Stories like the establishment of the Refugee Slaves Friends Society here in St. Catharines, or the popular Emancipation Day Picnic, held at Lakeside Park from the 1920s to the 1950s to celebrate the 1833 Act for the Abolition of Slavery, are enjoyable to share and to consume because they can help us to feel better about ourselves and our past while living in troubling times. Unfortunately, history is messy. We love organization and labels as much as you do, but history is complex and accurately telling stories includes acknowledging the bad parts too. Recognizing messy histories can actually help to clean up and heal the impacts that history has on our community today. Reconciling the good with the bad parts of our history can help us to move forward.
BHM Part 3: What Can We Learn From a Toy Doll?
The St. Catharines Museum recently catalogued an artifact that offers a unique perspective to Black History and the legacy of […]
BMH Part 2: Family Legacies – The Nicholson-Smith Family
With Family Day around the corner, we chose to use the second installment of our Black History Month blog series […]
BHM Part 1: Using Our Past to Inspire Us to Compassion and Action
Black History Month is an incredibly important time to recognize, reflect, and commemorate the history of the Black community in St. Catharines, and indeed, throughout Canada. It does not start on February 1, nor stop on February 29.
More over, Black History should never be recognized, reflected, or commemorated as a silo of history. Black History is as important and vital a part of the Canadian story as any other.
I’ve found myself searching for ways to make our history relevant to our current human experience. To be honest, it can be difficult to connect to the past with the news the way it is these days. Things move so fast that it’s hard to figure it all out.
Yet parallels exist. Our community has a strong history of responding to injustice with compassion and action. And so my goal, with this first post in our series of four is to reveal how our history can inspire compassion and action in our daily lives and in our community.
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 4
“I think slavery is the worst and meanest thing to be thought of. It appears to me that God cannot receive into the kingdom of heaven, those who deal in slaves. God made all men – He is no respecter of persons – and it is impossible that he should, on account of my colour, intend that I should be the slave of a man because he is of brighter skin than I am.” – Henry Atkinson, (pp 94).
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 3
“Rents and provisions are dear here, and it takes all I can earn to support myself and my children. I could have one of my children well brought up and taken care of, by some friends in Massachusetts, which would much relieve me, but I cannot have my child go there on account of the laws, which would not protect her. This is a hardship: but had I to struggle much harder than at present, I would prefer it to being a slave. Now I can lie down at night in peace – there I had no peace even at night, on account of my master’s conduct.” – Mrs. Ellis (pp 63-64).
Museum Chat Live! E102
Museum Chat Live! is back with another neat-o episode dedicated to our special Books & Brews series, and our February book selection: The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Kathy, Adrian, and Sara chat about some of the historic and famous myths about the Underground Railroad, and the important role that St. Catharines played in the history and lives of refugee slaves.
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 2
I have seen hundreds of escaped slaves, but I never saw one who was willing to go back and be a slave. I have no opportunity to see my friends in my native land. We would rather stay in our native land, if we could be as free there as we are here. I think slavery is the next thing to hell. If a person would end another into bondage, he would, it appears to me, be bad enough to send him into hell, if he could.
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 1
St. Catharines played an important part in the success of the Underground Railroad. In railroad speak, the city was a destination, or terminal for refugee slaves. Many who made it to Canada settled in the city, which for reasons associated with the success of the Welland Canal, was, by mid-19th century standards, a thriving and bustling city rivaling Hamilton and London in population and industrial activity.
The St. Catharines Orioles
An article on Sportsnet.ca examines the often overlooked history of the St. Catharines Orioles, one of the first hockey teams made […]
Know Your Neighbours – Reverend Richard Amos Ball
On November 30th, 1845, Richard Amos Ball was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, the son of Henry Ball and […]
Black Soldiers in the Great War
So our people, gratefully remembering their obligations in this respect, are most anxious to serve their King and Country in […]
Post Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad is an important part of St. Catharines’ history – but the journey of freedom seekers out of […]
Salem Chapel, BME Church and Zion Baptist Church
Salem Chapel, BME Church During the mid-1800s, a vibrant Black community took root in and around Geneva and North Streets. Harriet […]
Richard Pierpoint
While St. Catharines is well known as a destination for freedom seekers, escaping slavery in the United States through the […]