Mary Ann Shadd Cary 1823-1893
Text from the plaque
African Americans came to Canada in increasing numbers after the United States passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. Some settled in segregated communities; others, like Mary Ann Shadd, promoted full integration into society. A teacher and anti-slavery crusader, Shadd immigrated to Windsor in 1851. She started the "Provincial Freeman" in 1853 to encourage Blacks to seek equality through education and self-reliance. Two years later she moved the newspaper to Chatham, where it operated for the rest of the decade. Widowed in 1860, Shadd Cary returned to the U.S. in 1863 to work for racial equality in the aftermath of emancipation. She was the first Black woman known to have edited a North American newspaper.
Transcribed from the marker, not summarised.
Find the place
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent
In Chatham
outside the Woodstock Institute Sertoma Help Centre
at 177 King Street East, west of Princess Street
N 42 24.364 W 82 10.535
Recorded September 2011. Check current access before visiting.
More information
More views
Where it stands
