Amherstburg Freedom Museum unveils two new exhibits

Karla D.Taylor and her new book “Children of Destiny” were part of a reception at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum Oct. 16.

A pair of new exhibits were unveiled to the public last week at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum.

A reception for members and subscribers of the museum was held the evening of Oct. 16 for “A Diverse Past and Living Present: Local Black History and the First 50 Years of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum.” That exhibit is in collaboration with the University of Windsor department of history and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Partnership Engage Grant.

Irene Moore Davis, assistant curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, said that exhibit recognizes the recent 50^th anniversary of the museum. While the chronological history was part of those celebrations, the new exhibit helps showcase how the museum has interacted with the community as a whole.

It was done, in part, with researchers from the University of Windsor and a videographer with the school.

“They focused on how the museum has engaged with the community,” said Moore Davis. 

Not only have panels been set up on the museum’s main floor, but oral histories were filmed as part of the process. Those interviewed included museum board chair Monty Logan, current curator Mary-Katherine Whelan, former curator Elise Harding-Davis, Maynard Hurst, Patricia Neilly McCurdy, Lesley McCurdy and Moore Davis.

Funding was applied for during the 2025-26 academic year and was received, allowing for the three students to work on the project.

It is up until the end of November. The museum also hosted a symposium with Grade 10 students from North Star High School and St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School with Harding-Davis being the keynote speaker. Dr. Gregg French from the University of Windsor also spoke.

The museum also launched “So Sweet the Victory: Honouring Black Elected Officials in Essex County, Ontario,” a compilation of research by Whelan. The exhibit, which also runs through November, is on the upper floor of the museum and gives the background of 20 local political figures from the 19^th Century to the present. 

As part of the opening reception Oct. 16, Windsor author Karla D. Taylor launched her new book “Children of Destiny.” It is the story of her great-great-great grandmother Jubil, whose devotion to God led her to not only care for her own children, but the slaveholder’s son as well after his mother died during childbirth. Taylor said her ancestor’s life was shaped by an experience she had with God and faced with doing going her own way or the way God told her, she chose the latter.

The story was passed down through the generations and Taylor wrote a book about it. It took her time to write as she wanted to properly write about the background of each person but she is pleased with the result.

“What she did is shape our family for nine generations,” said Taylor.Taylor is a Windsor resident but when her family came to Canada via the Underground Railroad, their harrowing journey ended in Amherstburg in the area where Fort Malden National Historic Site is today.

Taylor recalled her own grandmother was so beloved and no one felt any barriers when speaking with her, to the point her friends would also call her “grandma.”

Taylor returns to the museum for a book signing this Sunday (Oct. 25) from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Amherstburg Freedom Museum unveils two new exhibits

By Ron Giofu