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Help us honour Charles R. Saunders, Black author

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**Charles Saunders Memorial service details ***

Friends, we will gather Saturday August 28 at 11 am Atlantic time at Dartmouth Memorial Gardens for a graveside service for Charles. 

More details @jontattrie on Twitter. 

Livestream here: https://www.arbormemorial.ca/atlantic-dartmouth/obituaries/charles-saunders/70361/




SECOND UPDATE Hi friends! A quick update on Charles R. Saunders. Our online fundraiser was a huge success and we quickly raised enough money to pay for a tomb stone and monument for him. We've designed and ordered the tomb stone and it should be in place by Christmas. We are working with Dartmouth Memorial to design a special monument that will celebrate Imaro, Charles's great character, and it will stand near his grave. We hope to have that in place early next year. After that, we will hold a special celebration of his life in May 2021, around the one-year anniversary of his death. We have other ideas in the works to enshrine his legacy and will share those as they take shape. In the meantime, buy and read his books! You can buy the first two on Amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=charles+saunders&ref=nb_sb_noss_2) and the second two here (https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/charles-r-saunders/imaro-the-trail-of-bohu/paperback/product-1jedmggw.html, https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/charles-saunders/imaro-the-naama-war/paperback/product-1e7m768g.html) **UPDATE

Hi everyone! We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and support for our dear friend Charles Saunders. We raised enough money to get him a grave marker and monument – and we did it in the first 24 hours.

So many people have told us they still want to give more, so we’re growing our dreams. We are thinking of founding a journalism scholarship or bursary or/and a writing award, both named for Charles. We are working on what would best work, so will update you soon.

In the meantime, we’re working with Dartmouth Memorial Gardens to design and order the grave marker and monument. It looks like everything could be in place this year and we will share photos as it comes together.

Thank you so much for your generosity and love – let’s keep it going and build monuments to celebrate Charles’s life, both literary and personal.

 
ORIGINAL MESSAGE

Charles R. Saunders was an important and beloved Black journalist and author based in Halifax, Canada.

He died alone in May 2020 during the pandemic lockdown and, as the medical examiner couldn't find any family, he was buried in an unmarked grave.

Word of his death was made public in September. 

We want to ensure everyone knows that his life mattered. He pioneered the literary genre of "sword and soul" with his Imaro novels, featuring an all-Black cast set in a mythologized Africa. 

We are a group of his friends, colleagues and fans who want to rectify the situation by purchasing a grave marker for Charles and an accompanying monument celebrating his literary life. 

We need to raise the money by the end of October to ensure we can put the monument by his grave. 

Those of us based in Nova Scotia - Sherri Borden Colley, Portia Clark, Paul Bacon and Jon Tattrie - will transfer the money to Dartmouth Memorial Gardens to cover the costs of the grave marker and monument.

The extraordinary inner world of Charles R Saunders father of Black sword and soul

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $75 
    • 4 yrs
  • Louise Dodge
    • $87 
    • 4 yrs
  • Gordie Sutherland
    • $30 
    • 4 yrs
  • Sherri Borden Colley
    • $25 
    • 4 yrs
  • chris benjamin
    • $50 
    • 4 yrs

Fundraising team (4)

Jon Tattrie
Organizer
Bedford, NS
Milton Davis
Team member
Taaq Kirksey
Team member
Sherri Borden Colley
Team member

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