During the Siege of Québec, William Brown made Joe stand watch for him.
When Joe tried to escape, Brown posted ads like this one. Jailed six times and flogged twice, Joe never stopped fighting for his freedom.
William Brown enslaved Joe in Canada.
"Slave owning was widespread... People who enslaved Black persons included government and military officials, disbanded soldiers, Loyalists, merchants, fur traders, tavern and hotel keepers, millers, tradesmen, bishops, priests and nuns." thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bla…
August 1 is Emancipation Day back in Canada. On this day 187 years ago, the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect.
But racism, discrimination, and intolerance remained. It remains still.
He left Virginia to study in Canada and stood with the Black Battalion during the First World War.
He thought their sacrifices would improve the fortunes of Blacks at home. But they returned to face the same discrimination.
Remember Rev. Capt. William White.
He was 59 at Vimy Ridge when he single-handedly forced the surrender of an enemy position.
But the Canadian military denied him the Distinguished Conduct Medal. They recognized his bravery 60 years after he died. 60 years after he died.
Remember Private Jeremiah Jones.
After leaving New Orleans to study in Québec, he served in France during the First World War.
He helped establish a legion for Black veterans because they were not welcome at other legions. They were not welcome at other legions.
See Dr. Dominique Gaspard.
He left a laundry in Harlem to stare down racism in the Air Force in Canada.
He reported it, but they turned a blind eye. He overcame their blind eyes. Member of Parliament. Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Please remember Lincoln Alexander.
“No, sorry, we don’t take you people.”
It's World War II. You're willing to risk everything for your country. How would you feel? What would you say? What would you do?
He kept going back until he found an ally. Veteran. Lawyer. Politician.
See Leonard Braithwaite.
Conscripted into the Canadian Army, he was bothered that Canada was fighting for democracy, but not treating all Canadians equally, including those pressed into uniform.
He served, returned, and devoted his life to fighting racism.
Remember Stanley Grizzle.
@kathylvorg How do you feel when you're singled out? What do you say when they other you?
Course mate: “How do you feel being the only Black guy in the school?"
Him: "As good as any and better than most!"
Remember Major Stephen Blizzard.
@kathylvorg She emigrated to Canada from Jamaica when she was 17. She tried to join, but they said she didn't have military potential. She persisted.
“The greatest challenge I encountered as a military member was a lack of peer support." A lack of peer support.
Tom Longboat was a champion runner, winner of the 1907 Boston Marathon.
And yet, at the 1908 Olympics, people called him lazy. They said he didn’t have the right attitude.
Sound familiar?
Cogwagee was born in the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1886.
As a child, he worked the land with his family, he played lacrosse, and he ran.
He loved to run. Running was everything.
When he was 12, Canada took him from his family and forcibly enrolled him in the Mohawk Institute Residential School.
At this prison they called school, priests and nuns forced Indigenous children from their language, their beliefs and customs. They abused the children.
Canada tried to take everything at the place they called Shubenacadie Residential School.
Unlike thousands of other children in those places, Noel Knockwood survived.
CW/TW: residential schools
National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
At that place, the adults called the children by number, not their names. The kids were punished for speaking their own language. He never forgot the crying at night.
They hit Noel Knockwood when he couldn’t pronounce an English word.
He was born into slavery. Free after the Civil War, he headed north to Canada.
In Alberta, he faced more racism. He heard the names, the slurs. He paid almost twice as much for his land as his white neighbors. Still, he forged himself into a legend.
Remember John Ware.
He developed new agricultural techniques. He walked across the backs of cattle. He rode the wildest horses and wrestled steers.
He confronted a racist bartender in Calgary by tossing him over the bar. He served the drinks himself.
Cowboy. Legend. John Ware.
Years after he died, his sons travelled from Calgary to Nova Scotia, crossed the country, to join the Black Battalion during the war.
Their father overcame racism to build a life for them. They overcame Canada’s racism to fight for Canada.