3 Chapter 3: The Importance of Education for Emancipation Day in Windsor and Kent County
Authors: Emma Bulloch, Trisha Chaisavang, Aidan Nault, Sawyer Thompson-Brown, Maddie Walford
Introduction
Over the decades following the onset of Emancipation in Canada, the ways in which the Black community celebrated began to evolve around addressing relevant issues the Black community was presently facing.[1]One such issue was the topic of education within the Black community. Emancipation Day celebrations within Ontario differed across regions, but many featured lectures and seminars from prominent figures in the Black community.[2] Furthermore, the Kent County Civil rights league used Emancipation Day celebrations to work towards addressing inequity in access to education between Black and White students.[3] Emancipation Day celebrations have a long history of advocating for awareness around education for the black community and this philosophy continues today.
Emancipation Day Celebrations: Speakers
Emancipation Day celebrations often included lectures and seminars on various topics; perhaps one of the most important topics discussed was education.[4] On August 3rd, 1891, the Black community in Chatham, Ontario, concluded their celebrations with speakers including J.C. Richards, R.L. Holden, and Garrison Shadd.[5].[6] As the first speaker, R.L. Holden addressed the success of the Chatham Literary Association, which later helped to form the Kent County Civil Rights League, and the ongoing educational inequities between Black and White students in Chatham County.[7] Like his abolitionist relatives, Garrison Shadd discussed his rejection of Emancipation Day celebrations, claiming that there was still more work to be done.[8] As stated, “Although centuries of oppression and contemporary policy had been imposed to keep his people ignorant, it was their responsibility to educate themselves and assume an aggressive stance.”[9] Education was recognized throughout these celebrations and lectures as the most powerful tool Black people could use to take full advantage of opportunities they were given, and to create a space for themselves within Kent County and Canada as a whole.
The Windsor and Sandwich split
Windsor, Sandwich, and Amherstburg were the main locations that would alternate to celebrate Emancipation Day festivities, as each location were developed near one another in the 1830s and 1840s.[10] Around the sixty-first anniversary of Emancipation celebrations, there was a growing division surrounding the proper ways to run these festivities. These tensions would continue to grow and worsen as many leaders and church ministers began to call for these events to be cancelled.[11] As a result, in 1895 Windsor and Sandwich split off into two separate groups.[12] This would be recorded by the Windsor Evening Record, which would write that when celebrants of emancipation arrived, two lines would be formed, with “ stream turned in the direction of Walker’s rove and the other at the Springs at Sandwich”.[13] In these lines, each stream would apparently regard each other with “some degree of contempt.”[14]
This attitude may be because of the different ways these two groups would celebrate Emancipation differently; with the new group in Windsor choosing to focus more on teaching and lecturing the cultural, economic, and social conditions necessary for the Black community to flourish.[15] While the former group, would continue to celebrate with parties, filled with music, barbeques, and sporting events.[16]15 These differences would further diversify the two groups in Walkers Grove and Mineral Springs, as those in Walkers Grove believed that celebrating like Mineral Springs losses the upkeep of historical memories and knowledge towards future generations and the support of education.[17]
Kent County
An important pillar of equality is the ability to receive the same education as your peers; in 1891, while the desegregation of schools was not a new topic for the time, Emancipation Day in Chatham focused on the formation of the Kent County Civil Rights League (KCCRL) and the desegregation of schools in the town.[18] J. C. Richards was a speaker and a leader of the KCCRL; and he told spectators to not celebrate, but instead to think about the importance of the League for Black advancement and what they were trying to accomplish.[19]
Education would be the main goal of the League as they used funds from the Emancipation Day celebration, as well as fundraising, to finance a campaign to end segregated schools in Chatham.[20] The 1893 Emancipation Day celebrations in Chatham were important because the Kent County Civil Rights League were successful in their campaign to get all public schools in Chatham fully integrated earlier that year.[21] However, the celebrations in Chatham that year were not only festivities, but there were also many speeches centered around the partial victory and the continued fight against discrimination.[22] The importance of the Kent County Civil Rights League cannot be disputed, the League stems from a long line of earlier resistance to White supremacy in Chatham. The League was pivotal in the lengthy battle against the segregation of all the public schools in Chatham as they provided a union of support as well as funds. In Chatham, Emancipation Day has always been considered as an important day to reflect and promote future change; the Kent County Civil Rights League was brought to public attention on Emancipation Day in 1891 to educate those on the problems of discrimination Black people face, and to promote the aspiration to integrate public schools and promote racial equality.
