Herb Carnegie: Black Excellence on – and off – the Ice

Herb Carnegie is widely regarded as the best Black player to never play in the NHL. He played competitive hockey in the 1940s and 1950s, mostly in the Quebec and Ontario Junior A and senior leagues. In this episode, we learn about Herb’s story of Black excellence on and off the ice, and speak with Kwame Mason, director and producer of the “Soul on Ice” film and podcast, and Bernice Carnegie, daughter of Herb Carnegie, and co-founder of The Carnegie Initiative for acceptance and inclusion in hockey.

Show Notes

Strong and Free is produced by Historica Canada and Media Girlfriends.

This episode was written by Hannah Sung.

Senior producers are Garvia Bailey and Hannah Sung. 

Sound design and mix by Gabbie Clarke and David Moreau.

The Media Girlfriends team is rounded out by Josiane Blanc, Lucius Dechausay, Jeff Woodrow, and Nana aba Duncan, the founder of Media Girlfriends.

Thank you to Bernice Carnegie and to our script consultant, Kwame Mason.

Fact-checking by Amy Van den Berg.

Thank you to TSN and Hockey Canada for use of the clip of Akil Thomas at the World Junior Hockey Championship of 2020. 

Additional reading:

·       Herb Carnegie 

·       Colored Hockey League

·       Willie O’Ree

·       National Hockey League 

Follow Historica Canada on Twitter,  Instagram , and TikTok @HistoricaCanada and on Facebook at facebook.com/Historica.Canada/ 

What is Strong and Free?

Tracing stories from the earliest Black settlers to recently arrived Canadians, Strong and Free captures just a few of the crucial stories of Black Canadians thriving and contributing to building this country.

Listen to Strong and Free, a six-part podcast from Historica Canada, produced by Media Girlfriends. Because Black history is Canadian history.