Upcoming Black History in Ontario Events
2018 is shaping up as an exciting year for Black History events in the region. We thought we'd share several upcoming events, a couple of which have some interesting archaeological connections.
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center Grand Opening
When: May 4 - May 12, 2018
Where: 825 Depot Avenue West, Niagara Falls, New York 14305
On Sunday, May 6, 2018, archaeologist, historian and award-winning author Karolyn Smardz-Frost will be speaking about her recent research on the Cataract Hotel and its connections to the story-line of her new book Steal Away Home, a biography of Cecelia Reynolds. The Cataract Hotel was an important stop on the Underground Railroad and where Cecelia and many other freedom-seekers made their way to Canada. In 2015, Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants excavated the house of Cecelia and her husband Benjamin Holmes. That work is also featured in Steal Away Home.
Chatham Kent Black History Symposium
When: Saturday May 5, 2018
Where: W.I.S.H. Centre - 177 King St E, Chatham (pre-purchased tickets only)
The Ward Uncovered - Book Release
When: Shipping May 31, 2018 - pre-orders available now
Abstract: An archaeological dig uncovers the secret history of Toronto's long-forgotten first immigrant neighbourhood. In early 2015, a team of archaeologists began digging test trenches on a non-descript parking lot next to Toronto City Hall -- a site designated to become a major new court house. What they discovered was the rich buried history of an enclave that was part of The Ward -- that dense, poor, but vibrant 'arrival city' that took shape between the 1840s and the 1950s. Home to waves of immigrants and refugees -- Irish, African-Americans, Italians, eastern European Jews, and Chinese -- The Ward was stigmatized for decades by Toronto's politicians and residents, and eventually razed to make way for New City Hall. The archaeologists who excavated the lot, led by co-editor Holly Martelle, discovered almost half a million artifacts -- a spectacular collection of household items, tools, toys, shoes, musical instruments, bottles, industrial objects, food scraps, luxury items, and even a pre-contact Indigenous projectile point. Martelle's team also unearthed the foundations of a nineteenth-century Black church, a Russian synagogue, early-twentieth-century factories, cisterns, privies, wooden drains, and even row houses built by formerly enslaved African Americans. Following on the heels of the immensely popular The Ward: The Life and Loss of Toronto's First Immigrant Neighbourhood, which told the stories of some of the people who lived there, The Ward Uncovered digs up the tales of things, using these well-preserved artifacts to tell a different set of stories about life in this long-forgotten and much-maligned neighbourhood. Contributors include Abbey Flower, Sarah Hood, Ron Williamson, David Robertson, Cheryl Thompson, Peter Popkin, Arlene Chan, Karolyn Smardz Frost, Simon Rogers, Liz Driver, Vid Ingelvics, Bethany Good, Tatum Taylor, John Lorinc, Bethany Good, Kathy Grant, Guylaine Petrin, Craig Heron, Tom Porawski, Wayne Reeves, Wenh-In Ng, Ellen Scheinberg, Nicole Brandon, Rosemary Sadlier, Matt Beaudoin, Natasha Henry, Gordon Chong, Michael McClelland and Heather Murray.
Ontario Archaeological Society 2018 Symposium - Connections and Pathways through the Past
When: November 9 - 11, 2018
Where: Chatham-Kent John D. Bradley Convention Center, Chatham, Ontario
Theme: The conference will explore the theme of “Connections and Pathways through the Past.” Come and explore the historic “Forks” of the Thames River and MacGregor Creek, a meeting place for Indigenous people, War of 1812 battle site, connection point on the Underground Railroad and mecca of early Black settlement.
