The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto!

The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto!

by Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper 

and Karolyn Smard Frost 

Imagine that a law was passed where you could be arrested at any time, for no justifiable reason. No, this is not a new crime show on television, but a part of our history. 

Slavery existed in North America almost from the time of the first European settlement on the continent. Through the assistance of the Underground Railroad (UGRR), many black slaves and indentured servants escaped the abuse and settled in Upper Canada (now Ontario). The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! examines the unique urban story of the UGRR in Toronto. Three of the leading experts on black history in Canada –  Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper and Karolyn Smard Frost –  have come together to write a comprehensive history of the experience of the former slaves as they escaped their shackles and developed a thriving community in York (now Toronto).

In 1850, the United States passed a law called the Fugitive Slave Act where people suspected of being a runaway slave could be arrested without warrant and turned over to a claimant on nothing more than his sworn testimony of ownership. A suspected black slave could not ask for a jury trial nor testify on his or her behalf. This law forced many people to flee from the United States through the UGGR. This network of secret routes and safe houses was used by escaped slaves and indentured servants to escape the slave hunters. Upper Canada provided the former slaves with a safe haven that did not allow the American fugitive hunters to take into custody former slaves. It is estimated that between fifteen to twenty thousand black people moved to Upper Canada from 1850 to 1860, increasing the black population from about 40 000 to 60 000. The majority of the immigrants settled in southern Ontario where they were immune from the slave hunters and could begin to settle and establish a new lifestyle. Although life for the former slaves had far more potential for success and profit, they still faced many problems in Canada as racist attitudes were very prominent despite the Emancipation Act that had been passed nearly two decades prior to the Slave Act.

Mary Ann Shadd

Harriet Tubman

As the black Canadian population grew in York, community members took active roles in exercising their agency to provide the new generation with as many opportunities as possible. Since the white community forbade the integration of the blacks in many public institutions, the fugitives began to build their own establishments while simultaneously fighting for the right to equal access despite racial differences. Sympathetic charities in the United States and Canada donated material and funds to the community to meet their needs as they began to rebuild.

The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto! not only explores the experience of the community as a whole, but also the experience of individuals. It includes actual newspaper clippings from the time as well as illustrations that enhance the learning experience. It is an engaging and highly readable account of the lives of black people in Toronto in the 1800s.