Emancipation Day draws crowd to Josiah Henson museum

With a slate of speakers and entertainment, Emancipation Day celebrations brought in visitors from near and far to Dresden on Saturday.

The Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History was also marking one year since its name change, as it was formerly known as Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Curator Steven Cook said he was pleased with the turnout for the event, noting it was held a bit earlier this time around.

“It was one of the easier ones to pull together,” he said. “We did Emancipation Day the week before the long weekend. In the past, it’s always been a struggle because you have Owen Sound, you have Windsor, you have St. Catharines, you have Toronto, all pulling the same presenters.

“We had our pick of the crop this year.”

Given the response, Cook expects this will be the weekend for future Emancipation celebrations as well. He added it also coincides with the Dresden fair.

“It’s nice to support them, and vice-versa,” he said.

The Josiah Henson museum is owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust.

Saturday’s event, which commemorates the end of slavery in the British Empire, featured music from London Gospel Collective and Motown Boys.

Kwame Delfish, the first Caribbean Canadian to design a coin for the Royal Canadian Mint, spoke about the process behind his design for the coin commemorating the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the largest all-Black battalion-sized unit in Canadian military history.

Ruth Lor Malloy, a travel writer and activist, discussed her book — Brightening My Corner: A Memoir of Dreams Fulfilled.

DO Gibson, a two-time Guinness World Records-setting rapper, author and professional speaker, touched on the impact of Henson as a central part of his performances, which include such topics as slavery, the Underground Railroad and spirituals.

With food being this year’s theme, Cook said they wanted to go traditional with their offerings.

The Chilled Cork food truck provided southern barbecue for guests in attendance.

In addition, Patience Chirisa, a Toronto-based chef, was on hand to give a demonstration and taste-testing of African sausage and chakalaka, the latter being a mix of various vegetables and spices.

Originally from Zimbabwe, she has been in Canada for more than two decades.

“I’ve volunteered at different types of African restaurants to learn the techniques,” she said, noting the wide variety of cuisines among the different countries.

Chirisa encouraged people not to be intimidated, urging them to give it a try in their own kitchens.

“A lot of people have the misconception that it’s complicated,” she said. “It’s really not.”