How a Brantford, Ont., group uncovered history of 'trailblazing' Black woman who attended university in 1885
After attending high school in Brantford in the 1880s, Williams became the first Black woman to attend the University of Toronto with the same privileges, including attending the same lectures, as white students, said Amanda Mersereau, director of Unite Against Hate, an anti-racism community group.
"In the late 1800s, this was unheard of," said Mersereau in an interview. "This is a trailblazing individual."
Now that accomplishment is being recognized by the City of Brantford and Grand Erie District School Board (GEDSB), which will name a new community centre, park and school after Williams.
Mersereau said the decision is a "step in the right direction."
"We're continuing her legacy and shining a light where it wasn't being shone," Mersereau said.
Unite Against Hate member Angel Panag nominated Williams in a public naming processes.
When the city and GEDSB learned what United Against Hate had uncovered, they decided to act.
"With education as the path to transformation, Blanche Williams interrupted racial barriers and showed us what's possible," said Liana Thomposn, a GEDSB superintendent in an April news release.
"Naming our school after her is a celebration not only of her groundbreaking achievements, but her story inspires all of us to be courageous, strong and to persevere to achieve our dreams."
'I feel proud of her'
Mersereau co-founded Unite Against Hate in 2020, promoting Brantford's Black-owned businesses and then highlighting Black history in the city and developing anti-racism education.
Local historian Sarah Clarke joined the effort to find and make Black history more accessible. When digging through newspaper archives, she came across an 1885 Globe and Mail story about Williams.
"Miss Blanche Williams, of Brantford, will have every right which her acquirements and Canadian citizenship fully entitle her to claim," said the article.
"The only other [Black ladies] of our provincial university were two sisters ... but were not allowed by regulations then in force to attend lectures," said the newspaper, including that the sisters were from Chatham, Ont., and had the last name Jones.
It's unclear why Williams was allowed to attend lectures when the sisters weren't a few years before.
Clarke looked through census records, directories, historic maps, baptismal logs and archives from the University of Toronto to find out more about Williams. She also found an article about Williams's accomplishment in the the Huntsville Gazette in Alabama.
Before attending the University of Toronto, Williams graduated from what's now called the Brantford College Institute and Vocational School in Brantford. She attended First Baptist Church with her parents Charles and Josephine and was baptized there in 1870.
Her father worked as a barber at what was then a Brantford landmark, the Kerby House Hotel. In 1886, he and his wife moved to Toronto and he worked at the Palmer House hotel that was located at the corner of York and King streets.
That year, at university, Williams passed math, history, geography, classics and English.
"She did quite well, especially considering all the prejudice she must have faced during that time," said Mersereau.
"I feel proud of her. I feel like we know her."
The group doesn't know what happened to the Williams family after 1886 and hasn't found any photographs of them, or descendents, but they hope as word spreads about her, other historians will join the effort.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
44 minutes ago
- CBC
This woman's Depression Era Garden is full of plants you've probably never heard of
Take a tour of this woman's 'depression era' garden 2 hours ago Duration 2:08 Social Sharing In a small London, Ont., neighbourhood garden, some veggies from a bygone era are growing, and the woman who planted them hopes they can make a comeback to help with food insecurity. Nestled in the centre of the Blackfriars Community Garden, Anne Marie Allen's plot is marked with a large sign that says, "Depression Era Garden." Allen grew up on a farm north of the city, growing and canning food. Now retired as a minister, she started researching that crops were grown at a time when many Canadians went hungry. "A lot of people think the Depression started when the stock market crashed, but it actually started during the war with severe food shortages," she said. During the First World War, shelves were bare as much of the food went to the war effort, Allen explained. She learned many people had to grow their own food to make ends meet, but some of the plants were not what you would find in stores today. Leafy greens, like Good-King-Henry, were common, according to Allen. It has a tough texture, but can be harvested all winter long. Perennial root vegetables like earth chestnuts and skirrets were also popular, she said, and very easy to preserve. The sweetness of skirrets, which has a starchy root, also made them a nice treat when sugar was hard to find. Allen planted all of these and more in her garden this past spring, and made little signs to explain the potential uses for each one. When choosing what to plant, flavour was never a consideration, she said. In keeping with the Depression theme. The most important thing was how long she could store them. "This stores fresh for eight months," she said, showing off a Danish Ballhead cabbage. "And it's one of the biggest cabbages to grow." Since these vegetables are so uncommon today, Allen ordered all the seeds from Small Island Seed Co. on Vancouver Island, a small business specializing in rare, cold-hardy perennial crops. It's hard to explain why these crops have gone out of style, said Richard Kuehnel, Small Island Seed's owner. Skirret, which is similar to a carrot but grows in large bunches, even tastes a bit like a marshmallow, he said. "It's delicious and it's easy to grow. Once you've got it, it's actually hard to kill." Skirret may have disappeared in Canada because it's not a very profitable crop when using modern farm equipment, Kuehnel said. As the roots are made up of many small tubers, it's difficult to harvest and clean unless doing it by hand. With information readily available online, however, Kuehnel believes these old-time perennial crops are becoming more well known. "I find that more people are growing these things than ever, and that's a really cool thing to see." As for Allen's garden, she's looking forward to the end of summer when she can harvest her new vegetables. She said she hasn't tried most of them and it's excited to taste the skirrets more than anything. For now, she'll keep tending her little garden plot and encouraging others in the community to do the same. "I'm hoping that more people will go, 'That's interesting, I want to try that.'"
