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Image of a man in a three-piece suit standing waving to the camera outside a restaurant. A sign on the exterior reads: "The Underground Railroad Soul Food Restaurant".

Being Black on King

Discover the history of slavery, abolition, emancipation, and education in Canada through stories of triumph and resilience along King Street East.

On this tour through the King Street neighbourhood, learn about the first Underground Railroad site to be excavated in Canada, the history and significance of soul food, a centuries-long lie about a Black business owner in the 1850s, or the journey of Toronto’s first Black mail carrier.

However you choose to explore, take the opportunity to celebrate central figures in Black Canadian history who risked everything to ensure freedom.

This digital tour was developed by Emerging Historian Faith Ebanks (2024) and made possible by the generous support of our Tours Program Presenting Sponsor, TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment and Emerging Historian Champion Andrew and Sharon Himel and Family.

Last Updated: January 7, 2024

We’d love to hear your feedback. Contact us.

Being Black on King was also presented as a virtual webinar during Black History Month! Check out the recording here.

Choose a marker to begin your tour

If you’re exploring on a mobile device, please abide by all traffic and safety rules. Only look at your device when you are standing stationary in a safe location!

Resources

Frost, Karolyn Smardz. I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad. Toronto: Thomas Allen Publishers, 2007.

Johnson, Michele A., and Funké Aladejebi, eds. Unsettling the Great White North: Black Canadian History. University of Toronto Press, 2022. 

Milloy, John S. A National Crime: The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879-1986. University of Manitoba Press, 1999. 

Perrin, Guylaine. “The Myth of Mary Mink: Representation of Black Women in Toronto in the Nineteenth Century.” Ontario History 108, no. 1 (2016): 92-110.

The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Black Enslavement in Canada.” Last edited February 9, 2022.

The Canadian Encyclopedia. “Residential Schools in Canada.” Last edited January 11, 2024.

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