Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride Celebrates Milestone

 By Neil Armstrong

The 10th anniversary of the Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride started at Union Station and ended at Downsview Park Station

Anticipation was high at the 10th anniversary of the Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride as many gathered at Union Station, Canada’s busiest transportation hub and a national historic site, on the eve of August 1 — Emancipation Day — to commemorate the momentous event that took place on August 1, 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act was enacted. Monday night’s journey ended at Downsview Park where everyone disembarked and continued the celebration — a night of music and legacy — outside the station.

 

Standing on the steps of the Brookfield Place entrance to Union, the Verity Community Choir kicked off the night themed “Planting Seeds Beyond Emancipation” with rousing gospel songs that were followed by a brass band of three musicians, the symbolic sharing of packets of seeds by Indigenous elder Catherine Tammaro and Anan Xola Lololi, co-founder of the Afri-Can FoodBasket (AFB), and a welcome message from Itah Sadu, managing director of Blackhurst Cultural Centre, Mayor Olivia Chow, TTC CEO Rick Leary, and Barbara Thomas, this year’s symbolic conductor of the Underground Freedom Train Ride. 

 

The mayor said freedom is incomplete in Canada and there are still people, including Black, who are not free from poverty, hunger and racism. “But with the spirit of community, strength, love, and hope we can conquer anything.”

 

Thomas was a nursing administration coordinator at the Toronto Western Hospital for 55 years, a former board director of the Jamaican Canadian Association, and her record of volunteerism spans over 50 years. She implored everyone to care for each other including the African refugee claimants that were living outside 129 Peter Street in Toronto. Thomas ended her speech with the words Marcus Garvey delivered in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in 1937 and that were made popular by Roberta Nesta Marley, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.”

Barbara Thomas, right, conductor of the Underground Freedom Train Ride, and friend Hyacinth Wilson, both longtime members of the Jamaican Canadian Association

 

“The Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride is symbolic of the role of the Underground Railroad within Canada’s history. 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,” said Itah Sadu.

 

The Toronto Freedom Train 2023 Community Resilience Award was presented to Kathy Grant for her work persevering, documenting, and curating local Black history. She is the founder of   Legacy Voices, an organization dedicated to the histories of Black Canadian war veterans. 

 

“During this 2023 season of Emancipation, it is important to give thanks to Mother Earth for nurturing us, to thank the ancestors who came before and prepared fertile ground,” said Itah Sadu about the theme of the night. “Finally, to ask the question, what seeds will Canadians plant going forward, and how soon can they break soil and cultivate?”

 

 

As the night progressed, everyone was advised to follow the instructions of observing a quiet moment of reflection as they entered the subway train on the lower level in remembrance of their forebears.

 

Aboard the train there were more performances and speeches: Randell Adjei, Poet Laureate of Ontario, read a poem, the Freedom Singers sang, Itah Sadu welcomed everyone and as the clock struck midnight, Emancipation Day was declared. There was a voice that came over the intercom system that many thought was a recorded message, however it was live. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was there in person and after sharing his message regarding the significance of the event and Emancipation Day, he walked through the train and was greeted by many who took selfies with their phones. 

 

The songs included: “This Little Light of Mine,” “Rivers of Babylon,” Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” “Redemption Song,” “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” “The Gospel Train A’Coming,” “Give Me Oil in My Lamp,” and “There is a Meeting Here Tonight.” The Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” was sung at the gathering at Downsview Park station and there were more speeches, performances and singing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the 10th anniversary of the Underground Freedom Train Ride

 

A day later, on August 1, the prime minister issued this message about Emancipation Day:

 

“Today, on Emancipation Day, we come together to acknowledge the painful history of slavery in Canada and other parts of the world, and to recommit ourselves to building a more just, inclusive, and equal society for all.

