Chatham
Starting in the early 1800s, a Black community was founded from just five families settling in the area that would become Chatham.
Due to its substantial and increasing Black population during the mid-1800s, Chatham became known as the “Black Mecca.” The American Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required escaped enslaved people to be returned to captors even if found or residing in a free state. The law motivated Freedom Seekers and free Black people to immigrate to Canada. In 1851, the Chatham census recorded a Black population consisting of 350 individuals. The population would increase fivefold over the following ten years.
Chatham was the home to many successful Black businesses, including rooming houses, grocery stores, mills, blacksmith and gunsmith shops, and ice cream parlours. Black community members also advanced in professional occupations; for example, there were six Black doctors between the 1850s and 1870s. Many of the Black elite of Kent County (the most educated and prosperous families) lived in Chatham. This led to Chatham’s designation as the “Coloured Man’s Paris,” a term coined by Reverend Richard Disney.
Even though they were free in Canada, the Chatham Black community continued to fight for their brethren living enslaved in the United States. Members of the Chatham community were involved in publication, hosting conventions, as well as antislavery action and protests. Some Black community members returned to fight for Black freedom and independence in the American Civil War.
King Street East, Chatham, the James Charity Block
with railroad look out point and African Methodist
Episcopal Church (torn down c1950s) Details
Mary Ann Shadd Cary
Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1823 to Abraham Doras Shadd and Harriet Parnell. Educated in the United States, Shadd Cary moved to Canada West, now known as Ontario, in 1851 to teach children of Freedom Seekers. Once in Canada, she became influential in the Abolitionist movement. In 1852, Shadd Cary penned A Plea for Immigration which implored American Blacks to immigrate to Canada.
Shadd Cary was the first Black female newspaper publisher and owner in North America. In 1853, she began publishing her anti-slavery newspaper, the Provincial Freeman. Her newspaper advocated for equality, integration, and self-sufficiency – the masthead of the newspaper was “Self-reliance is the True Road of Independence.” In the newspaper, Shadd Cary focused on various aspects and experiences of Canadian Black life; however, it predominately emphasized and uncovered racial discrimination and segregation. The Provincial Freeman was published until 1860.
Mary Ann Shadd Cary returned to the United States in 1860 and worked as recruitment officer for the Union Army. In 1883, Shadd Cary would become one of the first Black female law school graduates. As a teacher, abolitionist, and editor, Shadd Cary had a significant impact on the Chatham community.
