The stories told over this blog series highlight moments of success, aspiration, challenge, pride, joy, and determination in the lives of Black individuals. These are universal concepts we all feel and experience. These are stories of everyday people, People of Colour who lived, went to school, worked, made friends, and pursued a full life in St. Catharines. These were the lives Freedom Seekers aspired to for themselves and their families when they arrived in St. Catharines more than 170 years ago.
Life in the City Directories: Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
One brief line in a city directory can offer endless possibility in delving into the working experiences of the people who lived and worked in St. Catharines throughout our past. By tracing the names of Black community members from the earliest editions of our directories in the 1850s through to today, we can trace the legacies first sowed by Freedom Seekers, as well as the continuity of determination and hard work within the community.
Life in the Year Books: Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
As a source, high school yearbooks certainly bring light to the achievements of Black students through the decades of the 20th century, but beyond this, they also offer unique insight into how these students navigated such a formative period of their lives. Though the Black student population in St. Catharines’ high school was small through most of the 20th century, students of colour made considerable impact in their school communities, from their academic successes to contributing their talents to clubs and sports teams. Black experiences, visible on the pages of local yearbooks, shows us all aspects of student life: friendship, school spirit, team participation, and aspirations.
Who Stayed? Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
There is no information available as to why this population change, although the historical record might help shed some light on some of the reasons, such as difficulty finding work due to discriminatory hiring practices, people moving to be closer to family or support groups in other communities, people moving back to the United States after the Civil War, etc. We can only speculate based on the historical information available. The numbers don’t illustrate motivations.
Should I Stay? Historical Records After the Underground Railroad
Our series this year will look at the lives of those of the Black community left behind – those few Freedom Seekers who stayed to build a new life and those, along with their descendants, who had been the backbone of the community’s efforts to help during the Underground Railroad.