For years, Ken Johnston has hiked Black heritage trails across the U.S., retracing the steps of civil rights pioneers and the freedom seekers who fled slavery and made the long journey north.
In 2022, to mark the 200th birthday of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, he trekked from New York City to St. Catharines, Ont., where many former slaves settled, and where Tubman lived from 1851 to 1862.
This summer, the Philadelphia-based “walking artist” will continue north, following the path thousands of freedom seekers took to reach Owen Sound, Ont., the northernmost terminus of the Underground Railroad network, after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850.
And he’s looking for people to join him.
“Most of my walks have been solo walks, but this is one that I just feel differently about, and I want to open it up,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter if you’re white or Black or Indigenous. If anyone who has a love of history and wants to participate, they can come join for one day, one block or one mile.”
The two-week, 265-kilometre Walk to Freedom will start at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center in New York on July 19, crossing the Rainbow Bridge into Ontario and continuing north all the way to Owen Sound.
Along the way, Johnston hopes to meet with freedom seeker descendants, and explore early Black settlements, such as Negro Creek in Grey County.
“All of this is to give people a sensory experience of just what it was like for these freedom seekers,” he said.
The itinerary for the Owen Sound walk is posted on Johnson’s website, and those interested in participating in the initial cross-border walk can register through Eventbrite.
The narrative learned about the Underground Railroad, he said, is that freedom seekers made it to the border, crossed, were free, and that’s it, Johnson said.
“Well, their life went on from there. Some of them were already free. Some of them were formerly enslaved. It’s about discovering their life on the other side of the border.”
Owen Sound’s distance from the border offered safety
Owen Sound was one of several terminuses freedom seekers landed, along with Amherstburg, Buxton, Chatham, London and Windsor, said Channon Oyeniran, a historian and PhD candidate at Queen’s University.
After the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave plantation owners the ability to recapture escaped slaves from free states, Owen Sound’s distance from the border provided a sense of safety, she said.
LISTEN: Author shares legacy of the Dawn Settlement
Afternoon Drive7:35Southwestern Ontario was once along the path of the underground railroad. We’ll meet an author bringing more of the story to life
Afternoon Drive guest host Josiah Sinanan spoke to author Marie Carter about her new book entitled: “In the Light of Dawn: The History and Legacy of a Black Canadian Community.”
“I think they found when they got to Owen Sound they were just able to really build a life for themselves and for their families,” she said.
Many walked to Owen Sound aided by local abolitionists, she said. Newspapers including The Provincial Freemen and The Voice of the Fugitive also helped to find resources and locate relatives.
Freedom walk plans to arrive for Emancipation Festival
Johnson says the plan is to arrive in the city on Aug. 2 for the Emancipation Festival at Harrison Park. Founded in 1862, the festival runs Aug. 1 to 3, and is now in its 163rd year. It’s believed to be the longest-running festival in North America.
Frank Thompson of Kansas City, Mo., will be walking with him for the journey. He previously accompanied Johnston from Galveston to Houston in Texas for Juneteenth, and most recently helped him trace the southern route of the Underground Railroad.
“Having grown up in Texas and experienced the Juneteenth celebrations there, being able to see a celebration in Canada that predates all of those celebrations, it’s one of the things that’s going to be a historical touchpoint for me,” Thompson said of the Emancipation Festival.
What began as a British Methodist Episcopal (BME) Church of Owen Sound picnic evolved over time into a celebration of Black history by the descendants of freedom seekers, and a commemoration of the Slavery Abolition Act and Emancipation Day.
The festival features speakers, live entertainment, food, drinks, and educational presentations.
Bonita Johnson deMatteis sits on the festival’s board and is herself a descendant. She said the Saturday festivities begin at the park with an opening ceremony at the Black History Cairn, which deMatteis designed.
There, those gathered take “a moment to regard our ancestors that we are here, and we gonna be here,” she said. The closing feature of the weekend is a gospel fest, which is returning to the recently-restored BME Church.
DeMatteis said she remembers attending the festival as a child, not realizing it wasn’t just a family reunion or church function.
“I have two granddaughters, and they know about it, and I hope their granddaughters will know about it. There’s no reason why this has to fade off into the sunset,” she said.
“It’s Black history in Canada. It’s also Canadian history. It’s local history. Even more so now, with threats against our sovereignty. It’s even more important.”
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.