Continued Ideas After Emancipation
As Natasha Henry states, “Emancipation Day is significant in a multifaceted context in Canada.”[23] Emancipation Day was an important time for community connection and served as a time to instill the importance of education in black communities in Canada.[24] Education, knowledge, and awareness were all key elements of Emancipation Day Celebrations and through speeches and dialogue ideas were disseminated amongst the community.[25] In Windsor, Emancipation Day celebrations became increasingly rooted in education and intellect in 1895, when speakers like Mayor Mason “spoke in terms of praise of their advance in education and social growth”.[26]25 The mayor emphasizing the importance of education as a tool for advancement of the Black community. In Kent-County, the 1891 Emancipation Day was centered around organizing a fight against segregated schooling in Chatham led by the newly created Kent County Civil Rights League.[27]
There is a steep tradition between education and Emancipation Day Celebrations. Through the 20th century Emancipation celebrations in Windsor continued to be used to educate and advocate awareness about issues the black community was facing—including the Civil Rights Movement.[28] Many civil right activists attended Windsor’s Emancipation Day including Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.[29] The civil rights movement aimed to achieve equal rights among both black and white citizens and to end discriminatory practices and laws.[30] For black communities in Canada this included the education system.
Through the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century both white and black speakers addressed the crowds of Chatham’s Emancipation Day celebrations.[31] Some white speakers would only address educational and occupational accomplishments and not speak on the injustices facing the black community at the time.[32] While black speakers continued to use the platform to speak about the racism and discrimination they continually faced.[33] Even amongst the tense racial climate, Emancipation Day continued to be a time where black and white citizens gathered to be educated by intellectual conservation.[34]
Emancipation Day continues to be a time of awareness and education with the creation of August as Emancipation month in Ontario. Starting in 2021 Ontario has used August as Emancipation Month, it makes certain that people who are of African descent can get the acknowledgement that is needed; this started as multiple politicians saw its importance and decided to sponsor a bill to make Emancipation Month deemed important.[35] Emancipation month is used to educate and discuss racial equality and its importance. The anti-black prevalence in Ontario’s history is impetus for the month of August becoming emancipation month since August first, 1834, is the date of the enactment of the Slavery Abolition Act.[36] It helps black people all over Ontario know that the province acknowledges the law setting them free centuries ago—-one of the most important laws put into place in the modern day. Emancipation month is used to celebrate the freedom of slaves over a hundred and fifty years later and it educates individuals in Ontario surrounding the hardships that black people have had to go through; most people may have never known what has happened in Canada without Emancipation Month and the education that comes with it.[37]
Conclusion
Emancipation Day provided an opportunity for Black communities to gather, celebrate their day of freedom, discuss the importance of education, and to share ideas on educational opportunities.[38] Education represented an opportunity to grow away from assumptions put on the Black community, and for the Black community to seize opportunities to create a place for themselves in Canada. Although the celebrations of Emancipation Day often differed from region to region— whether it be the separation of Sandwich and Windsor, the goals of the Kent County Civil Rights League or the various ideas that are continually spoken about at future Emancipation Days—-there is a consistent theme of prioritizing education and advocation of issues for the Black community. Today, this tradition of celebration would still be prevalent as the province of Ontario has declared August as emancipation month, which was put into place with a royal assent as of December 9th, 2021.[39] This would help to acknowledge the suffrage of Black Canadians, as it marks a legal change in Canada. With the recognition of slavery, that can still be felt today by descendants, it can begin a healing process through the changes that the government makes to their institutions, which are famously known to be riddled and built upon with systematic racism.
Bibliography
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“Emancipation Day,” The Windsor Evening Record, August 1, 1895. http://ink.ourontario.ca/viewer/cecil/focus/ink/newspapers/wer/reel6/00110-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0.
