African and Diasporic Cultural Studies – Serie

Eschewing the often romanticized Underground Railroad narrative that portrays southern Ontario as the welcoming destination of Blacks fleeing from slavery, The Promised Land reveals the Chatham-Kent area as a crucial settlement site for an early Black presence in Canada. The contributors present the everyday lives and professional activities of individuals and families in these communities and highlight early cross-border activism to end slavery in the United States and to promote civil rights in the United States and Canada. Essays also reflect on the frequent intermingling of local Black, White, and First Nations people. Using a cultural studies framework for their collective investigations, the authors trace physical and intellectual trajectories of Blackness that have radiated from southern Ontario to other parts of Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. The result is a collection that represents the presence and diffusion of Blackness and inventively challenges the grand narrative of history.

The Black Press brings together original, multidisciplinary research that explores the history and impact of Black newspapers in Canada. This collection of essays introduces readers to the rich archive of Black Canadian journalism, spanning the period from the abolitionist to the modern civil rights era, and reveals the extensive network of African and African-descended activist-journalists. The book positions Black Canadian journalists, editors, publishers, and readers as influential intellectual activists whose efforts shaped the press to drive socio-cultural change both in Canada and abroad. Through historical analysis and archival research, each essay highlights how Black journalists countered mainstream portrayals of their community, challenging dominant narratives of Blackness in the Canadian imaginary. The essays demonstrate how the Black Press served as a crucial space for reflecting on Black Canadian identity, belonging, social justice, and human rights within the colonial contexts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Combining historical, archival, and cultural analysis, the book uncovers the profound and often overlooked influence of the Black Press on Canada's cultural and political landscape.

The Black Press brings together original, multidisciplinary research that explores the history and impact of Black newspapers in Canada. This collection of essays introduces readers to the rich archive of Black Canadian journalism, spanning the period from the abolitionist to the modern civil rights era, and reveals the extensive network of African and African-descended activist-journalists. The book positions Black Canadian journalists, editors, publishers, and readers as influential intellectual activists whose efforts shaped the press to drive socio-cultural change both in Canada and abroad. Through historical analysis and archival research, each essay highlights how Black journalists countered mainstream portrayals of their community, challenging dominant narratives of Blackness in the Canadian imaginary. The essays demonstrate how the Black Press served as a crucial space for reflecting on Black Canadian identity, belonging, social justice, and human rights within the colonial contexts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Combining historical, archival, and cultural analysis, the book uncovers the profound and often overlooked influence of the Black Press on Canada's cultural and political landscape.