Dear editor:

In a world where a totally innocent Black kid is shot by a homeowner without any provocation whatsoever, where a prominent Niagara citizen, thinking he was among a group of “like-minded” men, negatively describes a man in a case he was handling and then adds a gratuitous: “… and he was Black too!” – in this “world” it is clear that we still have a very long way to go for any real equality, be it economic, cultural, legal rights or racial.

That is why it is of the utmost importance that all our heritage be made visible, be preserved and be celebrated for posterity.

So it is that the graves and gravestones of the American slaves who made it to Canada, often in fear of death if caught before crossing the border, are a hallowed reminder of a past that should never be repeated.

In fact, while I am not absolutely certain, I do believe Ontario has laws protecting graveyards and cemeteries, requiring that they have what is called “perpetual care.”

Not “perpetual care” for the graves of “white people” but for all the dead, to honour their memory and keep our history visible.

Ontario, so so good in so many ways, however, has its own dark histories of racism and ethnic “cleansing” so we need to strive more than ever for common ground about how we preserve our heritage.

The gravestones in Niagara-on-the-Lake need to be dug up and reinstated.

The Niagara Baptist Church Burial Ground needs to be reconsecrated as the resting place of people who found peace and freedom here – at least we would like to think they did.

The history of the individuals hopefully identified by the gravestones should be traced as much as possible to understand the journey they were forced to take, right from Africa itself.

And, to be sure, the history of how these Black escapees from the United States were treated here in Ontario needs to be re-examined and rewritten as needed.

Kaspar Pold
NOTL