 

“On August 1, 1834, the Slavery Abolition Act took effect and laid a pathway to the liberation of over 800,000 enslaved Africans in Canada, the Caribbean, South America, and South Africa. Since then, people around the world have gathered on Emancipation Day to recognize the incredible courage, determination, and resilience of Black communities who fought for their freedom and for justice.

 

“The legacy of slavery still endures today in the form of intergenerational trauma and anti-Black racism and hate. To address lasting inequalities and build a better Canada for future generations, the federal government is working to renew Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy and create the first-ever National Action Plan on Combatting Hate. These build on concrete actions that are already making a real difference, like the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative, which helps build capacity for Black-led organizations. And through the themes highlighted in the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent, which Canada recognized in 2018, we will keep building a country where everyone – no matter their race, religion, or ethnicity – can thrive.

 

“On Emancipation Day, we recognize and celebrate the remarkable contributions that people of African descent, and all those who were subjected to slavery or suffered from its enduring impacts, have made to Canada. From science, business and law, to sport, art and entertainment, Black communities have and continue to make significant contributions to the fabric of our country. I encourage everyone to reflect on the history of slavery and anti-Black racism in Canada and its intergenerational impacts on people of African descent. Together, we can – and we will – build a better future for all.”

Mayor Olivia Chow speaking at Union Station at the start of Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride

Kathy Grant, founder of Legacy Voices, who was the recipient of the Toronto Freedom Train 2023 Community Resilience Award

Amber and Jean Augustine aboard the train

The brass band performing at Union Station

 

Over its 10-year history, the Emancipation Day Underground Freedom Train Ride had the following conductors: Emily Wickham, Amy Nelson, Beverley Salmon, Jean Augustine, Rita Cox, Tiki Mercury, honorary conductor Senator Wanda Bernard,

Zanana Akande, Aunt Dolly, and Lynn jones.

 

The annual event is presented by Blackhurst Cultural Centre (BCC), in partnership with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), Government of Canada, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), African Canadian Heritage Association (ACHA), Zero Gun Violence Movement, the baro dununba drumming group, and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Photo credit: Stephen Weir    From left Michael Lashley, Itah Sadu, BMO Stanley Julien also Board member BCC and Renee Lantaigne BMO

Blackhurst Cultural Centre held an Emancipation Walk along Bloor Street West on August 1 and hosted at event at which BMO announced a $750,000 donation to the Centre. As the lead partner of Blackhurst’s capital campaign, the donation will support construction of a new Cultural Centre celebrating and preserving Black history in Toronto’s Mirvish Village.

 

The donation also supports an operating and endowment fund to help the Centre deliver outreach programs such as youth arts programs and a business e-course in partnership with the Schulich School of Business.

 

“This new Centre will help support financial progress, racial equity, and inclusion for Black customers, colleagues, and the community,” said Stanley Julien, head of Special Accounts Management Unit, BMO. “Our purpose, to boldly grow the good in business and life, inspires our Zero Barriers to Inclusion strategy that’s breaking down systemic barriers and enabling access to opportunities for all. We are excited for the benefits this Centre, and its programs, will bring for our community.”

 

Itah Sadu, the managing director of Blackhurst Cultural Centre, said the Centre was proud to have BMO as a partner in this new anthropological model of development. “Blackhurst welcomes the community, government, and the corporate sector to lay a foundation for a permanent and sustainable cultural infrastructure in the historic Bloor and Bathurst neighbourhood. The ancestors who came through the Underground Railroad and settled in this neighbourhood must be cheering this new Canadian chapter.”

 

For over 25 years, Blackhurst has operated as a Black-owned bookstore, A Different Booklist. In 2025, the Centre will move into one of the 24 conserved heritage buildings in the revitalized Mirvish Village, expanding to four floors to house the bookstore, Cultural Centre programming, and a drumming studio. Blackhurst has dedicated space to showcase revolving community-based vendors, artisans, and leading voices, all curated to engage with the community for learning, sharing, and celebrating the proud stories of African and Caribbean Canadians, notes a media release from BMO.