Setting the record straight – Updating four Black history plaques

I’d like to tell you about Solomon Moseby. In 1837, Moseby fled to Niagara to escape slavery in Kentucky. When his extradition back to the United States was approved, members of the Niagara community mobilized to protest his return to slavery and to protect Black rights in Canada. They successfully obstructed his removal while he escaped. It is a complex and compelling story that helped to establish Canadian extradition and refugee policies, which are still used today. Moseby’s story was hidden in a plaque commemorating the Niagara Courthouse, which no longer stands. The Ontario Heritage Trust had already decided that the plaque needed to be revisited and replaced and, in reviewing the research and considering the text, we decided that the courthouse itself was not the focus of the story. The real story was about Solomon Moseby.
 
This was one of four provincial plaques commemorating Black history in Ontario that were unveiled on April 28, 2022 to replace plaques that we determined needed new research and new perspectives, and a hard look at terminology. We engaged historians Natasha Henry and Adrienne Shadd to produce new research on these subjects and to work with us to create new plaque texts for The Buxton Settlement, The Wilberforce Settlement, The Niagara Baptist Church Burial Ground as well as The Solomon Moseby Affair 1837. All are important stories for which you can find the background papers here.
 
The Provincial Plaque Program plays a significant role. The plaques serve as landmarks, protect place, educate and raise awareness, share stories and spark interest – and are represented in every region of the province. But the program – now in operation for seven decades – has flaws, and our understanding of Ontario’s heritage has broadened through new research, including the evolution of terminology and the sharing and valuing of new perspectives.
 
There is much work ahead. We have examined our plaques and programs, properties and collections with a similar critical eye, and we have the opportunity – indeed, the responsibility – to tell Ontario’s stories in ways that are equitable and honest.
 
I invite you to read a more detailed description of our work on this project and to find out more about the Trust’s work to challenge and expand the historical narrative.
 
With permission from Beth Hanna, CEO of the Ontario Heritage Trust.