Book description
Ontario's African-Canadian Heritage is composed of the collected
works of Professor Fred Landon, who for more than 60 years wrote about
African-Canadian history. The selected articles have, for the most
part, never been surpassed by more recent research and offer a wealth
of data on slavery, abolition, the Underground Railroad, and more,
providing unique insights into the abundance of African-Canadian
heritage in Ontario. Though much of Landons research was published in
the Ontario Historical Societys journal, Ontario History, some of the
articles reproduced here appeared in such prestigious U. S.
publications as the Journal of Negro History.
This volume, illustrated and extensively annotated, includes
research by the editors into the life of Fred Landon. It is the Legacy
Project for the Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave
Trade, an initiative of the OHS, funded by a "Roots of
Freedom" grant received from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship
and Immigration.
Frederick H. Armstrong, a Toronto native, attended the University
of Toronto, obtaining his M. A. in 1949. In 1960, after some years in
business, he returned to take his Ph. D. Following a brief stint of
teaching in Toronto, he joined the History Department at the
University of Western Ontario. His specializations, both in writing
and teaching, were pre-Confederation Ontario and urban history. He has
written histories of Toronto and London, Ontario, and many Ontario
History articles. Active in the preservation movement, he has been
the chair of London's heritage committee, and also president of both
the Champlain Society and The Ontario Historical Society.
Hilary Bates Neary has been a librarian trustee, as well as a
researcher, editor, and writer of Ontario history. In the 1970s, she
contributed to Ontario History's "Book Notes," and
edited, along with Robert Sherman, the Index to the Publications of
the Ontario Historical Society, 1899-1972. More recently, she
co-edited with Michael Baker both London Street Names (2003),
100 Fascinating Londoners (2005) for James Lorimer &
Company. She is the chair of the Historic Sites Committee of the
London Public Library Board.
Karolyn Smardz Frost is an archaeologist, educator, and author with
a doctoate in the History of Race and Slavery. A former executive
director of The Ontario Historical Society and vice-chair of Toront's
Historical Board, karolyn teaches community history and primary
research techniques at York University's Atkinson College. She is
internationally recognized for her work in multiculturalism and
anti-racism education using public history and public archaeology.
Karolyn's volume I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the
Underground Railroad, was awarded the Governor General's Award
for Non-fiction in 2007, the first book detailing the proud heritage
of Canada's people of African descent to be so honoured.
Bryan Walls, C. M., O. Ont., a dental surgeon, historian, and
author, was born on a farm near Puce, Ontario, just outside of
Windsor. His ancestors date back to a time before the end of
enslavement. Raised with a belief in education as an avenue for
freedom and achievement, Bryan has received the University of Toronto
Faculty of Dentistry Honouree of Distinction Alumni Award of Merit,
2005; Order of Canada (C. M.) 2003; Chancellor's Award, Iona College,
University of Windsor 2002; and the Order of Canada (O. Ont.) 1994,
among other honours. Bryan is a committee member of the Metropolitan
Toronto Police Services Recruiting Unit; board member of the National
Alliance of Faith and Justice out of Washington D. C.; deacon of the
historic First Baptist Church, Puce, Ontario; and a past president of
the Ontario Historical Society, founded in 1888.
