Emancipation Day

On July 31, 1833 the British Parliament abolished slavery throughout its empire. Today, July 31, has become known as Emancipation Day in many places around the world. As a boy growing up in Windsor Ontario in the '50's I watched the tens of thousands of black people ---- mostly American "negroes" --- gather on this weekend with their music, speeches, and church service. The name of Walter Perry came up over and over, especially the mouth-watering aromas of his annual open-pit barbecue and "secret sauce" which I never did sample.

Only years later did I learn that Walter Perry was the driving force in this celebration from the 1930's. And that the speakers in Windsor included Eleanor Roosevelt (1953) and a young southern preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. (1954)! I had been in the company of greatness.

So I have lived at both ends of the fabled Underground Railroad. Windsor (and Canada) was the first taste of freedom for the escaping slaves from the southern states. But because bounty hunters respected no borders, the railroad took them even further north. Owen Sound became the northern terminal. Local black heritage is reflected in place names like Negro Creek and Mud Flats.

Emancipation celebration in Owen Sound is the longest running in North America, 149 years so far. It's a low-key reunion and picnic that attracts all colours and creeds and makes the community proud. Bring on the secret sauce!