St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre celebrating black voices through new exhibit

The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is set to welcome guests to a new photographic journey that will highlight the families of Freedom Seekers who fled to the northern end of the Underground Railroad.

North is Freedom: The Legacy of the Underground Railroad will open on Sunday, Aug. 1, helping mark Emancipation Day in Canada. The exhibit, a photographic essay by Canadian photographer Yuri Dojc, celebrates the descendants of freedom seekers who escaped slavery in the United States in the years before the American Civil War. The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre has partnered with the Central Ontario Network for Black History (CONBH) to bring this exhibit to the local community until July 15, 2022. The Museum has been a member of CONBH since its inception and a proud supporter of their projects.

About 30,000 men, women and children fled north to freedom, settling from the Canadian Maritimes to as far west as the Manitoba border. Some arrived alone, while others found their way to Canada with the help of a clandestine network of “conductors” and “stations”, known as the Underground Railroad. Many came to what is now Ontario, to places such as Windsor, Chatham, Buxton, the Niagara Peninsula — including the City of St. Catharines, — Owen Sound, and larger cities like Hamilton and Toronto.

Some 150 years later, Dojc’s work features 24 images celebrating the history of descendants and their ancestors’ courage. Black and white, young and old, those highlighted are the descendants of once-enslaved Africans who have contributed to the growth of this nation.

“The story of the Underground Railroad and of freedom seekers is an integral part of our community’s story and the descendants of these brave individuals have helped shape our city in so many important ways,” said Kathleen Powell, the City’s supervisor of historical services. “We are so pleased to partner with the Central Ontario Network for Black History to host this compelling and thought-provoking exhibit featuring amazing stories of courage and perseverance.”

A virtual opening for the exhibit is being scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 1, as part of the Museum’s 2021 Emancipation Day celebrations. The virtual opening will be streamed via YouTube at 2 p.m., and will also be available to replay afterwards, on the Museum’s YouTube page. Details can be found at www.stcatharines.ca/northisfreedomopening.

Once open, the exhibit will be available for viewing to all visitors to the Museum during operating hours. The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is open to the public seven days a week, with some adjusted hours due to COVID-19. Admission to the Museum is by donation.

Please check out the Museum’s website, at www.stcatharinesmuseum.ca, for more information about the exhibit, operating hours and COVID-19 protocols.