Henry, Natasha. “Anti-Black Racism in Ontario Schools: A Historical Perspective.” Turner Consulting Group no. 1 (May 2019): 1-5. https://www.turnerconsultinggroup.ca/uploads/2/9/5/6/29562979/policy_brief_-_no_1_may_2019.pdf
Henry, Natasha. Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2010.
Schreiner, M, M Hunter, L Lindo, and A Khanjin. An Act to proclaim the month of August as Emancipation Month Statutes of Ontario: December 9, 2021. https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/node-files/bill/document/pdf/2021/2021-12/b075ra_e.pdf
Shadd, Adrienne. “No “Back Alley Clique”: The Campaign to Desegregate Chatham’s Public Schools, 1891-1893.” Ontario History 99, 1 (Spring, 2007): 77-95. https://doi.org/10.7202/1065798ar.
- Natasha Henry, Emancipation Day: Celebrating Freedom in Canada. Toronto: (Dundurn Press, 2010): 47 ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 44-48 ↵
- Adrienne Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”: The Campaign to Desegregate Chatham’s Public Schools, 1891-1893”, Ontario History 99, no.1 (Spring 2007): 79, https://doi.org/10.7202/1065798ar. ↵
- Natasha Henry, “Anti-Black Racism in Ontario Schools: A Historical Perspective,” Turner Consulting Group, no. 1 (May 2019): 4, https://www.turnerconsultinggroup.ca/uploads/2/9/5/6/29562979/policy_brief_-_no_1_may_2019.pdf ↵
- null ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 78-80. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 79. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 80. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 80. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 46-48 ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 44-48 ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 49. ↵
- “Emancipation Day,” The Windsor Evening Record, August 1, 1895. http://ink.ourontario.ca/viewer/cecil/focus/ink/newspapers/wer/reel6/00110-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0. ↵
- “Emancipation Day,” The Windsor Evening Record, August 1, 1895. http://ink.ourontario.ca/viewer/cecil/focus/ink/newspapers/wer/reel6/00110-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 45 ↵
- “Emancipation Day,” The Windsor Evening Record, August 1, 1895. http://ink.ourontario.ca/viewer/cecil/focus/ink/newspapers/wer/reel6/00110-x0-y0-z1-r0-0-0. ↵
- 16 Henry, Emancipation Day, 45 ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 79. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 63. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”, 81. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 65 ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 65 ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 164. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 165. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 165. ↵
- “Emancipation Day.” The Globe, August 2, 1895. https://www.proquest.com/hnpglobeandmail/docview/1649324046/fulltextPDF/B9579352DD4041BDPQ/1accountid=11233&parentSessionId=YQbSPL%2B5GrJDo4XwHmc4RKZt9Q0t7jV%2BcO4yRWSPSHQ%3D&parentSessionId=aguFZLiYXmeDsSC7C1W5Of8RuJ7zFOJ5ginbmq1xWAE%3D. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 80. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 53. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 53. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 53. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 66. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 66. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 66. ↵
- Henry, Emancipation Day, 66. ↵
- M Schreiner, M Hunter, L Lindo, and A Khanjin, An Act to proclaim the month of August as Emancipation Month (Statutes of Ontario, December 9 2021). https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/node-files/bill/document/pdf/2021/2021-12/b075ra_e.pdf. ↵
- Schreiner, Hunter, Lindo, and Khanjin, The month of August as Emancipation Month. (Statutes of Ontario, December 9 2021). https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/node-files/bill/document/pdf/2021/2021-12/b075ra_e.pdf. ↵
- Schreiner, Hunter, Lindo, and Khanjin, The month of August as Emancipation Month. (Statutes of Ontario, December 9 2021). https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/node-files/bill/document/pdf/2021/2021-12/b075ra_e.pdf. ↵
- Shadd, “No “Back Alley Clique”,” 79 ↵
- Schreiner, Hunter, Lindo, and Khanjin, The month of August as Emancipation Month. (Statutes of Ontario, December 9 2021). https://www.ola.org/sites/default/files/node-files/bill/document/pdf/2021/2021-12/b075ra_e.pdf. ↵