The lasting legacy of Black leaders can be found throughout Toronto: discover the stories of eight community-builders who have shaped the city over the past 250 years. From the origins of the city’s public transit to important changes in labour law, prominent Black figures have shaped communities on a local, regional and national level – and many of them called Toronto home.
This is not only a virtual map tour, but also forms part of a visual narrative and physical archiving project. In Summer 2022, Unveiling Heroes will spur the installation of four (4) public art pieces in various locations across Toronto as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022, a year-long celebration of Toronto’s exceptional public art collection and the creative community behind it. The goal is to establish community pride through accessible visual representation that publicly shares and celebrates leaders from the Black community who have left notable, yet sometimes untold, imprints on many lives.
This digital companion was developed by Emerging Historian Nicole Markland, in partnership with Unveiling Heroes’ curators Queen Kukoyi and Nico Taylor, and was made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor and Emerging Historian Champion, TD Bank and The Ready Commitment.
Karolyn Smardz Frost, I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad. Thomas Allen Publishers, 2007.
Stanley G. Grizzle, My Name’s Not George: The Story of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in Canada. Umbrella Press, 1998
Sarah-Jane Mathieu, North of the Color Line: Migration and Black Resistance in Canada, 1870-1955. University of North Carolina Press, 2010
Harriet Tubman Community Organization
Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, Toronto Public Library
