When setting out to learn more about our city’s early Black history, it is an all-encompassing endeavor that can sometimes leave us with more questions than we began, but it’s always an enriching experience. Such is the case with the Canada West census in 1861, which shows a Black family living in Toronto Township, Peel…
Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson for Ask A Historian on Thursday March 24, 2022 as we announce the launch of our most recent comic book, The Grange: Legend of the North Star. This week, Matthew interviews two of the driving forces behind the 11th volume in the Heritage Mississauga comic book series, Justine Lyn, Resource Centre…
Did you know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. passed through Mississauga to attend the talk held on March 15th, 1962. During the 1960s, Civil Rights was at the forefront of not only American, but also Canadian minds. In 1962, civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. travelled to Toronto to speak at Toronto’s…
Heritage Mississauga continues to research, record, and celebrate Black History in Canada. Research Centre Assistant Justine Lyn has embarked on an arduous research project to gather records on the history and journey of many Black families that came to Canada. One of the many resources Justine has utilized is census records, which tell fragments of…
This week, Matthew welcomes Professor Anna Thomas, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Drama at UTM with a special focus on African American Literature and Diaspora Studies. Matthew and Professor Thomas will explore how early African American literature reflected and impacted changing attitudes towards slavery and what roles these literary works played…
By: Justine Lynne Black history research is often quite tricky and has been a focus at Heritage Mississauga for many years. We have shared other research findings in earlier articles in this series. In almost every case, we feel that there is so much more to uncover, and we are left with a lot of…
February is #BlackHistoryMonth and the theme this year is “February and Forever: Celebrating Black History today and every day” which focuses on the need to acknowledge the contributions of Black Canadians historically and everyday. Heritage Mississauga continues to research, record, and celebrate Black History in Canada. Research Centre Assistant Justine Lyn has embarked on an arduous research…
This week Matthew welcomes Heritage Mississauga Resource Centre Assistant Justine Lyn, who has embarked on an extensive project to research Black History in Mississauga. Justine discusses some of the challenges, and errors, that she has encountered while researching census records and archives as well as explores the records and literature left by settlers themselves that…
Welcome to our 38th installment of “Ask a Historian”. Join Historian Matthew Wilkinson on our YouTube channel for a very special episode of “Ask A Historian” on Thursday February 25, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. This week Matthew welcomes guests Mayor Bonnie Crombie, Linden King, Chair of the Mayor’s Black Caucus, and Natasha Henry, President of…
Victor Alexander Vignale was born in Trinidad, in the British West Indies, in 1894. His father, Raphael Vignale, was a successful cocoa planter. The Vignales were a large family, with Raphael and his wife Adelaide having 10 children. Part of the family came to Canada in 1913, including parents Raphael and Adelaide, together with children…