They are a symbol of hate from the Deep South's trouble past. Burning crosses conjure up images of lynchings, beatings and Klansman in white sheets during the struggle for black civil rights in America. But many white Nova Scotians probably didn't see a connection between their province and that painful chapter in U.S. history. Until February 21, 2010. Shortly after midnight, a burning cross was found outside the home of Shayne Howe and Michelle Lyon, a biracial couple in Poplar Grove, Hants County. It didn't take long for a Central Canadian newspaper to connect the dots of history. Nova Scotia, a province where racial tensions had often boiled over, was labeled the Mississippi of the North. For many black Nova Scotians, it was no surprise.—Anonymous