The Promised Land

"The Promised Land is one of the most interesting, informative, and exciting books I've read in years. It is a call to action that comes at just the right time, as scholars and lay historians alike increasingly work to look beyond the mists of obscurity and the myths that have kept us from a just and comprehensive understanding of a past that has everything to do with our sense of the present and with any hopes of cultural stability and historical certainty we might entertain as we look to the future." -- John Ernest, Department of English, University of Delaware "The Promised Land has fulfilled on its promise, with an engaging and authoritative account of the Black experience in southwestern Ontario. Rich in local detail and family lore, this collection demonstrates the value of academic-community collaboration. It will be useful for anyone interested in African-Canadian history or the comparative study of the African Diaspora, and it contributes as well to a more nuanced understanding of Canadian history and historiography." -- James W. St.G. Walker, FRSC, Department of History, University of Waterloo

Eschewing the often romanticized Underground Railroad narrative that portrays southern Ontario as the welcoming destination of Blacks fleeing from slavery, The Promised Land reveals the Chatham-Kent area as a crucial settlement site for an early Black presence in Canada.

Eschewing the often romanticized Underground Railroad narrative that portrays southern Ontario as the welcoming destination of Blacks fleeing from slavery, The Promised Land reveals the Chatham-Kent area as a crucial settlement site for an early Black presence in Canada. The contributors present the everyday lives and professional activities of individuals and families in these communities and highlight early cross-border activism to end slavery in the United States and to promote civil rights in the United States and Canada. Essays also reflect on the frequent intermingling of local Black, White, and First Nations people. Using a cultural studies framework for their collective investigations, the authors trace physical and intellectual trajectories of Blackness that have radiated from southern Ontario to other parts of Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The result is a collection that represents the presence and diffusion of Blackness and inventively challenges the grand narrative of history.