The opening of Brantford’s annual “Memories of Immigrant Communities” project took place on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Held in partnership between the Brant Historical Society (BHS), Laurier Brantford, the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre, the Brantford Public Library and Brant Theatre Workshops, the Immigrant Memories of Brantford project is a public cultural, heritage and educational program that focuses on researching, sharing and celebrating the legacies of Brantford’s diverse immigrant communities.
The annual showcase first launched in 2019 with the Jewish Community and was later followed by the Italian community in 2021, the Chinese community in 2022, the Ukrainian community in 2023, and the Armenian community in 2024.
This year, the Immigrant Memories of Brantford project is dedicated to the Black community of Brantford. With the first known “freedom-seekers” arriving around 1830, the contribution of the Black community has been significant.
On Saturday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the “Roots and Routes: Black Brantford – Freedom Seekers, Community Builders” exhibit took place at the Brant Museum and Archives.
Ward 5 Councillor, Brian Van Tilborg, who had an opportunity to preview the set up beforehand, said he was impressed with the overall display.
“I just have to say that while I’ve always known that there’s a long, vibrant Black history in Brantford, I’ve never actually known what it is and so to go in and read those documents and see the archives that have been pulled out – it was just fascinating,” he said. “… It opened my eyes to a whole society of culture, and the people that came to Brantford that I didn’t know that were here long before my descendants arrived.”
The exhibit, which was curated by Christina Han, an Associate Professor at Laurier Brantford, serves as a testament to the history, resilience and cultural contribution of the Black community in Brantford, presenting several newspaper articles, photographs, artifacts and books.
Covering topics such as the history of Bunnell’s Landing, the Underground Railroad, slavery and racism, the S.R. Drake Memorial Church, education and culture, Emancipation Day, migrant farm workers and even baseball legend Jimmy Wilkes, the exhibit features a wealth of archival content to explore.
“Roots to Routes really displays some of the highlights of Brantford’s Black history, starting from the early days going back to the time of Joseph Brent, all the way to present day migrant workers,” said Han. “It’s interesting because this particular project was a bit more challenging than the others because the history is so very long and complex, but I think we all learned a lot along the way and we had a lot of people who helped us out.”
A short while later, Brian Moore, a BHS volunteer, led around a dozen people in a curated heritage walking tour through the east ward, starting at Alexandra Park. The walk featured notable sights and stories of Brantford’s early Black Community.
Cavel Wright, a Jamaican migrant worker who has been working in Norfolk and Brant County since 1986, was just one of the individuals Han interviewed for this year’s project.
“I’ve been coming here since 1986, that’s what I had to do to feed my family and to make them proud,” he said. “I worked at one place in Simcoe, but that place closed down and so I’ve been working in Harley since 2002. I’m usually here in Canada for seven to eight months, but sometimes I’ll do six months. Then I spend about four months at home before I come back.”
Wright, who often spends most of his time at the farm and only comes into the city about once a week, said it was nice to be around to see the project unfold.
“I loved it,” he said. “I also loved the walk and learning a bit more about the area and the history. I learned a lot and it was nice to be with other people. Sometimes I’ll come shopping in town and someone will say they don’t like me, and so coming and being around people here today gives them a chance to like and understand us workers.”
Later, over at the Laurier Academic Centre’s Stephen Kun Theatre, Brant Theatre Workshops’ premiered its latest play, Matter of Colour.
The original play is centered around Brantford’s Black heritage and the community’s immigration to the city. The story follows several Brantford residents who explore Han’s newest exhibit via 3D immersive technology, giving them an up close and personal look at several important moments in time.
After the play, spoken word poet Marie-Lauren Gregoire (also known as MLG) performed three of her poems for the audience. Following the Jamaican cuisine dinner, she then hosted a panel discussion on the experience of being Black in Brantford.
To end the evening, Tracy Lee, a vocalist who was born and raised in Brantford, performed inside the Stephen Kun Theatre, sharing her talent with all those in attendance.
On Sunday, October 19, several residents who missed the previous days’ events, took the opportunity to visit the “Roots and Routes” exhibit and attended the final showing of Matter of Colour. Afterwards, many stayed back to take part in a question and answer session about the play.
Overall, Han said she was happy to have finally gotten to unveil the project.
“I’m very, very excited to be able to see all these people coming out to support us and seeing the work,” she said.
Although the weekend festivities are over, the“Roots and Routes: Black Brantford – Freedom Seekers, Community Builders” exhibit will be on display inside the Brant Museum and Archives for the next month.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
