Emancipation Day ‘Underground Freedom Train’ Ride’s Conductor is Enthusiastic

By Neil Armstrong

Photo contributed        Barbara Thomas will be the conductor of the 2023 Emancipation Day 'Underground Freedom Train' Ride in Toronto on July 31

Barbara Thomas, a retired nursing administration coordinator at the Toronto Western Hospital for 55 years, is the conductor of the Emancipation Day ‘Underground Freedom Train’ Ride, marking its tenth anniversary on July 31 under the theme “Planting Seeds Beyond Emancipation.”

She is a former board director of the Jamaican Canadian Association and her record of volunteerism spans over 50 years.

“It’s a great honour to have been selected as the conductor. It’s a very meaningful and powerful representation of not only the Black community but also the Indigenous community and all who were impacted by slavery.”

Thomas, who is from Bullocks, Clarendon, pursued post-secondary studies at Kingston Public Hospital School of Nursing (General Nursing) and Victoria Jubilee Hospital (Obstetrics Nursing) before immigrating to Canada in 1968. While living in Jamaica, she worked as a registered nurse at the Kingston Public Hospital and as an acting head nurse in the Paediatric Emergency Department at Spanish Town Hospital. She also worked at the Exchange Visitor Program and was an acting head nurse, Labour and Delivery, at Cook County School of Nursing in Chicago.

One week after arriving in Toronto in May 1968, Thomas landed a job as a registered nurse at Toronto Western Hospital where she was also held the position of assistant head nurse and eventually worked as a casual employee.

The former vice-president and chair of the fundraising and membership committees of the Jamaican Canadian Association is the recipient of certificates and awards from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture for her many years of community service.

Since 2013, the annual train ride celebration and milestone has evoked the deep history and triumph of the human spirit. The Emancipation Day ‘Underground Freedom Train’ Ride begins on July 31 and ends early on August 1 with over 1,000 people on board.

Since the inception of the event, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has partnered with the Blackhurst Cultural Centre (formerly A Different Booklist Cultural Centre) to provide an actual underground experience via its subway system. This is a very emotional song-filled train ride and is open to all Canadians for the price of a token. 

"The Emancipation Day 'Underground Freedom Train' Ride is symbolic of the role of the Underground Railroad within Canada's history," says Itah Sadu, one of the founders of the event. "This train ride is a recognition of the historic date of Emancipation Day on August 1st when slavery was abolished in the British Empire. It is also a celebration of the power and potential of the peoples of African descent."

Formerly enslaved people in the United States undertook an incredible and dangerous journey in their migration to Canada, and this symbolic train ride helps keep history alive by connecting the past to the present and ultimately linking to the future.

The journey begins at Union Station in downtown Toronto. It all starts at 10: 30 p.m. inside Union Station with choirs, drumming, brass music, and greetings from the TTC and City officials.  The train will be boarded at 11:40 p.m. and travels along the TTC subway line to Downsview Park Station, where there will be music, readings, and special guests just outside of the station. 

Also attending will be Kathy Grant, the recipient of the 2023 Emancipation Award for preserving, documenting, and curating local Black history in the city. She is also

the recipient of the 2023 Mary Matilda Winslow Award for advocacy in public education presented by the Ontario Black History Society earlier this year. Grant is the founder of Legacy Voices, an organization dedicated to the histories of Black Canadian war veterans.

Over the past years, the Emancipation Ride has planted seeds of hope and inspiration through its symbolism. This is evidenced in the attendance of all Canadians to the ride, its innovation, and the positive relationship shared with the TTC and community organizations as event collaborators.

"During this 2023 season of Emancipation," says Sadu, "it is important to give thanks to Mother Earth for nurturing us, to thank the ancestors who came before and prepared fertile ground. Finally, to ask the question, what new seeds will Canadians plant going forward, and how soon can they break soil and cultivate?” Passengers will be given a package of organic corn seeds during the event to take home. 

Some photographs from the 2019 Underground Freedom Train Ride

 Celebration of Emancipation Continues on August 1 along Bloor Street 

Blackhurst Cultural Centre continues the commemoration of Emancipation Day on August 1 along Bloor Street from Bathurst to Christie Pits Park, from 12.30 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.  The public is invited to join this Emancipation walk in recognition of the National Emancipation Day. Participants will gather outside the Randolph Theatre, located at 736 Bathurst Street, and are asked to wear white and come with wrapped heads.

Joining this year’s Emancipation on Bloor is BMO, to celebrate Emancipation and make a joint-announcement with the Blackhurst Cultural Centre. The announcement will take place at Blackhurst Cultural Centre, 777 Bathurst Street, at 12.00 p.m., followed by the Emancipation Walk at 12.30 p.m. 

Emancipation on Bloor is an animation of Bloor Street. The animation takes place at key intersections on Bloor from Avenue Rd. to Christie Pits Park with a number of artistic expressions and music.  Emancipation on Bloor commemorates an important milestone for descendants of enslaved Africans marking the abolition of slavery and honours the many contributions and resilience of African peoples throughout the diaspora.