Provincial Freeman – Upper Canada (Ontario), Mary Ann Shadd, 1853

Mary Ann Shadd (1823–1893) was one of the first female journalists in Canada and became the first Black woman in North America to publish a newspaper. Born in 1823 to free parents in Delaware, Mary Ann Shadd‘s father was very active in the anti-slavery movement, and she grew up in a politically active and literate family. She spent her early years teaching in African American schools in the States.  She was a contemporary of Henry Bibb and his wife Mary who were publishers of a popular newspaper, the Voice of the Fugitive. It was Henry Bibb who, while Shadd was attending a convention in Toronto, encouraged her to come to Canada to set up a school.  In 1851, she opened a school in Windsor, where she quickly became involved in a dispute with the Bibbs. Shadd did not believe in separate schools for Black children, unlike the Bibbs, who did. Henry Bibb carried the dispute to the front page of the Voice of the Fugitive, ultimately leading to the withdrawal of funding for her school. Undeterred, Shadd responded by founding her own newspaper. On March 24, 1853, the first edition of the Provincial Freeman was printed in Sandwich (now Windsor, Ontario). The newspaper became a platform to celebrate the achievements of Black Canadians, highlight the struggles of refugees, and promote Canada as a refuge for those fleeing slavery. Mary Ann Shadd has had a long-lasting impact on generations of, not only Black women, but on women overall. She died on June 5, 1893, but her legacy continues. In 1994, she was designated a National Historic Person, and in January 2024, Canada honored her enduring impact by issuing a commemorative postage stamp.