Native Canadians nations once held slaves. From 1628-1834, 1,600 Africans were brought to Canada by Europeans. Oliver LeJeune, age 8 of Madagascar, was the first (Quebec). 1792 was the year the earliest records indicate a black resident (Mr. Diamond) in the Niagara region. Governor John G. Simcoe passed legislation that guaranteed freedom to any blacks arriving in Canada after 1793. Finally on August 1, 1834, all slaves in the British colonies were emancipated.
A horrible monsoon Thursday morning almost made me call off our visit to the Niagara region, but our tour guide, Lezlie of niagaraboundtours.com made it a pleasant day. There wasn't a whole lot of time to write on the tour, but there were definite moments of import. The connections between Canada, Britain and the isles of the Caribbean is branch of history that's obvious in the diversity you see walking the streets of Ontario and hearing these diverse variations on the English language. It's unfortunate to find out that in Canada, as in the States, class struggles exist within the Black community, but unlike here efforts are made by the government to nationalize the history of the Underground Railroad and emancipation. Similar to here, Black culture is popular and a source of capital for the government - Caribana is a big draw as are the cultural festivals relevant to the Black Caribbean communities taking place at Harbourfront and other areas. Black heritage tour guides that collaborate with larger chains tend to do better than independent tour companies. All that aside, the experience provided by Niagara Bound Tours is unique in that it can be tailored to suit your needs - small and individualized, like my trip or for groups. It would be great, however, if these smaller companies could work together to insure that the history isn't lost and that the revenues are kept in the Black community.
In Niagara, it was moving to travel down the dark stairs into the basement hiding place of runaway slaves. It stood just across from the Crossing Point in Fort Erie, ON from New York. The crossing point is where Josiah Henson (known as the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin) found his way to freedom before moving to Dresden (near Windsor). Of course the lake is a little higher but I could imagine canoes sneaking slaves across in the darkness, climbing the banks and rushing to safety in what is now home to a $4 million doll house, Bertie Hall. It was damp, dark and quiet but you could feel the spirits of those that hid there. As a bookshelf/part of the wall was pulled back, another room was revealed. It was a moving experience - much like stepping through the slave slip replicas at the Field Museum of Chicago's Africa exhibit or the And Still We Rise exhibit at the Wright Museum in Detroit.
It was interesting to find out that a member of Marcus Garvey's O.A.U. was the impetus for Emancipation Day celebrations that took place at Port Dalhousie Park, which Harry (a church member of the BME Church/Salem Chapel Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Site). Once this Garveyite left the community, the emancipation ceremonies that once brought thousands to the area ended abruptly. I felt like I could hear the footsteps of Harriet Tubman moving through the chapel. Running my fingers across the original pughs and pulpit, looking over old church registers and records, seeing the name Moore in these lists only made the experience more intriguing. at the "Dirty Corner"/Colored Cemetery, I immediately fel the spirits of the ancestors around me. Much like the cemetery where my ancestors are buried off Highway 43 in Alabama, many of the graves were hard to read as the names were rubbed off by years of wear and tear. I recalled running my fingers across my great grandparents' head stones -barely able to trace out the first letters of their names.
Dr. Martin Delany of Ohio, after attending Harvard Medical School made his way to Ontario visiting the Nathaniel Dett Chapel in Niagara Falls. This church holds connection to the Victoria Chapel in Chatham, Ontario.
Our guide's family escaped from Kentucky but had roots in Illinois before heading back to St. Catherine's area. Much of what we were shown reminded me of the South, Alabama in particular. I thought of how all of those old churches, cemeteries and residences in Ontario were historical landmarks and how even my grandmother's town and residence could theoretically be thought of in much the same way.
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