CTV News
12 hours ago
- CTV News
Advocate calls for better rail safety on 12th anniversary of Lac-Mégantic disaster
Smoke rises from railway cars that were carrying crude oil after derailing in downtown Lac-Mégantic, Que., Saturday, July 6, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson MONTREAL — As citizens of Lac-Mégantic, Que., marked the 12th anniversary of a rail disaster that killed 47 people when a runaway train derailed and smashed into downtown, an advocate warned that more needs to be done to ensure rail safety. On Sunday, the town lowered flags to half-mast, laid flowers and organized a moment of silence to commemorate the July 6, 2013, tragedy. Officials also asked that the rail company not run trains through the area out of respect for the victims. But spokesman for a citizens' rail safety group believes not enough has been done to ensure the town's some 6,000 residents are safe from future disasters. Robert Bellefleur says trains have become longer and heavier, while a long-promised bypass to divert them from the city's core has not been built. 'Before, trains were about 80 wagons long on are now more than 200 wagons, are more than 15,000 feet long with big locomotives that often weigh more than 150 tonnes,' said Bellefleur, who is a spokesman for a group of citizens who are working ensure better rail safety in Lac-Mégantic These 'monster' trains are travelling on rails lines built between 1880 and 1920 'for trains that were much lighter and much smaller,' Bellefleur said. He believes trains are more dangerous now than at the start of the 2000s, and 'it's not just Lac-Mégantic that's at risk.' In recent months, he said citizens have noticed wear and erosion around railway culverts near the town's entrance, which is 'nothing to reassure citizens,' Bellefleur said. The Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway sent workers to the site, he said. In a statement, CPKC said the tracks are in good shape and well-maintained. 'The rail line running through Lac-Mégantic is safe for rail operations, as confirmed by numerous regular inspections, including one carried out on Saturday,' said company spokesperson André Hannoush in an email. The 2013 derailment and fire destroyed much of the downtown core, forced about 2,000 people to evacuate their homes and spilled some six million litres of crude oil into the environment. The disaster happened when the brakes failed on a train parked in nearby Nantes and it barrelled down a slope and exploded in the heart of town. In 2018, the federal and provincial governments committed to joint funding for a rail bypass to send trains around Lac-Mégantic's downtown. While land expropriations took place in 2023, the Canadian Transportation Agency has yet to greenlight construction and has requested additional information on the project's environmental impacts. Some citizens in Lac-Mégantic and neighbouring communities have also become opposed to the bypass, citing concern with the route, cost and potential damage to wetlands and water supplies. Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland issued a statement on Sunday marking the anniversary, and saluting the courage of 'an entire community that, year after year, continues to rebuild itself with dignity and resilience.' She said the bypass was one of her priorities, and promised to work with the communities until it's completed. Bellefleur, for his part, said Freeland is the sixth federal transport minister to make such promises. 'In that time, the years go by,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025. Audrey Sanikopoulos and Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
CTV News
14 hours ago
- CTV News
Nearly a dozen displaced after fire tears through homes in Ottawa's Glebe neighbourhood
Ottawa firefighters were called to a three-alarm fire that damaged several homes and left nearly a dozen residents displaced in the Glebe neighbourhood Saturday evening. In a news release, the Ottawa Fire Services say multiple 911 callers reported visible smoke and flames impacting a single-family home in the 100 block of Fourth Avenue near Lyon Street at approximately 10:37 p.m. On scene, firefighters found four semi-detached homes, a large tree, a garage with a vehicle and multiple outside decks on fire. Firefighters dispatched additional resources to the scene and began an 'aggressive fire attack.' A second and third alarm was quickly called in due to the scale of the incident. Crews had to deal with several hazards, including live hydro lines. 'Crews worked tirelessly during fire operations, pulling down ceilings, cutting holes in roofs, and opening up walls to ensure all hidden fire was fully extinguished,' the fire service said. Glebe fire A resident's backyard after a fire in Ottawa's Glebe neighbourhood that damaged several homes Saturday evening. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa) Glebe fire A fire caused damage to several homes in Ottawa's Glebe neighbourhood on July 5, 2025. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa) Searches of the homes confirmed there were no residents trapped inside. The Ottawa Paramedic Service says it had multiple first responders sent to the area. A woman in her 60s was transported to hospital by ambulance in stable condition, paramedics say. The fire was declared under control at about 11:10 p.m. Victim Services was called in to aid eight adults and two children who will be displaced from the fire. Ottawa Fire Services public information officer Nick Defazio says crews arrived within two minutes after being dispatched, preventing the flames from spreading further. 'This was a really serious fire that could have spread really quickly throughout that street, but firefighters did an excellent job at containing it.' he said. 'The houses are in close proximity, so when the fire starts spreading, it can jump from one house to another very quickly.' Defazio says the fire appears to have started inside a garage but is still working to confirm the cause. No foul play is suspected, he said. Neighbour describes 'shocking' blaze Lisa Love-Tedjoutomo, who's home suffered minor damage in the fire, recalls seeing the glow of the flames from outside her back window before evacuating. 'I lift the blind, and I see, like it was immediate shock. It was a fire. It was gigantic,' she said. She says neighbours began knocking on doors telling them to get out. She grabbed her dogs and car keys before driving down the road to safety. 'It was just so shocking,' she said. 'I think if the fire department hadn't showed up within minutes, our backyard would have been destroyed. We have a little damage, but we were allowed to go back in our house. But our neighbors weren't so fortunate.' A quick response and a fast attack prevented a rapidly spreading fire from causing even more extensive damage in the Glebe last night. At approximately 22:37, the Ottawa Fire Services Communications Division received multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting visible smoke and flames in… — Ottawa Fire Services (@OttFire) July 6, 2025 Love-Tedjoutomo says her neighbours are still processing the damage that was caused and is thankful for the first responders who aided evacuated neighbours. 'They're doing okay,' she said. 'I think it's mostly just processing it. I think that's kind of where we're at – processing it.' With files from CTV News Ottawa's Natalie van Rooy
