The Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and Black Mecca Museum have officially launched Freedom in Print: Books and Antislavery History at the Chatham-Kent Black Mecca Museum, a new digital project exploring the region’s 19th-century antislavery print culture.
The launch will take place during the upcoming Black Health Symposium, a move organizers say highlights the ongoing relationship between historical literacy, cultural resilience, and Black health and well-being.
Developed in collaboration with University of Guelph history professor Deirdre McCorkindale, and Huron University College professors Nina Reid-Maroney (History) and Scott Schofield (English and Cultural Studies), the project maps and documents abolitionist texts connected to the region. It includes a searchable digital archive and map, showcasing books with ties to Chatham and their features — including inscriptions, annotations, bindings, illustrations, and printing history.
“Freedom in Print brings to light the vibrant history of Chatham’s Black activists and their allies, reconnecting these important texts with the communities in which they were created and read,” said McCorkindale in a statement.
Reid-Maroney called the initiative a model of community-based research that provided new opportunities for student training. She noted that by studying individual copies of texts, researchers uncovered fresh evidence of Black activist networks connecting Chatham to communities across the Atlantic.
Those transatlantic links were the focus of a 2023 workshop hosted at the British Library’s Eccles Centre for American Studies in London, U.K., led by Reid-Maroney and Schofield.
Doug Robbins, executive director and curator of the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and Black Mecca Museum, said the project offers more than just historical insight.
“Freedom in Print is more than a historical archive; it’s a testament to the enduring spirit of our community,” Robbins said. “By launching the project during the Black Health Symposium, we emphasize the connection between our cultural history and the health and well-being of Black Canadians.”
The project received funding from a Partnership Engage Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, with additional support from Huron University College, the University of Guelph, the Huron Community History Centre, and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.
More information and access to the archive can be found at ckbhs.org.
