As I plan my Walk to Freedom from Detroit into Canada tracing the footsteps of African America Freedom Seekers fleeing the United States during the middle of the 19th century, the first city I will arrive into is Windsor, Essex County, Ontario. Historian Irene Moore Davis, of the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, has been so amazing in assisting me with mapping out my route through the county and connecting me with people who can tell the story of the journey of Freedom Seekers once they arrived on the banks of the Towns of Windsor and Sandwich.
This will be my third trip crossing the border into Ontario, Canada on foot, and with each experience I have discovered a powerful look back into the past and present of the ancestors journey. And when I say powerful, I am reminded of the feeling of freedom that comes over you the moment it is truly felt in your body. It’s akin to all the restrictions in your life being peeled away layer by layer.
On this walk I will be exploring the sensory experience of the many Freedom Seekers who crossed the straits of “Détroit” into Canada during the cold, dark, winter months when so many escaped after Christmas, a time known as “Heartbreak Day,” when enslaved people faced the possibility of being sold or separated from their families.
The link and map titled Across the River to Freedom highlights Black history in Historic Sandwich, Ontario. One of the major contributors to this community history project was Irene Moore Davis, who also co-produced a short documentary called Across the River to Freedom: Mary and Henry Bibb
