Latest news with #AmherstburgFreedomMuseum
CBC
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Black history story turned 'spy thriller' takes the stage as play penned by Windsor, Ont., author
Windsor, Ont. author Carlos Anthony was not planning to write his first theatrical play last year, much less play the lead role. But weeks away from The Price of Freedom premiering, he's balancing both. The homegrown play tells a localized Black history epic remade into a spy thriller, and has already sold out its school showing. More than 400 students and faculty from the Catholic and public boards are on a wait list. The story focuses on John Anderson, a man who escaped slavery in Missouri in September 1853. He evaded capture after stabbing a slave owner who tried to recapture him on his journey north to Windsor seeking freedom. It was that narrative that gave Anthony fresh inspiration for his first theatrical play. "I knew this was a story that I had to tell and I wanted to tell it like a spy thriller, rather than the traditional triggering, traumatic underground railroad story," said Anthony. "[We introduce] secret societies, I jump off of boats and trains, we have like four fight scenes. It's not going to be typical." Lead actor Carlos Anthony (left) wrestles with a castmate in rehearsal for one of the play's several fight scenes. (Photo provided by Arts Collective Theatre) Arts Collective Theatre (ACT) first approached Anthony about the project last year, as a part of their 'ACT Co-lab' initiative, this year partnering with the Amherstburg Freedom Museum to mark the local Black history museum's 50th anniversary. "[The museum] approached us, asking if we could do something, a ten or fifteen minute production," says director Chris Rabideau. "In that moment I realized where we would go next. Not a ten minute production, but a fully realized show. [Let's] go to the museum, look at what's happening and what stories need to be told. And Carlos came back with the idea of John Anderson." Rabideau and Anthony worked in tandem with local historians to bring the John Anderson story to life and capture the imagination of Black Canadian youth in a way unconventional for a typical historical play. Director Chris Rabideau with ACT (left) and lead actor and playwright Carlos Anthony (right) in rehearsal. (Photo provided by Arts Collective Theatre) The story highlights what was at the time a technicality in the Webster-Ashburton Treaty, which allowed extradition back to the United States from British North America for certain crimes. John Anderson walked free after the stabbing incident was debated to be in self-defence as part of his escape. "I had never heard of a story where an enslaved person was able to get away with murder, in self-defence, change laws in Canada and our relationship with Americans," said Anthony. Anthony says he didn't originally intend to fill in the role, but after other actors fell through he stepped in initially as a joke. "[Chris told me] there's six weeks left until the show. We're going to need you to make a decision. And I decided to accept it. I'm taking it as a learning experience." Director Chris Rabideau (far right) directs a scene at 'The Price of Freedom' rehearsal. (Photo provided by Arts Collective Theatre) For Anthony, the experience going from pen to stage has added an additional layer of navigating his own traumas when it comes to depicting someone like John Anderson, a story he wrote and researched extensively. "[Being] one of three Black kids in school, anytime we learned about the underground railroad or the transatlantic slave trade, my peers looked at me as if I was an enslaved person," he said. "It was very uncomfortable, and not much changed in high school," said Anthony. "That's the reason why we need to change the narrative. More Black youth in Canada are going to be proud of their culture, rather than being ashamed of it or scared." The Price of Freedom opens to the public at The Capitol Theatre Friday, Feb. 28, with additional shows on March 1 and 2. For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
CBC
09-02-2025
- General
- CBC
3 historians share local Black history they believe deserves more recognition
Social Sharing Southwestern Ontario's Black heritage, and the people responsible for documenting and preserving it for future generations, took centre stage this past week at Museum London. On Wednesday, the museum played host to a panel of six museum curators and historians from across southwestern Ontario, who shared details about the work their organizations do to save artifacts and the lived experiences of the local Black community. They also touched on the family histories that have been uncovered through their collections and research, efforts to engage young people and new arrivals with Black history, and the challenges around digitizing collections to make them more accessible. The event was conducted in partnership with the London Black Heritage Council as part of the museum's speakers' series "History Now!" Among those on hand were Irene Moore Davis of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, Bryan and Shannon Prince of Buxton National Historic Site & Museum, Doug Robbins of Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society, Zahra McDoom of Museum London, and researcher Heather Rennalls. After the event, CBC News asked three of the panelists to share a piece of local Black history they feel deserves more attention, or to share something they learned in their research that was noteworthy to them. Zahra McDoom Museum London's Zahra McDoom on the city's historic Black newspaper 12 hours ago Duration 2:52 Zahra McDoom, TD curator of collections at Museum London, says one piece of local Black history she likes to call attention to is the Dawn of Tomorrow, the Black newspaper founded in London in 1923 by James Jenkins, copies of which are housed at the Western Archives. McDoom, who is TD Curator of Collections at Museum London, spoke about the Dawn of Tomorrow, the Black newspaper founded by James F. Jenkins and published in London beginning in 1923. "The Dawn of Tomorrow is a rich source for Canadian history, Canadian Black history, and it's written in the voices of the people," McDoom said. "It isn't some external gaze looking at the Black community and writing about them, but it comes from community voices. It comes from their own experiences." Copies of the newspaper are available on microfilm at the London Public Library and at Western University. Irene Moore Davis Irene Moore Davis on role men of African descent played in Upper Canada Rebellion 12 hours ago Duration 2:47 Irene Moore Davis, president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society and assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum in Essex County, says one piece of local Black history often overlooked is the role men of African descent played defending Fort Malden in Amherstburg during the 1837-1838 Upper Canada Rebellion. Davis, president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society and assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, said there are many stories worth telling, but one that stood out for her dates back to the 1837-1838 Upper Canada Rebellion. "Down in Amherstburg, there was a group of men of African descent from throughout Essex County, but most particularly Amherstburg and Colchester, who formed a Black militia to help defend the fort from the rebels and from their American supporters," she said. The leader of the militia, she said, was Josiah Henson, who founded the Dawn Settlement near Dresden for Black settlers who had escaped slavery in the United States. The community is now home to The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History. Henson later served as the inspiration for the character Uncle Tom in the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. Heather Rennalls Heather Rennalls on the relationship between Harriet Tubman and John Brown 12 hours ago Duration 2:24 Heather Rennalls, an independent researcher and freelance writer based in Oxford County, said she was surprised to learn of the personal connection between Harriet Tubman and John Brown, and that the two were both allies and friends. Rennalls, an independent researcher and freelance writer based in Oxford County, said her research led her to discover more about the close friendship between abolitionists John Brown and Harriet Tubman. "John Brown had mentioned in one of his letters, when he was in Ingersoll, that Harriet Tubman was supposed to meet him," she said. Initially skeptical, she says she was surprised to learn the two were both allies and friends. The two first met in St. Catharines, Ont., in 1858. Tubman helped Brown plan the ill-fated raid on the Harpers Ferry Armory the following year in what is now West Virginia, an event which helped spark the Civil War.
