The extraordinary stories of hidden figures in Ontario’s Black history on display in Niagara theatre
Narratives include rags-to-riches stories and early Black settlers’ journey to freedom in Ontario
Richard Pierpoint was a slave, taken as a teenager from his home in what is now Senegal. He helped form the Coloured Corps., a unit of free Black men in the Niagara region who fought for the British in the war of 1812.
When it comes to knowing the history of extraordinary people in Black history in Niagara, “you hear about them, and you don’t hear about them,” says Millicent Gordon, artistic director of Awakened Voices Narratives.
Pierpoint’s story will be told as part of Awakened Voices Narratives, a live performance celebrating Canadian Black history through art and storytelling, taking place Feb. 14, at the church where Tubman, the famed abolitionist, worshipped — Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church in St. Catharines.
The performances will be held in St. Catharines, where Pierpoint, who freed himself from slavery, was awarded 81 hectares in the former Grantham Township, now part of the city.
The show also ran last Saturday in Fergus, Ont., where Pierpoint was awarded 40 hectares. The land was given to him for his service during the War of 1812, in place of letting him go, back to Senegal.
Audiences will hear more about the legacies of Harriet Tubman, Reverend Josiah Henson, Thornton and Lucie Blackburn, Marie-Joseph Angélique and more.
The stories are driven by book excerpts and interviews with hidden Black figures in Canadian history retold by poets and actors in the two-hour live performance.
For the first time, Awakened Voices Narratives will also present two white figures including Rev. William King, an abolitionist from Louisiana who founded the Buxton settlement in Chatham-Kent, Ont.
Built by 15 people who were slaves who came with King, the Buxton settlement was considered a haven for freedom seekers and Black people who were free.
Mathieu Da Costa, who interpreted languages, also featured
Gordon graduated with a political science and history degree at Carleton University and later worked at different radio stations, hosting Black History Month segments.
Millicent Gordon, artistic director of Awakened Voices Narratives, based her scripts on interviews and books, including Benjamin Drew’s A North-Side View of Slavery: The Refugee. (Submitted by Millicent Gordon)
There, she noticed the lack of Black Canadian figures highlighted and felt compelled to research and produce Awakened Voices Narratives.
“Something we don’t see a lot in Black culture is how the men love their women and will sacrifice a lot for their family,” said Gordon, about the scripted dialogue between enslaved married couple John and Ida Little, who once freed, travelled to St. Catharines, Hamilton and finally Queen’s Bush, Ont.
Mathieu Da Costa, the first recorded Black man to visit Canada who helped interpret languages between European explorers and First Nations people, will also have a place in the performance.
By Diona Macalinga · CBC News
