How many places can you visit and see the reminders of Black history in Toronto? I am fascinated by public history in outdoor spaces – the stories that surround us in the places we pass everyday such as plaques, buildings and statues. So much of the public history in Toronto follows the 'great man' arc. Make that the great white man. Finding the Black history is a counter-story to this arc.
History is not frozen in what happened in the past. How we see that past, and who and what are important there, reflects who has power now. In other words the past is socially constructed. The outdoor historical plaques that I love to read tell only one version of history. That version emphasizes the settlers in Canada, and typically tell stories of their arrival, and their triumph in taming the so-called wilderness. The ancient Indigenous history, and their continuous presence, is erased from these plaques. Ditto for Black history. The dominance of the white stories in these plaques reflects the white dominance in society, and reinforces the values of that culture.
Things change, so too does the focus and interpretations of history. Black history has moved from the footnotes and the endnotes of dominant history to become a topic in its own right. Black History Month played a crucial role in this shift. The next step is having more of the Black and Indigenous history on the official bronze plaques in the city. Seeing our stories tell us that we matter.
Below are 10 places linked to Black history in Toronto. There are many more.
1. 660 and 662 Broadview Avenue. These mansions were the homes of William Peyton Hubbard, the first Black deputy mayor of Toronto in the early 1900s, and his son Frederick Hubbard the first Black manager of the TTC. The historic plaques commemorate them.
2. Corktown Commons. There are 41 bronze plaques to all the nations that took part in 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. The plaques include those to the Caribbean countries.
3. Fort York. Black troops were stationed here, they fought for Canada in the War of 1812 against the USA invasion. They fought for freedom.
4. Maple Leaf Gardens. Many Black musicians played to pack audiences here including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Jimi Hendrix, The Jackson 5 and The Ronettes.
5. Necropolis Cemetery. The famous Black people buried here include Thornton and Lucie Blackburn who started the first taxi company in the city in 1837, and Albert Jackson the first Black postman in the city.
6. Old City Hall. William Peyton Hubbard walked these halls in 1890-1910, he was the first Black deputy mayor of Toronto.
7. Osgoode Hall. Many law cases were held here on the legality of slavery in Canada.
8. Reggae Lane. This alley off Eglinton Avenue East, celebrates when the area, known as Little Jamaica, was a Black community hub in the 1970s-1990s.
9. Spadina House. Mrs. Pipkin worked there as a laundress in the 1870s. She escaped slavery in USA.
10. Union Station. Up to the 1960s hundreds of Black porters who worked on the railways came through here every day. They formed the Black union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, to fight for their rights.
© Jacqueline L. Scott. You can support the blog here.
Image: DisMantle art show at Spadina House Museum
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