Biography of Russell Grosse
Backgrounder
On March 7, 2023, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, announced the appointment of a distinguished Canadian to the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC):
Russell Grosse, Nova Scotia
Russell Grosse is a native of the historic Nova Scotia multi-generational Black Community of Cherry Brook. He comes from a large family that truly believes in the importance of serving the community.
Mr. Grosse has been involved in the protection, preservation and promotion of Nova Scotia’s Black Culture and History for over 28 years. An employee of the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia since 1994, he began as a summer student and held various development and supervisory roles including Operations Manager, Project Manager, Assistant Director. Since December 2013, Mr. Grosse has held the role of Executive Director.
Mr. Grosse’s leadership has elevated the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia beyond the borders of Nova Scotia. It is a hub of culture and heritage that has had a profound effect on building capacity within the surrounding Black communities of Nova Scotia. Today, the Centre is noted as one of Canada’s highly regarded museums and cultural centres of excellence.
Throughout his life, Mr. Grosse has dedicated his work to honour, celebrate, and share the important Black history of one of Canada’s founding cultures. Nova Scotia is known as the birthplace of Black Culture and Heritage in Canada with communities that are multi-generational and trace their origins back over 400 years. In 2022, Mr. Grosse was co-chair and event coordinator of the Government of Canada’s National Apology to the members and descendants of Canada, No. 2 Construction Battalion, a segregated all Black unit that served in the First World War.
Mr. Grosse has also been executive producer of several community cultural productions and artistic showcases that support the promotion of Black culture and history, such as Juba’Lee Legacy, a virtual cultural showcase.
As a professional video technical producer, Mr. Grosse also donates much of his time to the capture and documenting of Black History and sharing it with national broadcasters. In 2022, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for volunteerism.
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