HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-02-10, Page 88 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, February 10, 2016
'What it is to be black'
LAURA CUDWORTH
Stratford Beacon Herald
It's a sickening feeling to hold the
iron shackles used to restrain a child in
slavery.
To mark Black History Month the
Multicultural Association of Perth -
Huron held two days of events at the
Falstaff Family Centre. On Saturday
afternoon, artifacts from the slave trade
and information about Ontario's
Underground Railroad, on loan from
the Chatham -Kent Museum, were on
display.
Some of the more disturbing artifacts
included a branding iron and a strange
iron contraption that locked around a
slave's neck with posts holding large
bells that prevented the wearer from
moving without making noise. There
were also pictures of the scarring on a
slave's back from being whipped and
flyers advertising public auctions for
slaves, some asyoung as 14.
"Other countries don't talk about
this history: what it is to be black," said
Geza Wordofa, the Multicultural Asso-
ciation of Perth -Huron's founder.
"When I went into the museum, I lost
myself. I cried:
Slaverywas abolished in British colo-
nies in 1833. However, Ontario passed
the Ant i -Slavery in 1793, making it a
safe haven for American slaves.
Wordofa suggested Canada repre-
sented a place of freedom for black
slaves through the Underground Rail-
road back then, and it offers the same
kind of sanctuary to refugees from all
over the world today.
"We're living everyday free and it
will never happen again. No discrimi-
nation, that's our main goal," he said.
It's estimated about 30,000 people
escaped slavery into British North
America through the Underground
Railroad between 1800 and 1865. Har-
riet Tubman led about 300 slaves to
freedom and was nicknamed "Moses"
for her heroic efforts.
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Usborne & Hibbert
Mutual Fire Insurance Company
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING
The 140th Annual Meeting of the Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company
will be held at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre at 2 p.m. on Monday, March
21, 2016 for the presentation of the Annual Report, to elect Directors and to transact
any business that may rightly come before the meeting.
Nominations will be received for the election of two Directors for a three year term. The
Directors whose term of office expires are Joe Chaffe and Morris Willows. Joe Chaffe
will stand for reelection. Morris Willows is retiring from the Board after serving for
21 years as a Director.
Article 22: Any person wishing to seek election or re-election as a Director must
file his/her intention to stand for election in writing with the President & CEO of the
Corporation in person at least thirty days in advance of the Annual Meeting or Special
General Meeting called for the purpose of electing Directors.
The 2015 Financial Statements for Usborne & Hibbert Mutual will be posted to the
company's website. Copies will be available at the company office, 507 Main Street
South, Exeter, Ontario.
Jack Hodgert Shelagh Cleary BA, FCIP
Chair President & CEO
LAURA CUDWORTH/The Beacon Herald
Geza Wordofa, founder of the Multicultural Association Perth -Huron, holds some
of the iron restraints used on slaves during events to mark Black History Month.
Tubman was bom into slavery in the about the opportunities available here.
American south and experienced first "Canada is a good country. A lot of
hand its brutality. She was slashed
across the face with a sword as a child
for refusing to wipe mud from a British
officer's boots. At 13, she suffered a
skull fracture while defending another
slave from a particularly cruel master.
She eventually escaped to St.
Catharines, where she guided slaves to
freedom. During the American Civil
War, she volunteered as a spy and
scout in South Carolina. She received a
medal from Queen Victoria for her
dedication and work for freedom. She
lived into her 90s and died in 1913.
Emmanuel Mollaligne suggested
the point of celebrating black history is
not to "condemn one side and victim-
ize another."
I have to live my life for others," he
said. "I don't want to see someone suf-
fer or hurt without justice. The freedom
I experience in this country I may not
experience in my own. This is a very
good country and I feel very proud:'
Dawit Teklemariam also talked
black families came to Canada and
survived and live better lives," he said.
On Friday evening drumming, Afri-
can music and traditional food were
the highlight of the celebration.
This is the 20th anniversary of the
Canadian Government's participation
in Black History Month. The celebra-
tion highlights the contributions black
Canadians have made in the past and
acknowledges the achievements of
black Canadians in the present.
The concept was first officially rec-
ognized after Jean Augustine, the first
black woman elected to Parliament,
introduced a motion in the House of
Commons in 1995. It was first officially
celebrated in 1996.
"Black history is important for us.
We are who we are today because
someone paid the price, someone
resisted. These changes didn't come by
accident, they came at the cost of
somebody, Mollaligne said.
Laura. cudworth@sunmedia. ca
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