Dresden historian and author Marie Carter will discuss the history and legacy of the Black community in and around Dresden during an upcoming presentation in Chatham.
The event, titled “Into the Light: The History and Legacy of a Black Canadian Community,” will take place May 8, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the McKinlay Reception Centre on St. Clair Street.
The presentation is being co-hosted by the Kent Branch of Ontario Ancestors and the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and will also be available online.
Organizers say Carter grew up in Dresden next door to the original location of the Josiah Henson Museum and has maintained a lifelong interest in Canada’s multicultural history.
Carter is a former member of the Uncle Tom’s Cabin Community Advisory Board and served as a researcher and writer for The Dawn Settlement Tour. She also worked as a community advisor alongside Diane French for the Dresden Cemetery Relocation Project and was a co-investigator on The Promised Land Project, a five-year Community University Research Alliance initiative.
She is also the author of several books, founder and administrator of the Dresden Virtual History Group, and founder and co-chair of the Dresden History Group working committee, which oversees the Dresden Archives and organizes historical tours.
The event is free and open to the public. Organizers ask attendees to park in the plaza parking lot rather than the funeral home parking area.
