Mural of boxer George Dixon now on display in Africville
Posted Jul 27, 2020 01:45:00 PM.
A new mural unveiled over the weekend near the Africville Museum pays tribute to legendary boxer George Dixon.
Dixon was born in Africville in 1870 and when he claimed the world bantamweight title, he became the first Black athlete to win a world championship in any sport.
He also went on to take the featherweight and paperweight titles, and is widely credited for creating the training technique called shadowboxing.
“He earned enough credit in his name at the time to be really able to step out and talk about things like, believe it or not, in those days he was talking about racism and he was talking about what it was like for Black people to not be able to attend certain events,” explained Juanita Peters, the executive director of Africville Museum. “And there were times when he would refuse to fight if Black people were not allowed to those particular events.”
“He did a lot of things, not just for the boxing world, but socially in trying to bring people together.”
Peters said, for such an accomplished athlete, he often doesn't get the attention he deserves.
“It's not a name that's on the lips of people elsewhere, but it should be,” she told NEWS 95.7's The Todd Veinotte Show.
“We should know this person was a Canadian, he was a Nova Scotian. and for us more importantly, he was from Africville and was able to make those big strides in the world.”
Dixon's 150th birthday would have been Wednesday.
The Africville Museum is closed for the summer, but it is offering up some events, including socially distanced yoga on Wednesday mornings, weather permitting.
