Toronto's Underground Railroad Connection Celebrated

Beyond the month of February, it is not often that Torontonians have a public opportunity to celebrate their city’s black legacy. But they’ll get one this weekend at the 15th annual Marcus Garvey Celebrations. The celebrations, which honour the iconic Jamaican American revolutionary, will this year also pay tribute to Torontonians Lucie and Thornton Blackburn in commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in Ontario.

The Blackburns were African American slaves who arrived to Toronto in 1834, having fled Kentucky via the Underground Railroad. Arriving with little, they quickly became respected citizens and leaders in the community, introducing the first horse-drawn carriage taxi service to the city, helping build the Little Trinity Anglican Church, and working actively for Abolition.

The free, two-day celebration, presented by The African Culture Restoration Association (ACRA) in association with Old Town Toronto Alliance (OTTA), kicks off at 4 p.m. today at 19 Sackville Street, the historic site where the Blackburns once lived. (The Blackburns’s home has long since been demolished; the property is currently occupied by the Inglenook Community School pictured above.) Much of the festival’s Friday program is dedicated to honouring the Blackburns: the opening ceremony from 4–6 p.m. includes a drum salute, solidarity messages, a wreath-laying, and a birthday cake in honour of the couple. Other highlights today include speakers Dr. Karolyn Smardz Frost (author of I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land, a book on the Blackburns) and award-winning poet Afua Cooper.

Saturday’s celebrations are also worth a look-see. The party runs from 12–10 p.m. in the Distillery District, and includes a marketplace and food court with African, Caribbean and Canadian delights. It also features an impressive lineup of over twenty local and international performers including Jamaican bands Ethiopian African Black International Congress and Malachi, Ghana's Kwesi Selassie, and Sierra Leone's Unblind.

Photo by Alexandra Samur.