatius "Big" Miller grew up in Kansas,
learning to play trombone and bass and developing his singing
voice in the Kansas City blues style. He was a popular performer
in renowned jazz venues such as Birdland in New York, the Cotton
Club in Chicago, and Detroit's Flame Showbar. Increasingly
discouraged by racial tensions in the United States, Miller began
touring in other countries. Working his way across Canada, he
played Edmonton's The Embers, a jazz club founded by Tommy
Banks. He continued to return to Edmonton to perform and in
1970 "Big" made Edmonton his home.
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This digital collection was
produced with financial assistance from Canada's Digital
Collections initiative, Industry Canada.
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
