Emancipation Day is regularly marked every August with the Amherstburg Freedom Museum helping celebrate it.
The museum held its annual Emancipation Celebration dinner and dance last Friday night at the Hellenic Cultural Centre in Windsor. Emancipation Day, which is actually Aug. 1, marks when slavery was abolished in the British Colonies in 1834 by King William IV, pursuant to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
The theme of this year's event was "Jazz Age Jubilee."
Amherstburg Freedom Museum president Monty Logan and vice president Barbara Porter both acknowledged not only the celebration of emancipation but the museum’s upcoming 50th anniversary.
“We are celebrating our 50th year in 2025,” Porter pointed out.
Porter said the Emancipation Celebration is one of the ways they are keeping Mac Simpson’s dream alive, which is to showcase the extensive Black history in the area. Simpson and his wife Betty co-founded the museum.
The museum helps tell the stories of the Underground Railroad and the people who sought freedom in Canada with the collection helping to educate the public, Porter noted.
“We are celebrating the 190th anniversary of emancipation in Canada,” said Logan. “We’ve got a lot to be happy about. We’re not where we want to be but we’re a lot better than where we used to be. We have to keep on going.”
Logan said the museum looks forward to celebrating its 50th year “of educating our community” and sharing what their ancestors have accomplished. He pointed out the recent visit by Speaker of the House of Commons Greg Fergus, with Logan stating he invited Fergus to attend when he was in Ottawa for a conference. Fergus is the first Black Speaker in Canadian history.
“It was an excellent event,” he said of Fergus’ visit. “One of the most important people in Canada came to visit our museum.”
The Amherstburg Freedom Museum is important in Amherstburg and beyond, he noted, and events like the Emancipation Celebration help keep it going. Logan said roughly ten per cent of the museum’s funding comes through government support with the rest being generated by the museum itself.
“We continue to need (the community’s) support,” he said. “These events help pay the bills.”
Logan thanked current and past board members for their support as well as the spouses for the sacrifices they have made.
The Emancipation Celebration featured the annual presentation of the Legacy Hero Award, which this year went to E. Andrea Moore. According to her biography, Moore was an employee of CIBC for over 20 years but is best known for her community service, which included preserving Black heritage.
Moore was a founding member of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, then known as the North American Black Historical Museum. Her extensive work in preserving history also includes working towards international monuments marking the Underground Railroad, being actively involved in the Congress of Black Women, founder and first president of the Essex County Black Historical Research Society, helped establish Black history tours at Sandwich First Baptist Church, working towards recognition for the McDougall St. corridor, being involved with the Hour-A-Day Study Club, member of the Royal Canadian Legion and being a board member with the Windsor and District Black Coalition.
Moore was also a contributor to the Sankofa News, a Black newspaper that used to be published in Windsor. She was also key in forming the Southwestern Ontario Black Community Forum, was a trustee in her church and a Sunday school teacher. Moore received honours such as the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award.
The award was presented posthumously, with Moore’s daughter Irene Moore Davis accepting on her behalf. Davis noted her mother was passionate about history and heritage. She commented on her mother’s “relentless determination” and spent “countless volunteer hours” devoted to research and history.
“She wanted to be part of the North American Black Historical Museum as soon as it started,” said Davis.
Moore was known for collaborating with people and bringing them together, Davis stated.
“She was very much about collaboration, she was gifted at building partnerships,” she said. “She was extremely persuasive. She wanted us to do more together. She loved her family. She loved telling her family stories. She understood she stood on the shoulders of giants. I am so grateful to be raised by her.”
Emancipation Celebration marked by Amherstburg Freedom Museum
By Ron Giofu
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