Tour tells story of Black history in southwestern Ontario

The African Canadian Heritage Tour is a driving tour that allows people in southwestern Ontario to explore landmarks along the Underground Railroad.

Museums and historic sites along the route of the tour allow visitors of all ages to learn more about how Black Americans fled slavery on the road to freedom in Canada.

The landmarks include the Sandwich First Baptist Church, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, the John Freeman Walls Historic Site and Underground Railroad Museum, the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, and the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History.

Amherstburg Freedom Museum visitor Bernadette Ashbey says education about the past is important.

"It's very encouraging that we are able to have a place like this to come to, to learn and to take with us and to educate our children," she said. 

"It's important to know where we come from and what our country was built on," said another visitor at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, 16-year-old Sebastian Bustamante. "They played an important role in what shapes our country."

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.